Ola!

Did you like my bilingual greeting? I'm sure you are impressed with my use of the south-of-the-border dialect!! Really, I should have said, "Saluti," because I had Margherita pizza for dinner. When the moon hit my eye I craved a big pizza pie, and that's what I picked up to pop in the oven after work. It was yummo, or molto buon - very good, in Italian.

Oh! Did I tell you I've been dying to go to Italy?! Well, I have been! So, imagine my delight when I turned the page in this month's Cooking Light mag and saw that the grand prize in a pizza-making contest was a 5-day trip to Italy!! Then, a few days later i was reading a book (can't remember which one) that mentioned a missionary trip to Italy. Maybe the two could be combined - fun and service - all at the expense of some wine grower offering the contest?

Anyhoo, I would love to win, and must come up with a killer pizza concoction before the end-of-March deadline. I will!!! And hey, I've already had scooter practice, so when I hit the streets of Nopoli, I'll be ready to hop on that Vespa and go, go, go! Oh, and I hope when I win that God will turn Mike into a lean (he's already that), mean (ok, that, too), romantic (bring it on!!!!)machine!! Ah, amore romantico!!

This is all for now - arrivederci il mio amico!