Food, Travel, and Cooking!
Our fourth trip to Italy included Rome and Tuscany. Tuscany was a bit poignant for us. We spent our first two weeks in Rome and were thrilled to be heading back to Tuscany where we had rented an apartment in Panzano in Chianti for two weeks but we also knew that it was unlikely we would return to this part of Italy again only because there are other […]
Our fantastic local, June strawberries are here at our farmer’s market, as is rhubarb! You know what they say, what grows together goes together. I just love the combination of strawberries with rhubarb, from jam to sauce for waffles or pancakes, to pie, crisp or cobbler! Then, of course, who wouldn’t want a stash of […]
Dinner on the patio and what a delicious way to enjoy a warm summer evening! Marinate the steak the day before, grill some onions and peppers, make a salad, warm up some corn tortillas and pass around the salsa. I used sirloin steak because it’s what I had on hand and grilled it for 4 […]
It’s our first Monday in paradise, aka. Chianti! Wonder what we’ll do today and especially, what’s for lunch?? Let’s just head towards Castellina in Chianti and check things out there, i.e. Enoteca Biologica on via c. Borgheri, where we bought some amazing Vin Santo a few years ago? The upshot being that the place seems […]
Using fresh herbs instead of dried ones adds a different dimension to your cooking. It is quite amazing the different nuances that fresh herbs lend to a dish. I like to grow rosemary, basil, flat-leaf parsley, thyme, oregano, marjoram and sage. I find that if I place them in a location that is somewhat protected from […]
Some months ago Judy Witts Francini posted on FB that she had gone to pick up some Cinta Senese pig products from a “farm” near Castellina in Chianti, I knew we had to go as we would be in Chianti in May! If you have never tried Cinta Senese prosciutto and get the chance, it’s […]
One day I was trying to figure out what the heck to do with that left-over saffron risotto from dinner the night before. Having just returned from Italy guess what sprung to mind? Aww, you guessed! This risotto is not totally traditional…but it worked very well! Of course you could make the risotto and use […]
If we’d had a bucket list, a visit to the Mate` winery would have been on it! Our first introduction to Mr. Mate´ was through his utterly delightful, books about moving to and living in Tuscany; “The Hills of Tuscany” and “A Vineyard in Tuscany.” If you haven’t had the pleasure, treat yourself! I can’t […]
I am so fortunate to have married someone who shares my passion for food! It’s our way of nurturing each other. My husband likes the challenge of finding good, affordable wines to accompany our meals and on the weekends he always asks what’s on the menu so he can choose the appropriate wines. The two […]
Ever since Elizabeth Minchelli posted a photo on Facebook taken one night while having dinner at St. John restaurant in London, of what the table next to theirs had ordered; a whole roasted suckling pig and the comments the photo engendered, I wanted to respond. We are not vegetarians, although we eat a lot of […]