Over a Tuscan Stove

Berlingaccio and surviving the snow

2012-02-16T16:22:00.000+01:00

When I first came to Italy, it was in September of 1984. That winter was one of the coldest and snowiest winters, which caused the olive trees to freeze and we lost thousands of trees which then sprouted back up from the trunks.

This year may be worse than that winter of 1985.

We were blocked in the house for 10 days ( we don't have chains for our car) and lost our running water for 4 days. Not fun! But, we did have electricity and heat. The pantry was full and we survived.

We were hit lightly compared to those living up in Piemonte and those in Le Marche area and Abruzzo.
Counting our blessings.

The snow is just barely on the hills now, most of it melted and daytime temps are rising. It is still quite cold at night.

The month has been flying by and I missed going to the Carneval in Viareggio to see the floats.
But the one thing I haven't missed are the once a year sweets for carnevale.

This winter I am in the kitchen testing recipes for a friends new restaurant I am consulting for, so we bought both cenci and frittelle di riso. Here is my Russian grandmother's recipe for her "cenci" and my recipe for rice fritters. Both recipes make enough for family and friends, as this is party food!

Today is the beginning of the end of carnevale, called "berlingaccio". The last parades will be this weekend and then we have Martedi Grasso ( Mardi Gras) and Ash Wednesday ( Mercoledi delle Cenere) when Lent starts.

I always think it is funny, Italians have a special cookie for Lent too, called Quaresimali. Quaresima means Lent.

Since we were out getting sweets, on our way home from Florence today we stopped at one of Florence's oldest pastry shops, Gualtieri, famous for his Iris Cake. The recipe is only made there and has been kept a secret for over 100 years.

Enjoy your week of Carnevale where ever you are- and whip up some sweets to celebrate.

Saba Contest

2012-02-07T10:47:00.003+01:00

There nothing more exciting than being involved in a food blog and tasting a product.

I was just invited by my friend Rossella of Ma che ti sei mangiato?. Which translates to- "But what did you just eat?" and Andrea from Percorsi di Vino, wine blog.

Here is the announcement in Italian- 20 bloggers will receive bottles of saba to create new recipes.

We will be sent a bottle of SABA, which is grape juice, cooked slowly until it becomes a thick rich essence. Saba is what you need to make Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, but can be used as is.

Most people use saba to drizzle on gelato or fried dough desserts after they are made. When I was just in Puglia, they also have a type of saba called vin cotto. Most often it is made from grape juice, but I have also had it from figs.

We will be trying the saba offered by Mirco Mariotti which his family winery makes and the Consorzio Gusto del Ferrara.

Doing my research, traditionally it is served with Sabadone, a dessert raviolo made for St Paul's patron saint day, January 25th in Massalombarda. Looks like I missed the festival this year, but the recipe sounds fun! The raviolo has a chestnut filling with other ingredients.

Looking forward to seeing what we can create with the Saba. I will try the ravioli's for sure and then some recipes of my own. In Puglia they served their Vin Cotto with a fried pastry called Cartellate.

Follow the blog to see what I create with my saba!

any ideas?

World Nutella Day - Simple Italian Classic

2012-02-05T15:19:00.001+01:00

Today is World Nutella Day---- started by Sara and Michelle in 2007. It has gone wild!

I am not a huge Nutella fan. It is too sweet. It is not on my normal shopping list of things to buy, except when they come in the cute glasses that are meant to be reused! Those I adore.

love the sponge bob ones!

My husband, as most Italians, grew up with this hazelnut-chocolate combination, often made into chocolates called Gianduia. It is especially famous up in the area of Piemonte, where the hazelnuts come from.

In keeping with my keep it simple theme for this year, one of the basic Italian joys in simple eating is bread and chocolate. A simple piece broken off a chocolate bar eaten with a piece of bread.

In Tuscany, our rustic unsalted bread is perfect for this. That I let my husband have!

For me, I made it a little more grown-up, adding a sprinkling of sea salt.

Taking it even one step farther, a local chocolate company treated me to a real special grown-up version a year or so ago.

They took a slice of a cremino, which is a firm gianduia, the hazelnut and chocolate combination which inspired Nutella, and placed slices on the bread and put it under the broiler.
Before serving, they drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled it with salt.
WOW, it knocked my socks off!!!

