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