Member We Heart & A Book Giveaway

Today, we put the spotlight on Michelle Fabio

Michelle is an American freelance writer and attorney who left the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania for her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy (the toe of the boot) in 2003. She shares an amazingly rewarding life with husband Paolo, dogs Luna and Stella, a small herd of goats, and various other two- and four-legged creatures like hens, roosters, rabbits, and ducks.

Michelle is currently the Guide to Law School at About.com (a New York Times company), official blogger for LegalZoom.com, and does a weekly podcast with fellow bloggers Sara Rosso and Jessica Spiegel at Eye on Italy.

A Short Q & A with Michelle

01. What is the best thing about being an American in Italy?
I love the simple life I've created in rural southern Italy; the most pressing daily concern is usually what's for lunch and dinner...but the answers are never too far away :)
 
02. Do you have a favorite Italian or American phrase that you use often?
Italian: "Boh." A very general term for "I have no idea."
 
03. Did you already know how to speak Italian or did you have to learn?
I only knew very basic Italian when I arrived; I learned by listening and repeating -- and doing lots of reading.

04. What is your favorite dish/food that you used to love before you moved to Italy and still do as of now?
Pizza, but in a whole new way! Now I love it with tuna and red onions.

05. Is any advice you would give to anyone who want to be a freelance writer?
Write about things that interest you, otherwise it'll seem too much like work ;)

06. Does being a freelance writer gives you more or less options in terms of clients?
You have as many options as you want with freelancing; if you want to work primarily for one client you can, or if you want to spread the love, you can look around. There's great freedom -- but that also requires great discipline.

07. How long have you been blogging & what is your favorite thing about blogging?
I started Bleeding Espresso in December of 2006; I love the conversations that go on in the comments section. I do my best to respond to every comment on all my blogs as I really do appreciate when people take the time to share their reactions to what I've written.
 
08. How many cups of coffee do you consume on a typical day?
Usually just one in the morning -- a cappuccino. If I need a pick-me-up in the afternoon, I may have another around 3 or 4 p.m., which is a huge no-no in Italy; they don't think you should drink milk after 10 or 11 a.m. I tell them I have an American stomach, so I'm good.

09. If you have one wish in the world, what would it be?
On a grand level, to end all suffering. On a personal level, to have southern Italy and central Pennsylvania (where most of my family is) be just around the corner from each other. Michelle shares her adventures in the Bel Paese at Bleeding Espresso, tales about raising kids at Goat Berries, and keeps a professional site at MichelleFabio.com. You can find Michelle on Twitter @michellefabio and on Facebook at the Bleeding Espresso page.

Michelle is also running another cookbook contest at her blog, Bleeding Espresso - go over here to enter.

Now for the Book Giveaway

Update: Contest Closed. Winner will be announce here.

Michelle is giving one lucky reader an autographed copy of Cucina Di Calabria: Treasured Recipes and Family Traditions from Southern Italy by Mary Amabile Palmer.  More information about the book is at Amazon.com.

Here are the rules to enter:

01. Simply tell us your favorite Italian dish in comments.
02. You must have a blog and an email.
03. Contest is international.
04. Last day to enter is May 29, 2010.  Winners will be selected randomly.

Comments

[Scintilla]

Excellent interview with Michelle! Gotta love that girl :)
Being of Calabrese parents, I was brought up in Australia on their traditional homemade from scratch food. Olives featured heavily too as did all sort of preserved food. I absolutely *love* 'olive schiacciate sott'olio' the way my father makes them with garlic and origano.

This book looks like a dream. So good!

[Rosemary Connelly]

margarita pizza, of course!

[elsa]

i have way too many favorites! but for now i will say eggplant parmigiano!
wonderfful questions and answers! loved the last one

[anek]

Beautiful interview!
I would like to have this amazing cookbook SO much:)
My favourite Italian dish is...Parmigiana di melanzane.

Hope I can enter this book giveaway since I don't have blog - but do have one small online shop for food lovers:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anek

[Silke]

What a wonderful interview with Michelle! Just wonderful!! My favorite dish right now is Caprese salad, simply because our first tomatoes are ripening in our garden... This looks like an amazing book!! Hugs, Silke

[carrie]

Fabulous interview - loved it! My fav Italian dish is very boring - cheese ravioli - but very delish.