I had my first Nutella- salt epiphany from a young boy at his grandmother's, Agnese, bread bakery. Agnese is famous for her bread made with a "mother" that is over 100 years old. I was first taken to this bakery by Faith Willinger on one of her fabulous food days. The bread has an incredible depth of flavor and lasts a week, so is sold as a huge loaf or she also makes the traditional schiacchiata, the Tuscan foccaccia, finished off by brushing the top with extra virgin olive oil and salt.

Hot from the oven, he ran into the house, tore the bread open an slathered it with Nutella.
Heaven, if you have the chance. try it on hot salty focaccia.

As I was leaving the kitchen, I noticed my husband had gone shopping ( we have been snow-bound for a week) and had bought bananas. My favorite snack growing up was peanut butter and bananas. Inspiration hit and as a last simple treat, I sliced some bananas on top of the Nutella.

I stopped here. But I am dreaming. I do have a secret stash of peanut butter. What about slathering the bread with peanut butter, then bananas, and then heat up the Nutella and drizzle on top?

Buon World Nutella Day!

Last year I did Frittelle di Riso and a homemade nutella
and the year before Fried Nutella Ravioli

Snow days! Schools Closed!

2012-02-01T13:09:00.000+01:00

They say that we are getting the coldest winter spell in 30 years.

Time to make soups!

my little backyard

We are snowed in so will have to make do with what is in the house. Andrea was smart enough to pick all the lettuce from the garden before the snowfall, so that is safe.

We will have to search out leftovers in the freezer, hoping that the electricity doesn't go out. Was flasing on and off this morning. If it goes off we are also without heat.

I am feeling better, but still haven't tried to do the stairs yet to head into the kitchen.

But as soon as I do----

SOUP!!!

it is time to make my mother-in-law's Minestrone!

Join me!!! It is a sort of clean the fridge soup!

Each mamma and each region have their own minestrone, some with pumpkin, various greens, with or without beans.

I adore them all.

Niente

2012-01-30T16:45:00.000+01:00

It has been a tough week, when I came back from Rome-- I was basically hobbling along. I had pulled a muscle or tendon and bedrest was required. It is so boring.

So this week no cooking, no fotos. NOTHING.

Thought I would just post a lovely painting from the hotel where we stay in Sicily during my tours there.

I could use a third leg about now.

The light outside my window has been lovely and we are expecting snow this week. Hoping it won't kill the pea shoots which have already started to spring up. Andrea has planted a whole bed of just peas.

As I lay in bed, playing around on the computer, I have fallen in love with Pinterest. If you look I have put a link to my boards on the top right of the site.

Hope to be back in my kitchen soon!

Passion for Pizza- BONCI

2012-01-23T00:41:00.004+01:00

i couldn't help myself--- when I saw there was another session with Gabrielle Bonci in Rome for pizza workshop- I had to go again!

Larger than life-- with a heart as big as a mountain and a passion for his dough like no other.

He talks so fast and is so full of great ideas that really one needs to take the class twice to have it all soak in. This session some friends came with me and we had our own little corner.

kim, andrea, me and terry

The reason we came to class was to learn the secrets of the perfect pizza dough-- for the roman style pizza al taglio from the master himself. With only three ingredients, they must all be of the highest quality. Gabriele told us of the "trinity" flour, water and yeast. But truly the secret ingredient is TIME.

Time to let the dough develop.

I usually hate pizza as it sits in my stomach for days after. That is the result of people rushing dough.

my dough after 12 hour rising

We used flour from Mulino Marino, Bonci's favorite, but where ever you are he suggested a stone ground organic flour for the best results.

inspired pizza toppings- so untraditional

With 14 students in the class, we made a ton of dough which then turned into a ton of pizza's, plus Gabriele had already also prepared a lot of dough to demonstrate different preparations with the dough, we even baked a whole chicken, a boneless rolled stuffed rabbit and whole artichokes.

BE CREATIVE

STAY HUNGRY

whole artichokes roasted in dough

Between classes we did a morning market tour and lunch with Elizabeth Minchilli author of the great food APPS EAT ROME and EAT FLORENCE. We had a great day!

Our pizza crusts were like palettes for an artistic creation! Not only lovely to look at but made with fabulous seasonal ingredients- how can you go wrong!

Next, back to practicing my dough and will write-up my home experiments.

here is a link from one of the other classes I took with Bonci and another link.

