Carpaccio Where do names of dishes come from? Well, This is a painting by Vittorio Carpaccio, Venice, 1465-1525. Look at those vibrant reds. Red was a color depicting wealth. It was derived from a small bug which lives in a cactus, the cocciniglia, Dactylopius Coccus.In Florence, it is also used to color the liquore Alkermes which…
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Put an Egg on It!
Are you burning out on what to fix ? Here in Italy, many of us are still out of work and at home cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner. Both my husband and I have been vaccinated now, He gets his second pfzier next week. But work won’t start for me until Italy opens up to…
Christmas Eve Salad from Naples- Insalata di Rinforzo
Happy Holidays! This Christmas Eve Salad is a new favorite in our house. Bringing a little Southern Italy into Tuscany. I can’t get enough cauliflower which is in season now, we have had it in so many ways. Baked, boiled, battered and roasted. The Markets are filled with such a variety. Have you seen the…
Frances Mayes “See You in the Piazza”: Book Review, Recipe and Giveaway
What’s not to love about a book that takes you on a trip? This is not another novel by Frances Mayes, but rather a travelogue of her trips around Italy. See You in The Piazza is her travel diary of her private explorations with Ed and some with their grandson. They take you with them,…
New Year- Old Recipes
I adore new beginnings. They don’t always have to be the beginning of a new year, but any new adventure. When I first left the USA in 1984,I had no idea I would end up living in Italy. It was real culture shock actually living here rather than being a tourist. Learning to function in…
Castagnaccio- Chestnut Love
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, brisk chilly mornings. Markets full with kale, cabbage and artichokes. Fall brings so much to the Italian table. It was unusually warm for a long time, then it exploded.We finally got fall here in Tuscany. Italy was hit with huge storms and flooding both in the north and the…
Taste Florence – Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori
When you ask a Florentine where to go to eat great food, usually like with chef, they say their mom’s. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a mamma in Florence, don’t worry, there are still some places you can eat just like at a Florentines mom’s kitchen, with mom’s rules. My husband Andrea,…
Sweet Home- Toscana
Flying to California a month ago, I had an epiphany. I am the matriarch of my family AND I have no HOME in California. Thirty-two years ago, I bought a one way ticket to France. Little did I know that Italy would become my home. This trip back to California was hard. I was going…