There couldn’t have been a better time to release CNN‘s new show with Stanley Tucci, Searching for Italy. Everyone is going through travel withdrawl and missing Italy so much. I hear it daily in messages from friends and clients waiting to come back. I think trip planning is almost as much fun as the trip…
Simple Pasta Sauces- Penne Lisce Arrabbiata con Tuna
I was inspired to do a simple recipe by a fotograph taken of the panic in the local grocery stores around Italy with the Corona Virus scare. The circle is around the Penne Lisce pasta, obviously not a favorite with many people. Italians are fanatics about what sauce goes with what shape of pasta and…
Celebrating Fall| Non-stir Polenta
October is my anniversary of arriving in Florence, in 1984. If you have ever been here in Fall, you will know how easy it is to fall in love with Tuscany with the Fall light. The countryside is turning gold, the vineyards and hills covered with chestnut and oak trees are vibrant. Weekends are filled…
Amatriciana Sauce- My Way
I don’t want to start any fights, so up front just let me say that this is NOT the traditional way they make Amatriciana sauce in the town of Amatrice or in Rome. But in Italy, there are as many versions of recipes as there are cooks.If you go and look back at the original…
Walnut Sauce- Salsa di Noci
There are a lot of recipes to celebrate Saint’s days. In Florence, June 24th is Saint John the Baptist, San Giovanni, is the patron Saint and there are parades, a historic soccer game and fireworks. In the countryside people gather the green walnuts to make Nocino, which I have written about several times as I…
Saffron Sausage Pasta- Simply Divina
I am the queen of quick. When it is time for lunch, my husband wants to eat. In the time it takes to boil water, you can have a fabulous sauce ready at the same time. One of my first jobs in Italy was waitressing, as kitchens were small, not a huge staff was needed…
CINGHIALE AGRO DOLCE- WILD BOAR
Living in the countryside in Tuscany means being woken up by gunfire during hunting season. The good side, is often I receive a nice big piece of wild boar meat, cinghiale, like this Christmas. I made a simple version of the boar, leaving out the final ingredients which give it it’s tang. The stewed pork…
My Green Summer- Verjus
The summer started green in Gascony with my friend Kate as we played with green walnuts. When I came back we started with our green tomatoes. It was a late summer so we enjoyed them green as they were not turning red. Like the southern part of the USA, we also do fried green tomatoes,…