The True Test of Sugo, with Tuscan Bread In most Italian households, Sunday lunch is not just a meal, but a major eating event. No work on Sunday allows for the long leisurely lunches Italians are famous for.Slow-cooking potroasts, stews and meat sauces, called ragu, or here in Florence sugo,left simmering for hours on stovetops,…
My Chianti- Chilly days, warm soup
When September comes to Chianti, I go to Chianti too! The wine harvest fills the air with drunken perfume, too strong to ignore. Grape must fermenting , sends me spinning every breath. Indian summer skies with a light that explains why so may great artists came and stayed. A new color palate is required. As…
Market leftovers- turnip greens
Saturday’s Turnips from the market, had such beautiful greens, I followed Roberto’s advice and cooked them twice. This is quite common for any leafy green in Tuscany. Overcooking by boiling in salted water, tenderizes even the toughest stems. Draining the greens and squeezing out all of the water and creating little balls is the base…
Market to Table- Certaldo- Concetta’s Pasta
I call myself an Italian life coach. It is not easy to learn how to be Italian. I made lots of mistakes at first, as all newbies do. Quickly corrected by all those around me, I now pass-on what I have learned. Recipes are only part of it! But since I teach cooking, that is…
Soothing Soup Minestrone
There is nothing like a soup to soothe all. Winter this year has not brought on the chill’s which are relieved by soup until now. So as soon as the first chill came in, soup’s on! After being in a sort of Summer in Florida, the Tuscan winter called me back to the roots of soup,…
Francesca’s Pumpkin Risotto-Market to Table- Certaldo
At Saturday’s market in Certaldo, the local farmer Francesca is a wealth of knowledge. She only sells what she grows, and I trust a woman with a smile! She has a real passion for cooking and is full of ideas, today she gave me a recipe for a Pumpkin and Leek Risotto. Risotto di Zucca…
Puglia….Tiella with mussels
I LOVE PUGLIA Last trip we visited the more famouse towns, Lecce, Alberobello with it’s trulli, Ostuni and Otranto. This year I wanted to see the other side. We headed over to Gallipoli and our trip was cut short due to my bad back….. but Egullet is talking about the cuisine of Puglia and I…
Winter’s Slow Soup
Winter has hit Florence full force, reminding us all that it was in November of 1966 that the Arno River flooded the city, bringing it to it’s knee’s and the wonderful support from the Mud Angels, young students.. and not.. from all over the world who ran to the rescue. My husband who was 11…