 |
| Keurig K-Cup Machine |
 |
| Lavazza Drip Coffees - K-Cups
** This is a sponsored post by Lavazza and the giveaway will be provided by Lavazza and mailed direct to the winner, Italian American Girl will only be responsible for the promotion of the giveaway and choosing a lucky IAG reader. ***
|
 |
| Author - Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar 'Extra Virgin' |
.JPG)
.JPG)
You know that saying, you have to write about what you know. I am very particular about what I post on my Italian American Girl site as you can tell. I don't write and post just to have anything up here, I am truthful about what I write because I feel the authenticity is what makes this site successful. I often ask myself about life, 'do other people go through what I am going through?' We often compare ourselves to others when we are faced with challenges in our lives. I have been blessed my whole life in many ways and when we work hard, have no time, have family obligations, dealing with other problems, etc. things can become overwhelming at times. 
It's been almost 4 years since I launched the Italian American Girl site and since then amazing things have come from this labor of love. I've been asked to participate in national commercials, been invited to celebrity events, asked to guest write for other amazing influential websites and most importantly guest speak at my Alma mater, Rider University. Of all the events, this is one of my most favorite things to do. To share what I know about something I love so much, which is producing, writing, social media and mainstream media. Not to mention, I love my college and any opportunity to go back and actually teach, a serious dream come true. I connected with Professor Kathy Magrino (a fellow Italian American Girl ) on social media one day when she posted an interactive question on Twitter for her class at Rider; it caught my attention and I wrote her back saying 'whatever I learned at Rider, has been applied to my real life career in so many ways..tell your students to pay attention..it will all matter once you get a job in the work force...." She immediately responded back and so we began an interactive engaged conversation on Twitter where then Kathy invited me to come speak about the Italian American Girl site and my experiences with my career. The main focus of my talking points are to discuss the real elements that go into producing this site. Writing is extremely important and you really have to be in the mood to write from experience and make it compelling enough so your readers don't get turned off. What I think the students were most surprised about is that SPELLING AND GRAMMAR count. When I went to college ( oh God I sound old) we were just getting savvy with Spell Check, now if you publish something with a mistake, it's really your own fault.. of which I have made plenty of those, but reading your work out loud will always help and re-reading is also important.  |
| At Rider University |
 |
| Enjoying a cup of Lavazza espresso with my family --made with my new Philips Saeco Espresso Machine
What is it about espresso and Italian families? The one food element in an Italian family that often brings us together and gives us a sense of comfort at family dinners, occasions and most events. Since I was little, growing up in our Italian household --I always thought coffee was normal where even kids could drink it. I remember my father even putting a little bit of coffee in my bottle as a baby. Granted I may have been a hyper baby, but ask any Italian and they say they put a little coffee in the latte. As I got older, you realize that having a cup of espresso is really a lifestyle. There is style, etiquette and a lot of emotion that goes into espresso. Often when we would visit my family in Italy over the summers, I remember my Uncle Franky taking such pride in boiling the espresso, waiting, stirring the sugar and then serving it right away so it wouldn't lose it's savory taste or heat. Not only did making espresso at home become such an important element in our family, but it also signified a time for family to gather, talk, digest and really slow down to enjoy the moment. You think -- 'Really does espresso do all that? I say, yes... if you go to Italy and someone invites you for an espresso, you better accept! If you deny someones invitation for an espresso at home or at an espresso bar you're basically saying 'I don't want to invest in that slow down or in conversation or time with you.' -(Yes --That is the translation--no, not really literally but Italians can get dramatic..) I laugh as I write this, because to someone who doesn't know or understand the Italian culture you could say, wow Italians take their espresso as serious business. I confirm that!
Recently, I received a Philips Saeco Syntia Espresso Machine along with Lavazza coffee beans from the awesome teams at both companies. I have to be honest with you, I've never made espresso in a machine like this, espresso was always made in the old school pot called a 'bialetti.' The only time you would see an espresso machine would be if I went to an Italian coffee bar.
My first time experience with making the espresso in this machine was beyond any appliance experience, the machine is so easy to use, it tells you exactly what to do, what you need and it respects the process of making espresso so much, that you end up respecting the machine.. it sounds silly, but I honestly want to spend a lot of time now really perfecting and make variations on my espresso.
I was unsure how I was going to make the espresso, let's be honest, when I make espresso I'm usually in company-- and by company I mean by my loud, overly involved family. So I wanted to wait when I knew I could share my espresso first time experience with my family. I'm not kidding. In setting the machine up I had my mother and father in on it too, my mother really loved looking at all the intricate details of the machine and was so impressed with the taste and 'crema' of the espresso.
The quality and taste of the espresso was beyond my expectations and my family's. Let's be honest as Italians we are very critical of food and especially the holy espresso. My sister, Maria was so in love with her cup that she asked if she could take my espresso machine home with her.. of which I said no, but she can come over when she wants. My brother Santo, wanted to try the cappuccino variation and asked me "Marg, what do we need, what kind of milk should we go buy so it comes out perfect?" I mean this Philips Saeco espresso machine turned my family into a competitive bunch of baristas -- of which I have to laugh.. my family is a sit-com in itself. So, I had to fight everyone off not to take my machine home with them, now they're begging to use it or for example my brother is moving into a new home soon and gently hinted "you know Marg, that would make a nice house-warming gift.." I told him .."Sure Santo..." --yeah right.. you're not touching my machine."
So what turned out to be a first time experience using my Philips Saeco Espresso Machine, turned into a night of conversation, family and lottttssss of love. I love my new machine, the coffee beans from Lavazza were also as my mother says, "speciale"-- the brand Lavazza is something we grew up using our whole lives, so when I told my family I have Lavazza beans to use in the machine, they all immediately nodded with approval, because any Italian knows and uses Lavazza coffee. Lavazza is also history to me -it's a familiar staple in the Italian family. Overall, if you're going to invest in a way of etiquette for espresso making the Philips Saeco 'Espresso Perfetto' machine will fulfill your needs and supersede your expectations. Grazie a Philips Saeco e Lavazza!
To learn more about the Philips Saeco machine visit:
To learn more about Lavazza:
|
Guest Writer: Anna Savino
Columbus Day Parade in New York City is set to occur on October 11, 2010. The parade is sure to be packed again this year with folk dancers, singers, colorful floats and visitors from Italy who will be in the parade and on the side lines cheering on.
