Feta (aka Sophia)

"Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. Only those cheeses produced in a traditional way in some areas of Greece and made from sheep milk, or from a mixture of sheep and goats’ milk (up to 30%) of the same area, may bear the name "feta"."

Crumbly? No. Grainy? I don't think so. Greek? No.  Hmmmmmm.....I love Sophia and I love Feta, but based on the cheese's description there are no other commonalities I can find between the two!  

I have known Sophia as long as I have known her sister Kristina (previous post).  Because Sophia is a few years younger than I, it wasn't until we worked together one summer, when we were both in high school, at my dad's Der Wienerschnitzel, when we really got to know each other and became close friends.  

College brought each of us to the Sacramento area, where, initially, we led pretty separate lives.  Over the last  15 or so years, since we started our careers, our lives have become densely interwoven into a web of mutual friends and experiences which have allowed our friendship to flourish.  Now we live walking distance from each other and I consider Sophia one of my closest confidants.

Due to the fact that there are so many, seemingly unrelated connections Sophia and I have, I am going to list them as there are truly too many to explain in detail:

1. Sophia and Kenny (my husband), having both graduated from Sac State around the same time, lived in the same dorm at the same time and have mutual friends in common.
2. One of Sophia's closest friends growing up (Bridgit, next post) married my brother Scott, and is now my sister-in-law.
3. Sophia's cousin and I went to UC Davis at the same time and now I am friends with her roommate!
4. This really counts as two:  I invited Sophia to sub for my bunco group a few years ago and it was hosted by one of the teachers she worked with at the time. AND Sophia is in a bunco group with a friend of mine's friend who I had always heard about, but only just met through Sophia.

I feel as if I could  add more, but I fear it could get a little boring, so I will stop.  I am sure we will think of more while we are in Scottsdale.

As I wrap up this post, I must thank Sophia for all of the support she has provided me over the years and especially since our kids were born.  Her son is 6 months older than Max and her daughter is a few months younger than MacKenzie.  Her physical help with the kids and emotional support for me has come at times when I have needed it the most.  Because we live close, see each other frequently and grew up together, Sophia is truly the closest thing I know to be a sister at this point in my life.  Thank you for taking part in this experience.

Kasseri (aka Kristina M)

Kasseri is a medium-hard pale yellow cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk with very little, if any, goat's milk mixed in, in Turkey and Greece.

Not only because it is a Greek cheese, (Kristina is married to a Greek), Kasseri is an appropriate cheese alias for Kristina simply because it starts with a K as does her name.

I have known Kristina and her sister, Sophia (next post), for most of my life.  They grew up in a house just down the street from the house in which I grew-up.  I remember meeting them one day when I was on a walk with my mom and my two brothers in our neighborhood.  I must have been around 8 years old at the time because I recall the youngest of my two brothers was in a stroller and not even a year old. Kristina and Sophia were also on a walk with their mother that day and she was pushing their brother in a stroller who was not much older than my youngest brother.  The realization that this new family had a child my age, a second child close to my 1st brother's age, and a third child close to my 2nd brother's age is very clear in my mind. 

Because our families lived in such close proximity for such a long time, we had a very close, informal relationship.  All of us, including our parents, spent a lot of time at each other's house.  It was the kind of relationship my mom didn't worry about cleaning the house before her mom came over and vice versa.  In fact, it was rare if anything we did together was planned ahead of time.  It was always, "let's stop by Kristina's house and see if they are home"; or they would pull the car over on their way home from something and end up staying for dinner at our house.

One very clear, bonding memory I have with Kristina when we were young is when we had planned to meet two of the neighborhood boys for a picnic in a fort they had built in the gully behind Kristina's house.  The boys had invited us the day before and I remember being excited.  I was young enough that my mom was still cutting my bangs; she cut them the day of the picnic and they looked horrible.  Despite crooked bangs, Kristina and I went on the picnic.  I think the boys teased me, I got embarrassed and left before we got too far into the picnic.  Kristina was not affected by them as I was and tried to get me to stay.  I remember wishing I could be more like her in those "uncomfortable" situations.