My friend elizabeth did a video too from the first class we took together, which has the recipe if you want to try this at home.

Diva's Dirty Little Secret- Gnocchi in 10 minutes

2012-01-19T10:44:00.001+01:00

I am not a kitchen Nazi. I also use short-cuts when I can or teach people how to make life easier and simpler. One of my favorite tricks in the kitchen I learned living here is to use instant mashed potatoes for gnocchi.

I had bought some incredibly tender potato gnocchi in the grocery store and reading the label to see what the ingredient list was, noted they used mashed potato flakes. So simple.

Italian mashed potato flakes are really fabulous and I use them a lot for a quick side dish, so I thought, why not try.

The secret is to only use the water as the liquid to basically rehydrate the flakes into a mashed potato and not add the milk, which then makes "mashed potatoes". OK?

It would take an hour to boil a WHOLE potato in the skin in salted water for the traditional recipe.

Most recipes I have seen also add an egg. I don't use an egg.

I think one of the reasons most people make heavy gnocchi is they end up adding too much flour.

Right now I am on my way down to Rome to take a pizza class with Gabrielle Bonci of Pizzarium like I did last January. So will just give you a basic idea to play with on how to make my gnocchi, which basically is how people give you recipes here, spoken with no real measurements.

Divina Cucina Gnocchi

Here the maskhed potato flakes come in a box in packages. I use two packages for about 4-6 people as a first course.

Each package says to use 300ml of water. I salt the water and bring to a boil and then stir in the flakes. Once i have the rehydrated potato mixture I put in on the work space to cool.

This lets extra steam out and cools it down.

I start with about a cup of Italian 00 flour, which is like a pastry flour in America, delicate and low gluten. I knead the flour into the potato until it is not sticky.

You may need more flour, sometimes I just need to flour the tabletop I am working on.
( yes you can use a bowl)

Meanwhile bring a pot of water to boil to cook the gnocchi, add salt.

Roll out a test rope of the gnocchi mixture, and cut into small pieces and if you like roll on the back of a fork to create ridges, which let the sauce stick to the gnocchi better and at the same time you are creating a little belly button on the other side, which makes it thinner and cook faster.

Drop some test gnocchi into the water ( turn it down from a hard boil).

The gnocchi will float to the top when they are done.
DO NOT LET THEM SIT IN THE WATER TOO LONG!

Take them out of the water with a strainer, draining off excess water. I lightly press to see if they are firm enough and not slimy. If they are perfect, then I roll out the other gnocchi and start cooking.

I like to have my sauce already made and in a skillet, where the gnocchi can stay hot.

As you layer, you can also sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and lightly stir to cover with sauce.

I usually do a simple garlic and chili infused tomato sauce that cooks in the time it takes to boil the water for the gnocchi.

A great recipe to teach kids and was perfect for this family class!

Rolling your own is a blast.

If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour.
Don't form all the gnocchi until you have poached a test gnocchi.

Keep the sauce simple.

Brown butter and parmesan
Tomato
Pesto
Gorgonzola

The basket you see in the foto is from Calabria and is for putting ridges on gnocchi- then I flipped it over to use to take the gnocchi to the pot to cook.

Another IMPORTANT detail- DO NOT COOK ALL THE GNOCCHI AT ONCE

They cook quickly and you can weight them down so they don't rise up to the top and then they will overcook and get water-logged.

Cook in small batches.

Let me know how your's turn out!

Enjoy

A for Eggplant? Aubergine!

2012-01-11T18:00:00.002+01:00

Recently on an expat forum, someone threw out that it would be fun to get ideas on something different to cook, asking friends for recipes.

The Gastro-Casa Throw down in on---- Something starting with an A--- I said almonds..... but aubergine came out. We are almost all American so I am not sure who really calls eggplant aubergine in America or Americans living in Italy, but I am game.

I adore eggplants in anyway I can get them, but right now I am craving strange flavors and went for an easy Baba Ganoosh recipe.

As is in my style, I made it easy.

I don't salt or do anything to my eggplant, I didn't slow roast it and then let it sit in a bag.

I simply cut it, skin and all, into small cubes and sauteed in olive oil with garlic and salt.

When soft, I let it cool and pureed with tahini, lemon, olive oil and some water.

My husband who hates eggplant adored it, so much I made it two times in one week.

