Lidia in real life is a real gem

(Lidia and me at the booksigning at Adams in Poughkeepsie April 1/Michael Gallo Farrell Photography)

I am still bubbling over my meet-and-greet with my all-time favorite chef and cookbook author — Lidia Matticchio Bastianich — who made an appearance at Adams Faireacre Farms in Poughkeepsie Thursday night to sign copies of her latest tome, "Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy" from 6-8 p.m. She had been at the Kingston store the night before and was making the rounds in the valley, promoting this wonderful book that is like a travelogue with recipes from some of Italy's lesser-known regions. My sweet husband, Michael, gave me the book for Christmas, so I was ready for the booksigning.

Michael said he would meet me at the store after work, and would take some pictures for me if I got the chance to be photographed with the culinary star. I was psyched.

I made it to Adams at about 5:40, expecting a long line for the event. Michael beat me there by a few minutes and waited on line until I came in and took his place. He offered to do some shopping while I waited, which was great. Adams is one of our favorite places to shop, loaded with fresh produce, cheeses, artisan breads and imported Italian products, so Michael had the list in hand to stock up for the big Easter feast I would be cooking this weekend.

(Lidia with her mother, Erminia — two grand Italian ladies/Michael Gallo Farrell Photography)

Lidia arrived about 6:15 with a special guest — her Mom, Erminia, and her daughter, Lauren, who is her marketing and production assistant. Michael kept coming back to where I was in line to fill me in on the latest updates. "Grandma's with her," he said. "She looks great."

Grandma was in the house!

I love when Grandma makes an appearance on Lidia's show. She often comes downstairs (I really think the show is filmed in Lidia's home and Grandma lives upstairs) to try the finished recipes Lidia makes. She is so cute. She will take a bite and then shake her head from side to side in approval, saying, "Hmm, hmmm, hmm." Lidia often says Grandma likes her sweets.

Michael was scoping out the scene and watching other folks with Lidia. He said how genuinely nice she was with the fans, smiling likes she does on TV and seeming so down-to-earth. Oh, I was getting really excited now. He went back to do some more shopping and snapped some photos of her and Grandma, like the one above, as I waited.



It wasn't a bad wait at all. I was about 100 people back in the line of about 300, which had wound its way into the greenhouse. Awesome! It was warm and sunny, with the early evening light filtering in, and I was seduced by the scent of pansies as I continued my wait. Everyone was very nice, too, waiting patiently and talking about Lidia. Some held scrapbooks and other cookbooks by Lidia, and others were given numbered Post-it notes by the staff at Adams for their turn to buy one of the books there. It was very organized and laid-back, which was great. Adams employees came around with trays of fresh mozzarella squares topped with cherry tomatoes in a nice vinaigrette for the crowd to enjoy while we waited — hey, where's the wine, I wondered? The lady in front of me said the same thing.

In about an hour's time, it was my turn to say hi to Lidia. Michael was waiting with camera in hand, as you can see by the nice photos he captured of this memorable event for me.

Oh, and because I love Lidia, I had a pair of paper beads I had made interspersed with little black jets that I wanted to give to her. I've noticed the lovely beads and bangles she often wears when she's cooking on her TV series. She also sometimes wears silk blouses without getting olive oil on them! I don't know how she does that and I forgot to ask.

I wasn't sure how she would react, but she was truly grand, a class act. She was so grateful when I gave her the necklace, and seemed really taken with the little gift. I explained to her how I rolled the pieces of paper "like a sfogliatelle" to make the individual beads. She laughed and put the necklace right on over the other beautiful necklace she was wearing. She then told me a story about that gorgeous strand of golden beads she was wearing. At this point, I was a little starstruck and was trying to take it all in, but I believe she said she got it in Abruzzi and then said the Italian name for it, which meant something like "jingle," because young women would wear these beads when chaperoned on a date because they would make a jingling noise so no one would overhear their conversation. That made me laugh.

(Erminia, me and Lidia share a laugh at the booksigning at Adams in Poughkeepsie April 1/Michael Gallo Farrell Photography)

Lidia was so gracious, I could have chatted with her for hours, but I had to move along so as not to hold up the line too much. No one seemed to mind, though, and I asked if I could have my photo taken with Grandma as well. Lidia said sure, Grandma likes that. So I got in between these two grand dames and asked Grandma if she would like to adopt a nice granddaughter, to which she replied, "Sure, why not, I love children." Grandma was snacking on some sweet pastries and grabbed my hand, as you can see in the photograph.

We all laughed then.

There were so many other things I wanted to ask Lidia, such as would she like to come to my house for Easter dinner? (I'm making manicotti!) Would she like to go for a glass of wine at Cosimo's? How about a quick stroll over The Walkway? After that we could stop at Caffe Aurora for an espresso and admire all the homemade Easter candies they make and then go over to La Deliziosa for some cannoli. I think Lidia would like our Hudson Valley.

Oh, well, maybe next time.

(Lidia's recipe for Erbazzone is delicious)

If you don't have any of Lidia's cookbooks, I highly recommend getting some. I made the Erbazzone from "Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy" a while ago and it is now one of my favorite recipes. Made with arborio rice and butternut squash baked in an olive oil pastry, erbazzone is a satisfying meal that can be eaten warm from the oven or cold.

And if you haven't seen "Lidia's Italy" on PBS, check your local listings to see this wonderful chef in action. She will take you to remote places in Italy, where slow food was born. You'll be introduced to pasta makers, cheese and olive oil producers and more. In our area, Lidia's show is on Channel 13 at 5:30 p.m. I usually have a pot of slow-simmer Sunday sauce cooking on the stove and Michael and I drop everything to spend the next 30 minutes with Lidia over a glass of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. That is truly one of the simple pleasures in our life together.

So, as Lidia says at the end of each of her shows, “Tutti a tavola a mangiare.”
With each recipe of hers I make, I almost feel as though I am her at table with Grandma, enjoying a meal and a glass of wine.

After seeing her in person, that is more real than ever.