De Palma's Cannes heist flick -- helped by Rebecca Romijn -- remains a stylish joy.

What they won't do to get a picture of me, sunbathing on my terrace...External links: NHIndustries NH90 (Wikipedia)Versione italiana

As I've written many times before, the stuzzichini or antipasti served in many a Sicilian bar are often plentiful and delicious enough to form a meal in themselves. Thus it was when a friend and I had dinner out last weekend and it was a nice surprise to get a mini-dish of pasta too:

One of the purposes of this blog is to provide me with an illustrated diary of events.  So that in the future I can look back and see when this happened or (in the case of sagras and festas) recall what was available to eat or how much it cost…  Just all sorts of things.  Last year I started posting pictures of posters.  Whether we went to the event or not.  I am doing that again this year.            For a sagra in JUNE!  But up this early in a place where many folks were for the kite festa and then the pilot (yes like planes, mostly ultralites)  were gathered near the lake.                   As you can see there is a lot happening here.

My son David is a big fan of pasta and potatoes. So when I saw how big his eyes got after just one spoonful of Chef Gianluca D'Agostino's version last week while in Paestum for Le Strade Della Mozzarella , I just had to have the recipe.Ingredients for four people: potatoes 500 g, 2 stalks of large white celery stalks, two large carrots, one onion, 150g of parmegiano reggiano cheese rinds (washed well), 200 g of pasta mista, 550 g smoked provola cheese, 500 ml of milk, 200 ml heavy cream, 50 ml extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and salt to tastePrepare the provola fondue by cutting the cheese into large chunks, and leaving it to with the milk and cream at 70 ° C for about an hour. Filter through reduce by half, then emulsify with an immersion blender.Prepare the mashed potatoes by cooking the cubed potatoes with one celery stalk,one carrot, the parmegiano cheese rind.and the extra virgin olive oil. Once the potatoes have been cooked, remove the celery, carrot and cheese. Mash the potatoes by using a food mill or potato ricer. Add salt to taste.Peel the remaining celery and carrots , cut into thin strips and make them crispy by soaking them in ice water.Cook the pasta al dente and whip it with the melted cheese, potatoes and freshly ground black pepper Plate the pasta and top with the slices of crunchy carrots and celery.

After a long day's work, time for beer, a party dog, and something with limoncello.

No trip to Naples is complete without a walk along what locals simply call Spaccanapoli (literally, Naples splitter). Actually, it is probably the easiest way to take in quite a bit of what this amazing city has to offer, short of driving (most inadvisable!). Along its length sit worthwhile sights: Santa Chiara and its amazing… (more)The Note Spaccanapoli appeared first on ItalianNotebook.

Torino photo taken at the 26th edition of the Torino International Book Fair started today (link HERE)Torino foto scattata al 26° Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino (link QUI)

Black bicycle and black graffiti, Via RomaSearch labels: bicycle artExternal links: Bicycle ArtVersione italiana

If I asked you what you think Sicilians' favourite smell is, what would you say? You might think it was the scent of jasmine or orange blossom wafting through the air at this time of year or one of these in perfume form. Or, talking of perfume, perhaps the island's women finish their toilette with a generous spray of Acqua di Parma's almond fragrance or D&G's Sicily.Then again, maybe the way to a Sicilian's olfactory nerve is through the kitchen and you might imagine that the unmistakeable scent of vanilla as numerous pasticcerie set to work in the morning or the aroma of freshly prepared foccaccia, pizza or arancini in the evening would be at the top of every Sicilian's good smell list.All of the above would make the list but I can tell you with certainty that none of them would top it: I recently had to visit a non-medical establishment which had been spring-cleaned with particular vigour and everyone - man or woman - who came in while I was there stopped as they crossed the threshold, sniffed the air and declared joyfully, "Che bel profumo di pulizia!" ["What a beautiful smell of cleaning!"]And that, dear reader, is Sicilians' favourite smell. What's yours? Just for fun, do please vote in the poll in the sidebar. Thank you.Image: WP Clipart