Contributed by Mark Leslie
"Travel and Food Experiences in Italy~ their influences on my American life, plus photos and recipes, too!" by Mark Leslie, author "Beyond the Pasta: Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family"
Biba Caggiano says, "Mark, you have captured the essence of the Italian people."
"Beyond the Pasta: 28 Days of Recipes, Language, and Life with an Italian Family" is a labor of love for me at the moment. The book is a travelogue/memoir/cookbook with each "chapter" being a daily entry based on the e-mails I sent home from Viterbo in August 2005. Each daily entry starts with a photo and ends with one of the many recipes we prepared each day. In between the two, I write about my experience of the day: the things we cooked, the language I learned, the places we visited, and, most importantly, how I was allowed to become a part of this Italian family and given an intimate look into their daily life.
Today I received a very nice note from TV chef, cookbook author, and Sacramento restaurateur Biba Caggiano giving me permission to quote her for the book. Several months ago I sent the introduction and first three days to her with the hope of securing an endorsement. She called me weeks later and raved about the material saying, "Wow Mark, can you write! You have captured the essence of the Italian people." High praise indeed, coming from an Italian.
If you aren't familiar with Biba Caggiano, I highly recommend that you check out her website: www.biba-restaurant.com. Also, if you live near or happen to be in Sacramento, CA, you must eat at her restaurant. Her food is absolutely ITALIAN and not Italian-American. I ate there three times over the weekend of my 40th birthday and I thought I was back in Italy--her food is that authentic. Also, the recipes in her cookbooks are easy to make and delicious to eat. Truly, check out her website, restaurant, and her cookbooks. You won't be disappointed.
Buon Appetito!
Mark
Contributed by Mark Leslie
Mark Leslie works in professional theatre as a stage manager and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Currently he is busy working with Gemelli Press on his first book "Beyond the Pasta: Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family." http://beyondthepasta.com
Every year, Mark vacations in Italy and lives to eat his way through every plate of pasta and cone of gelato placed before him. In 2005, he had the good fortune to live for a month in Viterbo, Italy with the Stefani family. There he took cooking lessons from Nonna, the grandmother of the family, and Italian language lessons from Alessandra, the mother. That experience is the basis of his first book "Beyond the Pasta: Recipes, Language, & Life with an Italian Family." SEE DETAILS ABOUT THE BOOK: http://mark-leslie.net/we-have-a-publisher
THEATRICAL CREDITS:
Mark is in Winona, MN working on GRSF's production of COMEDY OF ERRORS. Recently, he wrapped up LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and AIDA for Opera Birmingham in Alabama. Last September, he stage managed CABARET at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head, SC. He also worked at the Arts Center in 2005 on its production of Evita. This past summer, he worked in Minnesota on Great River Shakespeare Festival’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Over the past 22 years, Mark’s regional theatre credits include: Denver Center Theatre Company (White Christmas, Noises Off, and a reading of a new adaption of The Unsinkable Molly Brown directed by Kathleen Marshall and authored by Dick Scanlon), Alabama Shakespeare Festival (resident stage manager on over 65 productions), Actors’ Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival (D. Boone by Marsha Norman), Arizona Theatre Company (Amadeus, Loot, and Ain’t Misbehavin’ directed by Arthur Faria), and Maine State Music Theatre (Phantom, South Pacific, Jesus Christ Superstar, La Cages Aux Folles, and the world premiere of Chamberlain).
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