I adore shopping at Leo Piazzesi’s stand in the Mercato Centrale. He carries only a few products, all displayed as if at Tiffany’s, each tomato shining, melons cut open for tasting, their profume calling out “Assaggiami…taste me” and the season’s best. Right now, I go to Leo for carciofi, artichokes, layed out like rare flowers on…
Agro-Dolce [Sweet and Sour]
I adore this time of year, work slows down to nothing and I have time to cook for pleasure. In Italy, the holiday season really starts on December 8th when the trees and creche scenes are set up and everyone gets in the mood! The chilly weather is also an incentive to spend time in…
Lost Recipes – Sedano Rifatto
I am blessed to have married into a Florentine family. My husband’s mother was a fabulous, tough woman who outlived two husbands and raised two lovely men. Tina Barchielli, lost her first husband during WWll, he was taken prisoner and died. Her second husband, Arturo, was the father of her children, Cesare and my husband…
Summer on a Plate- Peperonata
We snuck in a little mini-vacation at the beach as part of some research I am doing for a new tour, down in Maremma. Tuscany is so different in the various regions and not really over run with tourists. It is full of agriculture, not just wine. wheat ready for the harvest I am calling…
Artichokes: The Italian Way
I cannot tell you how excited I am at the market in Spring in Italy. We have so many incredible seasonal treats which are all at their peak. Often people are surprised at the flavors of the food in Italy. I think in the USA often our food is grown in greenhouses and sent miles…
Primavera?
It seems like Spring has arrived in Tuscany. The hills are green, in my garden the violets are already blooming and my roses never stopped blooming all winter. The foto is from the hillside near my home, a new farmer has started raising goats and soon will be producing goat cheese. I can’t wait. Last…
Ingredients- Radicchio Variegato Bean Soup
When I meet someone from a different region in Italy, I always love for them to share a recipe with me. Some of the simplest recipes and my favorites are home cooking. Sitting at the Dario+ restaurant for a burger at lunch, as I often do, we were seated next to a family from Verona….
Market Recipes: Benita’s Sicilian Eggplant
I adore eggplant and am always looking for new recipes. One of my first friends in the San Lorenzo market in Florence was Benita, the mamma at Porks. Originally it was a tiny corner kitchen, with sandwiches. I started to notice young men bringing her fish or a slice of meat and she would disappear…