We were hit with more rain and cold weather again! BASTA! Finally Summer has arrived. It felt like we were going to have a long wet summer with all the rain we have had. The cold which hit earlier in the year but so much agriculture at risk. I will be walking down the hill…
Taste Chianti | Divine Daytrips- Giotto
Now that we can drive around and move more freely, Andrea and I have been taking some daytrips. It’s great to visit some of our favorite spots, but also pure joy in discovering new places. Years ago, I created the Taste Chianti app to share my tips on where to eat, drink, shop and stay…
Easter- Home Alone
In Italy, there is a saying. Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi Christmas with your family and Easter with who ever you like. This year that meant spending Easter alone. Lent, the 40 days before Easter, took on a whole new meaning.In Italian Lent is called Quaressima. Originally the Quaratine, was the 40…
Simple Pasta Sauces- Penne Lisce Arrabbiata con Tuna
I was inspired to do a simple recipe by a fotograph taken of the panic in the local grocery stores around Italy with the Corona Virus scare. The circle is around the Penne Lisce pasta, obviously not a favorite with many people. Italians are fanatics about what sauce goes with what shape of pasta and…
Frangipane for the Befana
After all the food orgies for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve if you can make it to January 6th, the sort of official end of the holiday feasting, you win! I am celebrating with an Italian-French Frangipane cake. The Epiphany is the religious holiday, celebrating the arrival of the three Magi with…
Market Recipes | Pork Filet from Massimo Manetti- Mercato Centrale
I opened my cooking school in front of Florence’s Mercato Centrale in 1988. I had moved here in 1984 and took 4 years to really learn the language and study the local cuisine. When I arrived here I was pretty much an Italian food virgin. Like many people, Italian food of the 80’s was more…
Italian Polpettone- Cooking like a Nonna
I didn’t grow up eating Italian food. My mom was raised in China so almost everything was seasoned with soy sauce and ginger. I taught myself American food using my Betty Crocker Cooking for Boys and Girls cookbook . One of my big successes was a meatloaf pie, using the recipe which was on the…
Panzanella – Why Tuscan bread is Saltless
One of the things everyone comments on in Tuscany is how tasteless the bread is. There is a reason, there is no salt in the dough. In the past, salt was a commodity. Florence bought their salt from Pisa. Pisa put a salt tax so high, that normal people couldn’t use salt for things like…