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….
Ingredients- Radicchio Variegato Bean Soup
Favorite Fridays – Radicchio di Treviso
Often when traveling around in Italy, you find foods you don’t see at home. Not speaking the language it is hard to ask questions. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite ingredients and how I use them. This is Radicchio di Treviso. Long thin leaves are pretty as well as…
Eat, Play, Love– new programs for 2014
Eat, Play , Love……………. Eat, Play, Laugh My new Mantra for 2014. Also Collaboration. I turn 60 in April and have a 2 year plan. Starting to change my programs to match what I really love. The People. I am offering more week-long programs in Tuscany and Sicily. I began doing custom culinary programs back…
Fagioli Mangiatutto- Germana Conti
One of the ways I learned to cook true tuscan foodwas eaves-dropping at the market and asking questions.These mangiatutto beans are a perfect example of learning at the market. The Conti Family has been in the San Lorenzo Market for 4 generations. When I first started shopping there, Mario and his wife Germana ran the…
Pesce Finto- Fake Fish
Pesce Finto, fake fish is on my list of favorite recipes that I learned from my mother-in-law, Tina. It is one I love to teach kids of all ages. Fabulous for parties, inexpensive and flavorful. She served it in a bowl. Italy is surrounded by water, but in Florence we rarely eat fresh fish. They…
Gianni’s Deviled Eggs- Casa del Vino
As is tradition in Italy, one never drinks without eating something. Casa del Vino is my favorite stop near my house for a glass of wine and a nibble. Not only my favorite place as you’ll see if you come around lunch time when it is packed with locals. As you enter, you will see…
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…