Simple Baba Ganoush

1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
salt (to taste)
2 tbs Tahini sauce
juice of a lemon ( to taste)
water to thin

Saute the eggplant cubes and garlic in olive oil, I like to use a lot as eggplant soaks up quite a bit.
Add salt,this will bring some of the water out of the eggplant and also add flavor.
Stir to cook evenly.

Let cool.

Puree with the tahini, lemon juice, more olive oil.
Add a little water to create a smooth sauce.

For a little kick I also add chili into the mix but you can also serve on the side or sprinkle on top.
I think it tastes better then next day when the flavors have blended.

Pretending I was having an "arab" meal, I bought pita and made a "Carrot" falafel, using a recipe from Abruzzo.

200 grams carrots, grated
200 grams breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
4 eggs
salt to taste

mix everything together and make "Falafel" and pan fry until golden on both sides.

To serve my bab ganoush, I toasted some pinenuts and added warmed extra virgin olive oil and some ground chipolte pepper I have in my pantry.

Here are some more Italian eggplant recipes I have online:

Grilled Eggplant
Naples Chocolate Eggplant dessert
Caponata
Sicilian Caponata
Eggplant Timballo - foto

I LOVE EGGPLANT
enjoy

Simply Divina- Fish

2012-01-09T11:08:00.001+01:00

I am spending the winter finishing my Food and Wine in Chianti APP for Sutro Media, getting it ready for those coming to Tuscany this year. I know, it sounds tough, eating and drinking as work.
But really, can you immagine eating out Italian style more than once a day?
IMPOSSIBLE

So, it takes quite a long time to be able to put together a large enough list for an APP. But I am doing this do share my love for those with a passion for food.

father and son, sharing their passion

Yesterday we had lunch at a local favorite, the Trattoria del Pesce, in the tiny town of Bargino.

Actually I wouldn't call Bargino a town, you may miss it if you blink. What looks like a tiny truckstop trattoria with a small hotel above and a tiny parking lot, is one of Chianti's most famous restaurants for fish.

Most people associate the word trattoria with a sort of a diner experience instead of finer dining.
Learn to follow the locals!

the "plateau" of raw fish

Although Florence is not that far from the sea, a little over an hour with no traffic, eating seafood in town can be a very expensive meal.

Most Florentines I know, flock to Bargino to eat fish.

After the holidays, we are all going a little lighter, so we opted for the raw fish appetizer, which can be a meal on its own.

We then ordered a whole fish ro share. One of my favorite preparations is called Acqua Pazza, in crazy water, a recipe from Naples.

The whole dish, head and all, are cooked in the oven, then the fish is boned for you table-side and served to share.-

Pesce in Acqua Pazza

A whole fish, cleaned
oregano, rosemary
garlic
salt
Extra virgin olive oil
white wine
salt
cherry tomatoes

Clean a whole small fish (trout is good) and place some fresh oregano, rosemary, and a peeled garlic clove in the belly.

Lightly sauté on both sides in a skillet and splash with white wine.

Add crushed cherry tomatoes

Let cook for another couple of minutes and then place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Here is a guide to cooking times for fish.

Serve with all its cooking liquids.

If you use a large fish, follow cooking times by weight.

I have also made this using large thick fish filets for those that don't want to look at a whole fish or worry about bones.

Often, cleaned mussels are also added to the fish before roasting.

Remove the fish from the roasting pan. Use the pan sauce on linguine as a first course and serve the fish filets as main course.

ONE PAN- TWO COURSES

SEMPLICEMENTE DIVINA

Here is my friend Mimmo's smaller fish version on my website. The day I went, he used tomato sauce instead of cherry tomatoes.

Trattoria del Pesce
Via Cassia,124
Bargino, Chianti

Located just off the highway, Florence -Siena

Buona Befana

2012-01-06T19:08:00.002+01:00

In Italy, the holidays end with the Epiphany, represented by a "witch" called la Befana.

My husband remembers when he was growing up in Florence the joy of waking up and finding your "calza", the stocking with candy and gifts. Christmas in his family was not gift giving time, there was something. Perhaps a new pair of shoes or a jacket, but the gifts normally associated with Christmas were given January 6th.

I wrote about it before on the blog here

In my village there was no festival this year, no candy trucks and no witches anywhere to be seen. Not sure what happened, perhaps the economy.

