Years ago I bought some cheese at the artisan market in Piazza Santo Spirito from a young Swiss shephard, living in Chianti, Tillo. The cheeses are from the family estate, Corzano and Paterno and are now one of the most sought after cheeses by local restaurant owners that it is almost impossible to buy the…
What’s Cooking?
Let the cooking begin!!! Yesterday was my first new “Kitchen in Chianti” cooking class at Villa il Poggiolaia, near my home in Certaldo. We had a blast. Certaldo will never be the same now. The vendors at the weekly market where thrilled with our joy and enthusiasm with the ingredients we found and…
FAT TUESDAY- Martedi Grasso- Mardi Gras- Shrove Tuesday
Let the good times roll! inside our cab in NOLA!!!Florence also uses the Fleur du Lys Easter comes early this year, which means carnival is already here. Most people think of the fabulous costumes in Venice and the parties in palazzi, but it is also a festival of the people. Streets are filled with families…
Salt- Cured Olives
The olive harvest began a little early this year, at the end of October, many people wait till November 3- something about numbers. When the olives are harvested for oil, some of them are still green, giving the oil here a peppery flavor. As we get farther into the season the olives ripen to black…
Domenica da Dario
Just another Sunday lunch with friends but at the Officina della Bistecca-you leave with more friends than you came with! I feel really blessed to have worked for several years with Dario, before he became such a media star, when only a few journalists like Faith Willinger were writing about artisans in Tuscany. Thanks to…
Tuscan Treasures- Macelleria Marianelli
Antica Macelleria- Norceria Marianelli- Montopoli I must have a gourmet guardian angel. We reserved tickets for a dinner and a show as part of a new “Utopia del Buongusto”, a series of theater pieces arranged by Andrea Kaemmerle and his Theatre Company. As we had never been to the village where the show was being…
Market Day Recipes
I am really blessed. I lived in front of Florence’s Central Market for 20 years while running my cooking school Divina Cucina and since closing the school in Florence and moving out to the countryside while I finally got my book published, I now have 2 market days in my village of Certaldo. I first…
Celebrating the Season- Summer Soltice
A sure sign summer has arrived is the appearance of sun-ripened tomatoes to make Pomarola, simple tomato sauce. To celebrate, yesterday I picked up my first kilo of Fiorentini, a local heirloom tomato for sauce. The best flavor and consistency for sauce comes from these kind of tomatoes. One does not make sauce from salad…