another beautiful day in Tuscany The most fabulous part about living in Tuscany for so long, is that when plans go wrong, you can always come up with a great back-up plan as there is so much to do everywhere. Today we were supposed to meet a friend at a flea market, which he had…
Italian way to cool down
caffe shakerato, I asked for milk in mine When the temps rise here in Italy, the land that frowns on air-conditioning…. there are several ways to beat the heat. One of course is to get thee to a gelato shop NOW! There is one in almost every neighborhood, I suggest ordering the smallest size and…
World Nutella Day- for Carnevale!
Celebrate!It is NUTELLA DAY!!! The blogging world is a wonderful world. These two wild women have put together a fabulous way to bring joy into winter. Chocolate! February always makes one think of chocolate anyway, and this year it backs right up with Carnvale which inspired my recipe.Stop by Sara’s site, Ms Adventures in…
Let me be your Italian Mamma!
When I first came to Florence in 1984, I never thought it would be home. But 25 years later here I am. I first began teaching cooking to Syracuse University students here are on a study abroad program in 1988. The first book was a collection of the 4 dinners we prepared during the 4…
Great Memories- San Gimignano
I Latini’s new Piatto di Buon Ricordo ( note: no longer available) I have been a fan and collector of the Piatti di Buon Ricordo since I moved here in 1984. To me, it is the way to visit Italy. Like a secret society, knocking on a door and saying ” Buon Ricordo“, the restaurant…
How do I love thee- let me count the recipes!
They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Nowhere is that more true than in Italy! When I want to show my husband how much I care, there are certain recipes I will make for him, some of them are the recipes his mother taught me that are family favorites. But…
Sicilian Involtini
Here is what I had for dinner last night. I often think that Italian cooking has a bad rap, for taking a long time to make. Actually, short prep and long cooking are great! These beef rolls, which I learned in Castelvetrano at the cooking class we went to at the Becchina Estate, take little…
Easing into 2009
Today is the last of the holiday season holidays in Italy. We have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Santo Stefano is the 26th which is also a holiday. These create long weekends, letting everyone sneak off for some skiing or just sightseeing locally. There is just enough time to get hungry again after the Christmas food…