If you don’t hear from me for a couple of weeks, it’s not because I’m not thinking of you. It’s because I’m heading off to Italy and won’t be toting along my computer.

I’ll spend some time visiting family and friends near Piacenza, then on to Padova for a few days. The last week I’ll be skiing in the Italian Alps in the beautiful Val Gardena, a scenic valley in the mighty Dolomites, close to the Austrian border.

I’d love to be able to send you posts of the food I’ll be eating, especially at my relatives in the Emilia-Romagna region (Did I ever tell you my cousin Lucia was Miss Tagliatella last year? Really!) but it will have to wait until I get back. I may get a chance to do a bit of blogspotting here and there, but computer connections are few and far between in the places where I’ll be.

I’ll have a lot of catching up to do when I get back but I look forward to tuning in as soon as I can. So many of you have fantastic blogs and it’s been a pleasure to read your posts, try your recipes and get to know you through the blogosphere. You really are a creative, talented and helpful group of people.

So I’ve decided to have my first give-away. Since I won’t be here for Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d make it something chocolate. I don’t know exactly what yet, since I plan to buy it in Italy, but you should be thinking chocolate candy.

The winner will be chosen at random, but the idea is to post a comment on what you think is the name of the drink in this picture. It’s one of the reasons that makes skiing in Italy a unique and delicious experience.

Even if you don’t know what it is, take a stab. You’ll be included in the drawing even you come up with the wrong name. Winner will be announced when I come back in early March, so you can post comments for a couple of weeks. Until then, Happy Valentine’s Day and happy blogging!