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Fig and Walnut Panforte

I have written about fig and walnut panforte before as a note on my panforte recipe on the blog, but I really think it deserves a page on it’s own. I adore simple recipes and with not much more than the figs and walnuts, this is good anytime of the year but I especially love…

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polenta with ragu

Celebrating Fall| Non-stir Polenta

October is my anniversary of arriving in Florence, in 1984. If you have ever been here in Fall, you will know how easy it is to fall in love with Tuscany with the Fall light. The countryside is turning gold, the vineyards and hills covered with chestnut and oak trees are vibrant. Weekends are filled…

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Culinary Inspirations- Always Learning

My cooking in Tuscany is seasonal. Dishes that bring me great joy when they come back into season. The anticipation of a fresh peach or tomato. Often, it is also repetitive cooking regionally. Not being Italian, I don’t feel the obligation to always cook Tuscan, nor Italian. Summer is when I really like to travel…

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Pici Pasta -Tuscan Traditional Pasta

I have always enjoyed learning to make Tuscan traditional pasta shapes. Locally, the cucina povera, poor cuisine, found a way to make eggless pasta. Flour and water pasta is one of the first pastas created we can trace it back in history to Roman times and also think about Ramen noodles. Around Siena and heading…

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Panna Cotta – My Favorite Dessert

Panna Cotta or as I refer to it, Jello for grownups, is one of my favorite desserts. Since I was a pastry chef, that is saying a lot. When I go to a old school trattoria , if Latte alla Portughese or Creme Caramel is on the menu, I will order it. These are both…

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Happy New Year- Another Trip Around the Sun

Happy New Year? I think we all love to celebrate and as an expat, I discovered new holidays to celebrate in Italy. We all have December31/January 1st as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. My mom was raised in Shanghai, we although we are not Chinese, Chinese New Year’s was always big in our…

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Market Day Menu: Chickpeas and Beets

Creating a market day menu for me is like  being on one of those cooking shows every time I shop. In my own village, Certaldo, we have our large weekly market on Wednesday. They bring it all in, not just food. This is like the mall coming to you, you can get almost anything you…

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The Joy of Cookies- Zaletti

As I was baking these  Zaletti cookies from Venice last night for a friend of mine Monica from  Cook in Venice,  for an interview she did with me, I realized that baking is really one of the best therapies which brings me joy. It has been a tough winter, my husband has some medical problems…

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Judy Witts Francini

Originally from California; Tuscany has been my home since 1984. I found the city of Florence to hold all my passions, food, wine, art all in one place. When I am not in Tuscany, I am often found in Sicily, my other favorite place to be. Always searching for recipes to share and exploring for the guides I write to my favorite cities for food and wine.

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Visit Tuscany | Kitchenmate

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