!VIVA ITALIA!

Mom has always dreamt of spending her birthday or an anniversary -- or any old day, come to think of it -- on a Tuscan hillside with her family and five glasses of Prosecco (though an even six would be nice). So to celebrate her birthday this year, back when it was green and temperate, we brought the flavors, aromas and sounds over the big pond from little Tuscany to little Nashville. It began with a pile of fresh, clear-eyed fish, a sure-fire polenta plan and a sketched menu.....

Creamy homemade ricotta and fresh minted apricots topped straight-from-the-oven rosemary flatbread...

A bit of hand-painted truth, straight from the mouth of some very smart, probably white-haired Nonna...

Little trout soldiers lined up for their firing on the grill...

Plates of fresh, rustic tastes and the sounds of Louis Prima and Dean Martin kept spirits light and bright....

The Dishin' Sisters...time for sweets!

Lemon ice cream, baby strawberries and almond-fennel crumble ended us on a sweet, dainty, celebratory note. Happy birthday, Martha Jane. One of these days, we'll take the party across the water, lounge beneath olive trees and allow handsome Roman signores to rub our feet with oil...