We played it cool at home and ended the holiday season with a fabulous salad fresh from our own garden and combined one of my favorite winter salad combinations, fennel and orange salad with red onions. A little something I learned in Sicily.

I adore the colors and the flavors.

Normally we thinly slice the fennel and then top with orange slices. Sometimes I use green onions to garnish, but where I live, in Certaldo, we are famous for our sweet red onions.

I topped our greens with the fennel and red onions and then use clementines I had, another winter addiction.

Lightly season with salt and dress with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.
Here is another version from Ortygia, at Trattoria Mariano- his insalata di arancia con l'acqua pazza.

Our last trip in Sicily this was the version we made with Chef Angelo at the Planeta Estate in Menfi.

this version had crenshaw melon, cherry tomatoes and oregano

A clean start to a new year.

Looking forward to 2012 and sharing new recipes and my kitchen secrets with you.

My Alfredo Recipe

2012-01-02T14:52:00.002+01:00

I have lived in Italy since October 1984.

I am not from an Italian family and have no recipes passed down from anyone, what I have learned, I have learned here in Italy.

What I did come with was a bunch of misinformation on what Italian food was.

my alfredo

One of the famous Italian dishes all over America is Fettuccine Alfredo. Italian recipes do not exist, regional recipes exist and even those change from house to house and restaurant to restaurant.

I have NEVER had Fettucini Alfredo in Italy, the only place it really exists is in the restaurant that created it, Alfredo's in Rome.

Check out the video here--- and discover the secret- keep it simple. Butter and parmesan cheese.
BASTA.

I once ordered Fettucine Alfredo's in a restaurant in Florence, Alfredo's and what I got was the house specialty with some strange sauce with vegetables and tomatoes, certainly NOT what I was expecting.

I am heading down to Rome later this month to take another class with Gabriele Bonci. Now that he was just on Bourdains show, more and more people know who he is and will stop by Alfredo's and the original dish!

The most important ingredient is butter. The best creamiest richest butter you can buy.

this is a simple but good butter, unsalted, I get at the grocery store here.

Use a lot of butter, at least a couple of tablespoons per person. It is your sauce and there is no cream. Place in a skillet large enough to hold the pasta.

Place the skillet over the pot of hot water where you will cook your fresh pasta. It will melt but not cook.
( in the video you will see that they just heat their plate, add softened butter.)

Cook the pasta until done and instead of draining the pasta in a colander, remove with tongs, leaving some of the pasta water on the pasta.

Add to the pan with the melted butter.

Add grated parmesan cheese and stir.

The cheese will melt with the butter, off the heat, with the heat of the pasta and the cooking water.

The sauce emulsifies and becomes creamy without the addition of cream.

I like to serve an additional sprinkling of cheese in top to stir in before eating.

Rome is famous for pasta cacio e pepe, which is usually served with cooked dried pasta and uses the local grated pecorino ( sheep's milk) cheese and then a generous grating of black pepper.

I use the above technique for Alfredo and infuse the butter with fresh mint and lemon. It is a fabulous base to work with.

Simplify and enjoy!

2011--- good riddance

2011-12-31T19:25:00.002+01:00

thanks to lard artist Riccardo Ricci, Macelleria Cecchini for the image.

I am so glad to see 2011 end.

For 2012 my new years resolution is - SIMPLIFY

Doing that I hope everything else falls into place.

Rather like spring cleaning, I am going through all my bookshelves and throwing away years and years of paper. First of course, trying to freecycle.

Then it will be on to cookbooks.

Then kitchen equipment.

Keep the best- dump the rest.

In Italy, it is traditional to throw old things out the window--- expecially in the south. Broken dishes, plates and even toilets! Watch out if walking around town.

Guns are fired off and tons of fireworks, often blowing up someone's hand.

I am feeling much more low key and am staying home with hubby.

I wish you all a healthy and happy new year----
not just new year's eve.... the WHOLE YEAR!

I am making a list for myself- places to go-- things to do.

Less clutter in my house and in my life.

Thanks for following me on the blog and in my classes.

I am adding a new program in Puglia in June and have space in my November program in Sicily.

I can also organize custom programs in Tuscany anytime of the year for one to six people and custom weeks in Sicily for two or more.

Puglia is for a minimum of 8 people.

I like to keep my programs small and very personal, sharing my favorite places in Italy.

