ARE SICILIANS ITALIAN??

WELL, THAT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK. APPARENTLY SICILIANS ALWAYS FEEL THEY HAVE GOTTEN THE "BOOT" FROM THE REST OF ITALY. .I AM HALF SICILIAN. MY GRANDFATHER WAS BORN IN PALERMO. WHEN I WAS A KID, I WOULD ASK HIM, ARE YOU IN THE MAFIA GRANDPA???....HE WOULD GET REALLY MAD, AND SAY, THERE IS NO MAFIA!...I HAVE VISITED ITALY BUT HAVE YET TO ENJOY THE

RUSTIC BEAUTY OF SICILY.

LAST WEEK, ANTHONY BORDAIN, HOST OF "NO RESERVATIONS" ON BRAVO, DID AN EPISODE ON SICILY....I LOVE TONY!! HE IS SARCASTIC, FUNNY, AND A GREAT WRITER. HIS SHOW ALWAYS GIVES YOU A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON TRAVEL!

WATCHING THIS SHOW WAS MY FIRST REAL TASTE OF WHAT SICILY IS LIKE ...A PLACE OF EXTREMES, FROM THE SLOPES OF MT. ETNA, READY TO ERUPT AT ANY MOMENT, TO THE CLEAR BEAUTIFUL WATERS OF COASTAL TOWNS AND ALL OF THE ANCIENT RUINS...SICILIANS ARE PROUD PEOPLE, LIVING SIMPLY, WITH SO MUCH BEAUTY AND NATURAL RESOURCES AROUND THEM,....THE SEA SALT FROM TRAPANI, ABUNDANT SEAFOOD, VINEYARDS, OLIVE GROVES, BLOOD ORANGES AND LEMONS GROWING ON EVERY HILLSIDE. AND LET'S NOT FORGET THEIR RICH DESSERTS - ESPECIALLY CANNOLIS!

I AM HOPING TO VISIT WITH MY BROTHER SOMEDAY, AND EXPERIENCE ALL THAT IT HAS TO OFFER....I JUST HOPE WE DON'T RUN INTO THOSE SO CALLED "MAFIOSOS!

GOT LEMONS???

Don't make lemonade....make Limoncello Cheesecake Squares!

Nonstick cooking spray
8 ounces purchased biscotti
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 (12-ounce) container fresh whole milk ricotta, drained, at room temperature
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup limoncello liqueur*, store bought or homemade
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a 9 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Finely grind the biscotti in a food processor. Add the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom (not the sides) of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

Blend the ricotta in a clean food processor until smooth. Add the cream cheese and sugar and blend well, stopping the machine occasionally and scraping down the sides of the work bowl. Blend in the limoncello, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time, and pulse just until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the baking pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Bake until the cheesecake is golden and the center of the cake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour (the cake will become firm when it is cold).

Transfer the cake to a rack; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days. Cut the cake into squares and serve.

*Limoncello liqueur can be found at most liquor stores and in the liquor department of some specialty markets.

These are creamy, smooth and lemony!!

LA BADIA

A few of you have mentioned my new header photo. It is a photo of the entrance to La Badia, the hotel in Sorrento that were were lucky to stay at during our trip to Italy in 2007. It used to be a convent and is located on a hill overlooking the Bay of Naples. It is surrounded by a grove of olive and orange trees. Every morning after breakfast we would take a path through the olive trees and walk into town.

This was THE place we were introduced to limoncello....it became our ritual every night of our vacation to have a glass of limoncello. When we returned home, we went through a few bottles that summer. Some of our friends, and I think my sister Lisa, said it tasted like lemon pledge!

Janie, at Panini Girl, made a list of 10 things she would rather be doing on her blog. I believe they all had something to do with Italy. I would like to add to the list....I would like to be sipping a glass of limoncello on the balcony above, with that man in the picture, enjoying the view!

Can YOU see the Whales?

TODAY WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN SAN DIEGO...WE HAD SOME TICKETS FOR A WHALE WATCHING CRUISE, SO IT WAS A PERFECT DAY TO GET OUT ON THE WATER ON A 95 FOOT FISHING BOAT FOR A FEW HOURS....

EVERY YEAR CALIFORNIA GREY WHALES MAKE A 6000 MILE TRIP FROM THE BERING SEAS TO THE WARM WATERS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO...THAT IS A LOT OF SWIMMING FOLKS!!

AFTER TWO HOURS OF NO WHALE SIGHTINGS, WE STARTED TO HEAD BACK TO THE MARINA, WHEN WE HEARD THE CAPTAIN YELL, "THAR SHE BLOWS"---FINALLY, TWO WHALES ABOUT 100 FEET OFF THE SIDE OF THE BOAT...CAMERAS WERE CLICKING AWAY...THE WHALES ARE OUT OF THE WATER FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS TO TAKE IN AIR THROUGH THEIR BLOW HOLE, SO YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY FAST TO GET A SHOT.....I SHOT SOME PICS, IF YOU LOOK REALLY CLOSE YOU CAN SEE THEM....THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL ....

WHAT COULD HAVE MADE THE DAY MORE PERFECT--- HOW ABOUT A PITCHER OF MARGARITAS TO HELP "US" WATCH THOSE WHALES HEAD NORTH.