Florentines are know as bean-eater’s, mangia fagioli. I am still not sure if it is supposed to be a offensive name or a compliment. I was vegetarian for about 7 years and still eat mostly vegetables, but now you can find me at a tripe stand or a butcher’s restaurant when I want meat. I am…
Mercantia- Certaldo
Summer means festivals all over Italy. In my village of Certaldo we have a huge arts festival. Street artists, musicians, crafts and more. This year there was a spectacular show on dancer’s on the wall of the city. Breath-taking This is just a really small taste of what goes on…
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‘A Pasta- Gragnano Pasta Festival 2012
Sometimes I get so overloaded with information I need to let it sink in to think about it. The pasta festival in Gragnano was one of those events. Traditionally, the festival is held the first week in September it is three days packed with music and food. I attended a pre-festival in collaboration with the…
Learning from the Masters- Timballo di Pasta
Each trip back to Sicily, especially back to the Foresteria Planeta in Menfi, is like going back home. We stay at the Foresteria as a base for most of our trip, as they have a fabulous teaching kitchen and Chef Angelo Pumilia shares the secrets of the Planeta family recipes with us. One of the…
Pie Party 2012
It is so hot in Italy, you could probably cook a pie outside? But who am I not to participate? I did not grow up in a normal home. I did not have “American” pie-making mom or grandmothers. When I became a pastry chef, I learned to make all sorts of doughs, crusts etc, but…
Who am I?
Sometimes it seems to be that our online life began with Facebook and no one knows about anything before. As time flies, it is easy to forget. I have been living in Italy since 1984 and teaching cooking since 1988. In my previous life, pre-Italy, I worked for 7 years in a 5 star hotel…
Keeping Kitchen- Capers
Have been busy just enjoying the season and finally switching to summer. We have had prosciutto and melon a couple of times for dinner already, but no local melons yet and I cannot tell you how much better something tastes without having been in the fridge. We are lucky enough to be able to buy…