I wish you all a trip to Italy in 2012, it stole my heart and will probably change your life!

Here is information on my programs in Italy.

May your bowls always be filled!

Auguri from Judy and Andrea

The Gift of Time- Xmas 2011

2011-12-26T10:16:00.001+01:00

It has been a tough year and I really didn't feel much in the xmas spirit. My husband and I did put up our xmas lights, the wreath on the door and our silly kinder creche set as decorations. But perhaps not having kids, it is not such a big deal. We give ourselves gifts during the year, mostly time spent together visiting new places. Memories.

Here is the results of my xmas lunch.

The best part was that I put into practice one of the recipes we learned in Sicily, rolling my own couscous. Yes, you can make your own, it was lighter than the boxed version and very special, all you really need is time! That precious gift that you can only give yourself.

Years ago, I bought this lovely Sicilian plate at an antique shop in Florence near the Ponte Vecchio. I had no idea what it was for until I started going to Trapani. The regional specialty is cuscus with fish sauce. Being so close to Tunisia, it is easy to see how they adopted the recipe as their own.

Paula Wolfert told me the hardest part is to find the fresh semola, not something that has been sitting on the shelf for ages. I am lucky as we have a large arab community now in Tuscany and I went and bought my semola from a Halal butcher.

The semola is made into cous cous by slowly adding water to the grains and working with your fingers, in a circular motion. A sort of a zen-like movement. Very soothing. I made the couscous the day before and started steaming it over a pot of vegetable broth. It must be stirred occasionally.

I started the lamb earlier in the week as it was on the bone and I wanted to remove the bones and the excess fat before serving. Taking my time. Xmas day I reheated the lamb with its pan juices and added more spices, dried prunes and apricots. I put the cuscus back on to steam and made some hummus, topped with toasted pine nuts and chili infused oil.

The red onion- cilantro garnish was a nice fresh touch on the stew. Next time though I will leave out the pomegranate arils as I really don't enjoy eating the seeds. They are pretty though, looking like little jewels.

In Italy, the day after xmas is also a holiday, Santo Stefano. Next we have La Befana, which is the Epiphany, when Italian children get their stockings with gifts. In recent years the whole crazy xmas frenzy with gifts has hit Italy too. But I still prefer La Befana, in my village, the local firemen have the Befana "fly" down into the piazza from a building across the road! Quite acrobatical!

I am so happy to not have had the normal xmas food orgy although I am sugared out from tasting all the sweets I made to give to my vendors! Today is a simple brunch, some nice home fries for a late breakfast and then some simple tagliatelle with butter and 3 year old parmesan cheese for dinner!

That is the real Alfredo sauce. Just butter and cheese!

Will post that tomorrow for you as my gift!

My xmas gift to us-- a platter from Cassandra's shop in San Gimignano, I adore the pomegranate and her use of gold on the dish. Normally she only does paintings, but has a small selection of ceramics now in her shop.

Happy Holidays

2011-12-24T10:31:00.001+01:00

It really takes very little to be happy, sometimes just a bowl of hot broth and some pasta.

Usually I make the Bollito Misto dinner for xmas, as it is simple to prepare and provides us with several meals.

There are also other dishes I make in winter for Andrea that take a long time to prepare, like cardoons.

The cardoons, which look like a white celery, but taste like artichokes, are hard to prepare in that it takes a lot of time. First you must remove the stringy part, cut into pieces and let sit in water with lemon so they don't brown. Then they are boiled. You can then flour and fry and then bake in either butter and cheese or with a tomato sauce and cheese. But my new recipe which I got at the local shop, is to mince them up and make into small "meatballs" bread fry and then cook in tomato sauce stovetop.

Luckily cardoons are in season in winter when I have more time to cook!

This year, Andrea asked me to make a lamb tajine. Ok, the truth is he watched Nigella's Christmas and that is what she made. So who am I do be outdone by Nigella? I am going to use a recipe I did before from Paula Wolfert and tweek it with the garnish from Nigella's recipe.

I am going one step further and even "rolling my own" couscous.

My first lesson, so to speak, was with the Goddess of all things Moroccan, Paula Wolfert, years ago in California. She was prepping a dinner party at Ramekins cooking school and in the back kitchen making the couscous while I was there teaching. I stayed on and watched her rolling the couscous. I love simple preparations which are almost zen-link in their repetition.

