The first snow has covered the hills where I live and blocked me in my house. To me. that is a sign it is time to make myself a cup of Tuscan hot chocolate. Those of you that have had cioccolato caldo here know it is really more like a pudding and thick enough to…
Panforte for Xmas
Christmas seems to being back memories of the never ending fruitcakes with green and red candied cherries with a candied pineapple ring on top? In our house, my mom made English Plum pudding which was incredible, it probably had a whole bottle of whiskey poured into it as it aged in our garage. ( I…
When Life Gives You Lemons—
I was cruising through the recipes on my website ( yes there are tons of recipes on my site) and was thinking of which ones would be great for the holidays. I adore winter for the citrus and the lemons are lovely right now and that usually means making limoncello in my house. Traditional Limoncello…
Sunday Lasagna
Sunday lunch in Italy often involves recipes requiring long slow cooking and are long slowly consumed meals as well. Life seems to shut down on Sunday and Italians relax and enjoy. Until recently, there was nothing you could do on Sunday except eat! Shops were closed and everyone had the day off except restaurants. Excursions…
Gift of Time- Sugo Toscano
In today’s hectic world, it is overwhelming to me the time people spend working and getting to and from work. I understand how little time is left for cooking and why simple quick food is necessary. I also adore quick and easy, but sometimes we deserve more. Having the time to make a simple Tuscan…
Xmas Sweets
I started baking for the holidays, hoping to participate with my friend Cata on a blogging event, but life got in the way and I couldn’t arrange for us to actually meet to hand-over some gingerbread dough for the blog event, aggiunge un Blogger a Tavola, so decided to just post the recipes I try…
WanderFood Wednesday- Creamless Carbonara
This is one of my favorite Italian comfort foods and probably the most misinterpreted. There is no cream in Carbonara sauce. The creaminess is a magical effect, created by stirring the grated cheese into the egg yolks ( I like just yolks instead of whole eggs) and a good dose of black pepper and then…
Certaldo- JAM
I often take the train from Certaldo down to Florence to do my market tours. Recently I noticed that the local pastry shop had their windows covered up. They often redo the interior- so was thinking that they were closed for renovation. BUT NO! We have a new Pastry shop and Chocolatier in town!! I…