We decided to have an American bbq. The kind you see on American TV shows let's say. We were doing this in a town called Druogno, in the Valle Vigezzo in the Italian Alps, where we were spending the weekend. We were a pretty international bunch, with me being the American, some Italians, and some South Africans. The weather on this July weekend was much cooler than in Stresa, the air was fresh, and the sky was crystal clear. Perfect barbeque weather.

Here's how it went: We found some supplies at Ipercoop, the large supermarket in the area.

We found hamburger patties at the local butcher shop. Not sure how often he makes them...


We found nacho chips and salsa, we even found a watermelon, but we couldn't find corn on the cob.

We made a cheesecake.

I know, I know, it should have been an apple pie, but a cheesecake called New York style seemed very American as well.

So how'd we do? Was it a truly American bbq? Well, we had our nachos, sprinkled with grated parmasan and served with focaccia and spinach tart...


We had our burgers and ribs, but we also had spicy salsiccia, which, it turns out, do not work well with hot dog buns.


While we did have some beer, we also had wine, prosecco, and grappa. The cheesecake was a big success, but we forgot about the watermelon, which we had put into the freezer for some reason.

It didn't take long at all for the table to look like this...


Oh well... I tried. And we had fun. Next time, I'm thinking to show them how to make s'mores... if I can find marshmallows that is...