While on my Sicily tours, I have added lessons on making couscous. I have made cuscus, as it is written in Sicilian, with Pino Maggiore one of the best chefs in Trapani, where fish cuscus, is the local specialty.

I am going to use my huge sicilian plate I bought years ago, which I found out is for rolling the couscous and put it to use today!

In dialect, it is called a mafaradda.

I went down to Florence and did some shopping at a local arab butcher shop and picked up the semola to make the cous cous and also harissa and some tahini for hummus. If I have time may also whip up some pita bread and go all out.

To me, the greatest gift is the gift of time. Time to spend cooking and sharing food. Taking time to eat together. Nothing you can really buy, but perhaps actually costs more to some people, instead of shopping.

I wish you the gift of TIME.

Divina Cucina on the Road- Benevento

2011-12-21T17:25:00.002+01:00

This year I was invited to attend a wine festival south of Naples. I adore the wines of this region, mostly whites and knew little about the reds so was excited to join the group.

I adore travelling around any food and wine festival as you see the locals celebrating and each village has some special event. In Chianti we have festivals each weekend in Sept. So the chance to see another area of Italy celebrate and to taste all the best of their wines is a great excuse for travel.

One of the high points of the tour for me was to visit Benevento. I have always heard so much about it and adore the liquore Strega, which is from here too. It is made with 76 herbs and is fabulous used in dessert making. Benevento is also famous for it's torrone and witches!

The city is full of history and well worth the stop.

the arco of Traiano

Benevento is located just east of naples and recently was named a Unesco site. The church of Santa Sofia was incredible, built around 730 a.d. But I was most impressed by the museum with an amazing collection of statues found on site.

We stayed in a old pasta factory turned into an exquisite UNA hotel with one of southern Italy's most famous young chefs running the kitchen, Angelo D' Amico. The rooms were some of the nicest I have been in in all of Italy.

From our base in Benevento we were shown various wineries and wine makers in the area. We were at the local cooperative, La Guardinese while the grapes were being brought in to be crushed, each member bringing in his own grapes and they were controlled and then chosen for one of the many lines of the production.

I adored their sparkling wines, which were a real surprise, especially the one made from Falaghina, which is one of my favorite still whites from the region.

We were greated by members that were bringing in their grapes for the crush and after our tour we had lunch with some of the COOP members which had been cooked by their wives, a fabulous experience.
Great food, great wine and new friends.

The wine festival itself was in Solopaca, famous for it's rich red wines. The parade is so fun, with each area in town creating a float decorated with both white and red wine grapes and the locals in costumes.

her entire cape is made of the red wine grapes

the costumes were incredible and the parade fun

This is just a small taste of where I was and what I saw-- I will follow up with more foto's and some recipes after the holidays. The Sannio region of Italy is so untouched by tourism that it is great to visit.

here is a link for information for touring the Sannio area.

New Tricks- Farina Arsa

2011-12-15T23:27:00.003+01:00

On my recent trip down to Puglia to meet with Antonello and Laura from Southern Visions Travel, to talk about my Guest chef week in June next year, the first thing I wanted to taste and or see, was farina arsa.

Burnt wheat flour is a product of the cucina povera in Puglia. Burn wheat kernals were gathered after the fields were burnt and then ground into flour. Laura had some and was nice enough to share her stash-- as they were leaving for a PR tour in the states.

A great first recipe was to try the orecchiette, a flour and water pasta traditional to Puglia. I think we did a great job, although I put too much sauce on the pasta! We made the traditional broccoli rabe , sauteed in garlic, olive oil and chili peppers. Perfect anytime!

The flavor and profume of the flour was incredible-- so toasty! It is used sparingly and blended with regular flour. We will learn to make our own orecchiette and other fabulous dishes during our cooking classes. Although the farina arsa is not from the Alberobello region where we will be based, I will be sure to have access to it for anyone that wants to bring some home!

I will be experimenting more to get ready for my week in Puglia!

I started going down in 1990 and am thrilled to finally be offering a culinary adventure down in one of my favorite places in Italy.

Antonello and I down by the sea.

I will be posting the dates and we will start taking reservations soon!

Puglia is the breadbasket of Italy, rich rich soil which gives incredible flavor to all the ingredients.
HUGE ancient olive trees, the red, red soil. Incredible fish, the facinating trulli, cone-roofed homes which will be our base for the week and the sea!

