yesterday, two months of planning came to a conclusion with the arrival of my mom's surprise 50th birthday dinner.  along with the relief of not totally blowing it -a miracle, given a group of loose-lipped ladies and chatty sicilians-came a seemingly endless meal and that unique ambiance that is created when people who are otherwise worlds apart are tied together by their mutual love of something.  or, in this case, someone.  

 the surroundings, which recalled the dilapidated beauty of tuscany, only enhanced the feeling of famiglia and the inherent obligation to pig out that comes with the territory.  and so, first up:

see what i mean? don't even try to tell me you wouldn't love a big ol' meatball right about  now.