Groupon, I can hardly remember life without you.

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Without you, I would have never <strong>felt the fear and climbed that rock gym wall anyway.</strong>

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Without you, I would have never <strong>challenged myself in an urban setting</strong>.

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Without you, I would have never learned that biscotti means "twice baked".  (Although it really means thrice baked.)  Nor would I have ever been taught how to bake biscotti in the comfort of my own home by Phoenix's Best Biscotti Bakeress.

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Groupon, if you were a man, I would immediately and shamelessly solicit an invitation for a hot date.  (Although I'm kinda sorta not dating until after April 30th because I've taken on yet another <strong>extreme "project"</strong>.  If you stick around until May 1st, I'm worth the wait.  But you're not a man, you're a cyber-coupon, so why am I even waxing on about this?  It's embarrassing.)

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Groupon, enough of the man talk.  Thank you for introducing me to Regina.

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Regina is a real, live Italian American woman.

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Regina was a biscotti apprentice of her grandmother who is a real, live Italian woman.

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This translates into Regina knowing how to bake the heck out of a biscotti!  (Not once, not twice, but thrice!)

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And since she also happens to be a savvy businesswoman, she has transformed her skill and passion into Sweet Italiano -- a culinary adventure for the masses.

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Here is what you can expect when you invite the dynamo that is Regina into your kitchen to work her magic.  (And if you live outside of my fair city, fret not!  Regina will bake biscotti of almost any flavor imaginable and mail it fresh to your doorstep for an insanely reasonable fee!)

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She carries cartons of culinary goodies with her including pre-measured ingredients, recipes, utensils, aprons, chef hats, homemade vanilla and anise extracts and 12 year-old parmesan cheese.  (As for the cheese, every party needs a conversation piece.)

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Now that I think of it, Regina is the Mary Poppins of cooking.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=9984" rel="attachment wp-att-9984"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-9984" title="DSCF6174" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6174-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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Regina also plays the role of Official Photographer of your event.  All you have to do is sit back, relax, and stir.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=9985" rel="attachment wp-att-9985"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-9985" title="DSCF6177" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6177-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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And chop.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=9986" rel="attachment wp-att-9986"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-9986" title="DSCF6184" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6184-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>

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And mold the edges of the dough with an Ancient Italian Secret Technique passed down by

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=9987" rel="attachment wp-att-9987"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-9987" title="DSCF6191" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6191-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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Very good, bellas!  Now it's time to place the logs into the oven.

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And how many times are we going to cook those logs of delectableness, ladies and 3 token gents?

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Once, twice, THRICE!  (I'm obviously infatuated with that word.  It's exceedingly fun to say, and how often do we ever get to use it?  Shakespearean actors?  All the time.  Contemporary peeps in our fair cities?  Never.  Until now!  Huzzah!)

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P.S.  Hey, mom -- We all sampled the raw dough and no one contracted salmonella!

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