It's vine to be a cheesy loafer!

When I was almost nine years old, my parents took my younger brothers and I to Italy on the trip of a lifetime. If only I had been old enough to fully appreciate our journey to Europe. There were so many memorable excursions and events during our three-plus weeks in Italy, Germany and Denmark, including the ocean liners we took to and from the old world! But it was one particular Italian tradition that was forever etched in my memory. The midday meal. In Italy, the meal we call lunch is the big meal of the day. Often, Italianos go to a local market and come away with a jug of Chianti, a block of cheese, a loaf of warm, fresh-baked bread and perhaps some salami or bologna. My family had such a lunch in a beautiful park in the center of an Italian city whose name escapes my recollection at the moment. Possibly it was that I experienced my first wine buzz at the tender age of nine, or perhaps it was that sitting in a city park sharing good wine and great bread, cheese and salami with your family just doesn't get any better than that. Whatever it was, that meal, that combination of artisan foods and fruit of the grape was a meal for all times.

Later in my life, on several occasions, I attempted to duplicate that wondrous feast. I came close more than once. On the Pacific coast of Oregon at a seaside picnic spot my wife and I did the vino, fromage and fresh-baked bread trifecta. The mighty Pacific crashing on huge jagged rocks jutting out of the ocean was so overwhelmingly beautiful that the meal took second fiddle. Still, not a bad setting for lunch on the go!

Another time we threw down a blanket in the lush vegetation of the Sequoia National Forest and sipped a Cakebread Chardonnay whilst nibbling on bread and cheese. Laying on our backs we gazed skyward at the giant Sequoias and smacked our chops at that fabulous Chardonnay. Say what you will about Californians, but those folks know how to do food and wine right. It might be nice if they weren't quite so snooty about it though.

My point as I ramble on is that sometimes a great meal has nothing to do with truffle oil, braised pork belly or the delicacy of the flavor of your sea bass (sniff sniff). Once in a while a truly great meal has everything to do with simplicity, an awesome setting and the very special company you share it all with. So the next time you are contemplating a power lunch at Marco's, or the white table cloths at Antonino's, maybe you should venture to the wine and cheese shop, pick up a nice bottle of your favorite wine, a pungent cheese and a warm loaf and find the perfect spot to share it all with that special someone. And always remember that if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.