Here I come!Heading to California tomorrow.I will be on the radio Saturday around 12:30 -1pm on the Dining Around show with Joel Riddel on Newstalk 910- tune in!After the show I am attending a luncheon meeting with Ecole Chocolate, celebrating her 10 years. I have been helping run the Tuscan Masters Chocolate program for the…
Simple Pasta Pleasures- Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino
I can get a fix on certain foods. When I waitressed in Fiesole, the first year I was living here, I fell in love with the pasta which we would often have for lunch. We worked hard. The Italian restaurant system is different. You are paid wages and benefits by the owners, which is very,…
Edible Florence- Sabatino’s {san frediano}
When I first arrived in Florence, in October of 1984, there was no internet. No way of instantly sharing information on my new life here. One kept a diary. When I finally had access to internet, I opened my website and put together a dining guide for Florence by neighborhoods and also one for Chianti….
2013- Bring It On!
Ok- I am so ready to be done with 2012—– and move on. It has been a really tough couple of years since my mom died, family problems and being so far away. This year is 25 years I have been teaching cooking in Italy and I am ready to celebrate. We had a calm…
Preserving Tuscany- Salt Cured Olives
As you know, I am always inspired at the market. When we bought our tiny 1/3 of a farmhouse in the hills outside of Certaldo, they wanted about $10,000 for 10 olive trees and an extra piece of land in the back of our house. I don’t know about you, but I can buy a…
Radicchio Roses
Like most people that love food, I am a cookbook junkie. Not so much the big cookbooks filled with fotos, but rather the small collections of recipes, written by women that are not professional cooks or the typical church fundraising cookbooks, filled with classic local favorites. I am much more interested in tried and true…
Xmas 2012
Best wishes for a happy holiday season. Personally I can’t wait for this year to be over. Am looking forward to 2013, a special anniversary and am planning new things for Divina Cucina. Today Andrea and I are going out to Xmas lunch, which will be a HUGE meal, but at least we don’t have…
Gift of Love- Tortellini
Making pasta is an Italian mother’s way of saying “Ti Amo”, I love you. Simple ingredients, flour and eggs, turn into a gift of love, especially at Christmas. Yesterday in cooking class, my students requested to make Tortellini, one of the most traditional pastas from Emilia Romagna. Tuscans buy tortellini, not make them. We make…