Because Kristina is "slightly" older than I (sorry Kristina), I looked up to her like an older sister .  I think it is because, growing up, she was the "oldest" person I was close to (I have no older siblings or cousins).   As a result, I constantly compared myself to her. Whatever she was doing, I wanted to do too.  Especially when she was in 6th grade and I was in 5th and she got boobs!  

Writing this blog reminds me how much I love Kristina.  She is still so confident and comfortable no matter what the setting.  She is always smiling, knows how to have fun and makes everyone around her feel comfortable.  When Kristina is at the party, you know it is going to be fun.


There are few people who I can go for months, even years, without seeing and still feel as comfortable as I do with Kristina.  Thank you for giving up your trip to Greece this year to join the Grilled Cheese experience.  I am so honored you are going to be a part of all of this.

Provolone (aka Becky or "Beck")

According to Wikipedia, "Provolone is today a full-fat cows milk cheese, with a smooth skin."

Of all the Panini Sisters, I have known Provolone/Becky the longest.  My dad and Becky's mom's are siblings and Becky is the only female cousin I have on that side of my family (out of 8 cousins there are only 2 girls). Becky is 7 years younger than me. She was born within a month of my second brother, Steven. Growing up, Becky and I were not really close, but that was mainly due to our age difference. We saw each other frequently at family functions, but I was more of the "mother hen" over all the cousins until Becky and Steven graduated from high school. 

I will never forget the first real "girl" talk Becky and I had. I think she was close to graduating from high school, but she might have been older. We were in a car together at the Sacramento Airport. Becky had gone through a rough time during her early high school years but had come out of it all of a sudden and never looked back. When we were alone in that car, I asked her about that time in her life and was so impressed with her story. I remember thinking she had grown up.

Becky graduated from Chico State, moved back to Redding and married Joey, who was in my high school class. They were dating during the time of my 10-year high school reunion and Becky attended the reunion with Joey. At the time it was hard for me to wrap my head around her being at "my" 10-year reunion (it seemed like she had just graduated herself!), but as the evening wore on, I thoroughly enjoyed her company and was happy she was there. In my mind, that was the beginning of our current relationship/friendship.  


That was 12 years ago. Now, our kids are about the same age, her's being slightly older, which has brought us a lot closer. A few years ago Becky and I had the opportunity to join my sister-in-law (you shall "meet" her in a later post) for a girls weekend in Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace. The highlight of that trip, after a leaking toilet mishap and Becky's savvy negotiation skills, was our upgrade to the 1,380 square foot Absolut Vodka-inspired suite that sits atop Caesar's Palace overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. Needless to say it was quite a trip and one that I can only hope to top with our Grilled Cheese experience!


As far as Becky's connection to Provolone?  Hmmm....this is one that is not as obvious. She is certainly NOT full fat, and I am pretty sure she avoids cow's milk, but she does have smooth skin!  


Thanks for joining the trip, Beck. I am so glad to have you as my cousin and I can't wait to see what you negotiate for us in Scottsdale!  Love You, Ju

Cheese Aliases

Over a month has gone by since my last post, and with 25 women committed to this trip I'd better get introducing!  We have 15 weeks left before our trip, so I will post more than one per week to fit everyone in.

In the interim, the idea was proposed, and all jumped on board, for each of us to come up with a "cheese alias".  Each Panini Sister has chosen a cheese to be associated with throughout this Grilled Cheese experience.  The creativity in which each cheese was chosen exceeded all of my expectations.  Whether they realized it or not, each women chose a cheese that reflects their personality in some way, shape or form and I am very excited to point out those similarities!

I will title each "introductory" post with the chosen cheese and somewhere within the blog identify the commonalities between the respective woman and the cheese of their choice.

Stay tuned, the first, Provolone, is on deck and ready to be posted.....