Pesto, Pesto and More Pesto

Gabbie called me yesterday and ordered more Pesto and Tapenade. YEAH!! She said it sold out quickly so they increased their order this time. I will be making Pesto today!! Meeting with Bill and his wife later to talk about working with them on their new catering business. Would like to put this one together and start getting accounts. Also went to the Powerhouse Gym to follow up with Mat. The place looks great and is state of the art. They want me to work with the trainers and their clients to prepare low fat, nutritional meals. Im putting my brochure together to pass out. Really looking forward to kicking this off. Lots of stuff moving forward. Very exciting!!

Nice Weekend

Wow what a busy and great weekend. My sister came to visit from Orlando so we went to lunch Saturday to catch up. Seems we never get to talk anymore so we finally made time. It was nice and relaxing and I think we actually finished our conversation without being interrupted. Mission accomplished. Then I was off to serve at an event catered by Felices Italian Deli. All Italian people celebrating pops 75th birthday. Music, drinks, lots of people and of course enough food to feed an army!! Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time reminiscing, celebrating and enjoying one and others company. Sunday Dad and Mom came over for Fathers Day and I cooked. Appetizer was marinated artichoke hearts wrapped in prosciutto with provolone cheese. Next was salad with strawberries ( I have to give my sister credit for this) and a lite raspberry vinaigrette. The entree was my famous Chicken Marsala, heavy on the mushrooms. The wine I served was an Italian Red, Il Canneto from the sangiovese grape. My brother Ron surprised us for a little while. Then my niece Adrianna came by too. It was a nice day to get together relax and enjoy Fathers Day together.

Nice Evening at Liado

Last night was a unique experience for me and I loved it. I went to a meeting for the Italian American Women of Today group called Liado. This is a wonderful group of women of all ages who get together share stories, take care of some business and raise money for many charities throughout Tampa Bay. Several young people were there to receive a scholarship from the group to help with their college expenses. A woman from the care takers for Alzheimer patients also received a donation for her group. The warmth in the room is what I remember. I was welcomed with open arms and asked many times where my family came from. Everyone is very proud of their heritage and boasts about it openly. However, I must say they are equally proud to be an American and the love of this country was very obvious. Thats how I was raised. My family has never forgotten its roots. When my grandparents were with us they told many stories about the old country. Thats how I learned about my heritage. But they always emphasized how marvelous this country is and how proud they were to be an American. In essence thats what this group is all about and I was delighted to have met so many interesting Italian American Woman. Grazie to you all

Did You Know

Sooo many things to follow up on today. Friday was an amazing day. Many things fell into place and I made several contacts. I am setting appointments with potential clients for my products and for Food and Wine Parties!! This is exciting and it feels like things are moving forward with the catering end of my business. Gotta go. I will up date you later.

Happy Sunday

Last night Ocean Prime was fun. This has got to be the trendiest place in Tampa. I actually thought I was in Miami. The place is gorgeous, overlooking water, (used to be swamp but dont tell anyone) The outdoor bars have couches so you feel like you are in your living room. The indoor piano bar is very comfortable with large booths and several high top tables. There are a variety of dining rooms and private party rooms throughout this rather large up scale bistro. The food is delicious. Tuna tartare stacked on top of avacado, crab cakes, fresh seafood (the ocean) aged steaks (the prime) and more. I had my fill just checking out the sights. Nothing like people watching to make for an interesting evening. I'll be back :)

How Exciting!!!

Yesterday I took samples of Pesto and Tapenade to Gabbie at Felices Italian Deli in Palm Harbor. They loved them. Gabbie said it was the best pesto she had ever tasted. I almost cried. What a compliment coming from an Italiano!! I will be delivering thier first order next week. Thanks so much Gabbie and Pappa too!!

I DID IT!!!

I changed the template. I like this one a lot more. Dont you? More Tuscanish

Working on linking Twitter to my blog and visi versi. I feel like a computer geek. OMG I never thought I would say that. :)

Just finished making Pesto. YUMMIE Taking samples to 2 prospects tomorrow. Looking good. Im excited. Getting ready to make Olive Tapenade. I have several recipes for these products. I will share them soon.

Way Cool

OMG I just created my blog page :) This is so exciting. This is my first blog message. OMG I will be linking this to my website, www.famigliacucina.com facebook, and twitter!!! Now we are talking Social Media baby!!