Sometimes food memories come back with a simple ingredient. I remember a wonderful summer salad I had ages ago, in Florence, at a tiny trattoria. Cold grilled marinated eggplant slices with chopped fresh tomatoes, lots of basil and tiny meatballs. While I was cleaning the fridge for lunch, that came into mind. So I used…
Pomodori Verdi- Green Tomatoes
I loved the movie Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe. I know in America the fried green tomatoes are a Southern specialty. I have always found a great similarity between Southern cooking and Tuscan cooking. Lots of pork fat, overcooked greens, polenta instead of grits and fried green tomatoes. Last year I made some…
Working on a Dream
When I first started my website in 1997, I decided I wanted to share the places I loved to eat and drink in Florence and in Chianti. Not everyone can or wants to hire a guide when they visit Tuscany, but I hate they have to miss out on a great meal. I first had…
Simply Divina- Arrosto Morto
Tuscans have a way with meat. It is still quite popular to go to a rosticcieria, a place that serves and sells roast meats, spit-roasted, like pork, chicken and lamb and buy meats already cooked. Not everyone can spit roast at home, hence the popularity of eating certain things out that cannot be done at…
Shake, Shake, Shake
Summer is the time when coffee lover’s go wild. Caffe’ Shakerato, the Italian way with iced coffee. Simply break out your cocktail shaker, fill with ice and pour a nice shot of expresso on top, maybe two. Sweeten with simple syrup. Shake until the ice melts. This creates the lovely foam you see here. Once…
San Giovanni- St. Jean
June 24 is St. John the Baptist’s day. Patron Saint of Florence. We make a sweet green walnut liquor, Nocino or Nocilllo, to celebrate. Walnuts picked now have not yet started to form their shells and you can cut through them to flavor the alcohol. In Gascony, they make a version which also has red wine,…
Simply Divina- Grilled Spring Onions
Market day always inspires me. There are ingredients that we see only for a brief window in Italy and one must seize the moment! Today was one of those days. Certaldo, where I live, is famous for its red onions. They are light and sweet and lovely both raw in salads or in cooking. We…
Tuscan Splendors
Another weeklong program done. There is nothing I love more than sharing my Tuscany…. unless it is sharing Sicily! Tuscany has been my home since 1984 and I never get tired of it. Most people don’t get beyond the big cities in one visit. Most of my students are addicted and cannot get enough and…