[Laura from Ciao Amalfi]

Fun interview! Wow... it's hard to choose a favorite Italian meal. But Michelle got me thinking about pizza, so I'm going to pizza in bianca with onions and pancetta. Yum! Thanks for the opportunity to win this book! :-)

[JHS]

OMG, there are so many Italian dishes that I love. I think my favorite would have to be tortellini, though. I love it with white sauce. At home, I make cheese tortellini with Alfredo sauce, served with chicken breast. My boys love that. I would really enjoy trying some of the recipes in this book, though!

[Pat --Mille Fiori Favoriti]

Nice interview! I've been reading and enjoying Michelle's blog for many years. My husband was born in Calabria and it was such a thrill to find an ex-pat American blogging from a town not that far from his birthplace.

My favorite Italian food is "zuppa di pesce" --I just love seafood cooked in a light tomato sauce ..yum!

Love the cookbook so please throw my name in the hat for a chance to win! Thanks!

[Nona]

Great interview. Tuna on pizza makes me raise my eyebrows though.

[meredith]

Pizza with tomatoes, mozarella, speck and arugula!

[Michelle]

Thanks everyone for all the great comments; Nona, I just had to respond because I felt the same way you do...if you like tuna, though, trust me, you *must* try this pizza in Italy. The tuna here is *incredible* :)

[Jenilyn]

I'm in love with all authentic Italian cooking. Any cuisine that utilizes the freshest ingredients and absolute simplicity to create amazingly complex flavors... it would be impossible to pick just one favorite!

[Nicky S / Absolute Vanilla]

Wonderful interview with Michelle!
But, just one favourite Italian dish?! That hardly seems fair! So, okay, one of my many favourites then has to be Tuscan Bean Stew (Fagioli all'Uccelletto)

[Susan]

I love Michelle & so glad to see her here (& your terrific blog, too.) One recipe?! Like everyone else, oh dear, how? So I'll just say that I'm in the midst of making lentil soup from Marcella Hazan's recipe...it's oddly cold & misty here in DC right now, so that's that. Tonight, some pasta with anchovies, capers, other dabs of things left in fridge.

ciao-meow!

[Shanster]

I just discovered Michelle...

I love ravioli... REAL honest to goodness Italian ravioli... mmmmmmm.

[Nicole M.]

Any homemade pasta with Broccoli rabe[rapini/rape], olive oil & garlic...

[Jana]

buongiorno:)
i had a great start of my week with a lovely comment by Michelle on my travel blog, and to be more specific on my travel entry about Calabria!

from the yummy Italian cuisite I adore insalata caprese and the grilled veggies as antipasti...

it was a real pleasure to read the interview above, so fresh and natural!

thanks for it and enjoy the rest of the week,
sunny smiles from Jana, the Bulgarian living in tulipland Holland!

[Barbara]

What a wonderful interview with Michelle! My favorite dish right now is Pizza margherita! This looks like an amazing book!! Hugs, Barbara

[mimi]

hm, my favorite Italian dish.
when I was in Sicily for a week, I found myself at restaurants right when they opened (at 7pm) for my dinner. One time the owners felt sorry for me and let me in. Then they gave me what they were eating, pastina in brodo di pesce it was SO incredibly simple and good.
another time, I was visiting friends and relatives in Calabria, and one kind lady invited me for dinner. She made Capretto Arrosto. The most incredibly tender and delicious GOAT I have ever had.
So that's two, I hope that's ok.

[LuLu]

It's really hard to pick just one thing. I have so many favorites but if I had to narrow it down to one I would say Melanzane Parmigiana is at the top of the list.

[Jane Parisotto Woods]

The best risotto I ever had was in Florence, Italy which was in 1982 so I imagine it is still wonderful since things don't seem to change that much in Italy. My relatives (Ottolini)came from the small town of Pascaglia in Lucca, Tuscany. I have not had an opportunity to visit, though I have toured through Pisa, Florence, Rome and Naples. Other relatives (Parisotto) originated in Venice, then to St. Louis Missouri in the USA. I cannot wait to get back to eat more risotto. It was simple and elegant. Like most of Italy.

Jane Parisotto Woods