My calendar will be up in January for my programs. Sicily of course in May, September and November. Puglia in June and Tuscany the rest of the year!

Fall Favorites- Kale Bruschetta

2011-12-10T19:54:00.000+01:00

Right now life is a little hectic. When I stop working, I have to catch up on work, if you know what I mean. End of the year paperwork, things I have let slip by.

And when that happens, cooking time in the kitchen also gets cut down to quick recipes or really long slow ones that can take care of themselves.

One dish that we always love when the new oil comes out is having what Tuscans call Fettunta and in the rest of Italy is called Bruschetta ( pronouncesd brus-Ketta, not bru-Shetta).

Another one of the secrets of the Tuscan kitchen. Keep it simple.

Fettunta con Cavolo Nero
Kale Bruschetta

Loaf a country style bread
kale
extra virgin olive oil
garlic
salt

First cook the kale.

Cavolo Nero is Tuscany's kale. ( I can find it in California too, called lacinto or dinosaur kale. The dark almost black leaves are quite popular now too as chips , baked in the oven.)
Young kale leaves can also be used in salads and it is one of the prime ingredients in Minestrone and Ribollita.

Remove the tough stem and wash the leaves.
Boil in a small amount of salted water until tender.

Toast slices of the bread until crispy.
Rub with raw garlic slice.

Place the toast on a platter or in a bowl.
Top with the kale and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

This is bruschetta or fettunta.

You can also serve it as a soup- placing the bread in a soup bowl, topping with the kale and then adding the "pot-likker" the cooking liquid which is full of vitamins.

Another treat is to top with Tuscan Beans.

These are my oven-roasted beans- find the recipe HERE.

If you use the bean broth, it is called Zuppa alla Frantoiana.

The Frantoio is where they crush the olives to make oil.

I live right next to Frantoio so can just walk over with an empty can while they are crushing and buy some, freshly made.

Another blessing!

Discovering Puglia- Again

2011-11-27T20:30:00.000+01:00

Each trip I make down to Puglia, makes me want more. The Trulli, small cone-shaped homes looking like something from J.R. Tolkien. Ancient olive trees with hollows in their huge trunks. One almost expects to see hobbits or trolls.

one of the many abandoned Trulli homes

no, I am not thinking " a little fixer-upper". been there done that!

ancient olive trees

Driving around the countryside, the stone walls create a sharp contrast with the deep rich red soil.

fields and fields of chicory

After visting Puglia for several years I am finally going to offer a week discovering the secrets of the Pugliese kitchen with me.

I am in the process of finalizing the dates, but probably in June 2012.

My groups are small and very hands-on cooking as well as touring cheese makers, wineries and bakeries.

The breads in Puglia are some of my favorite in Italy.

Can't wait to share my friends with you!

Coming up next will be some recipes from Puglia to give you a little taste-

Divina Cucina on the Road- Puglia

2011-11-24T08:38:00.000+01:00

Probably one of my favorite parts of my job is doing research. I adore creating custom programs for people based on my travels. I have been down to Puglia over the years and have been dying to bring students with me to share my love for this incredible land.

view from sitting room at Ca' del Fico

We came down to visit our FB friend Antonello and his girlfriend Laura of Southern Visions Travel, looking into the possibility of working together on a Puglia program for Divina Cucina.

at one of the lovely terraces in Polignano

I adore the red soil in Puglia, the secular olive trees, the fabulous bread, the incredible intense flavors of the vegetables and the beautiful ceramics.

Each trip I learn see new places and learn new things.

Can't wait to share new friend, new places and some new recipes.

We are off to tour some markets and then prepare thanksgiving for about 20 people. Will be a blast. I already made pies and cranberry sauce.

More to come

Gifts of the Season- Melograno

2011-11-20T15:31:00.003+01:00

I have always been fascinated by pomegrantes ,melograno in Italian. When in season, the trees look as if they have been decorated for an early Christmas, hanging on the thin branches like decorations along with the persimmon trees.

Pomegranates seeds,arils, which glisten and look like tiny rubies, are one of my favorite ingredients in winter salads.

Cut open the pomegranate in a bowl of water and it is easy to release the arils from the white membrane. In the bowl pictured above are the arils from one pomegranate.

In winter I adore making rich salads with the incredible variety of greens and wild radicchio when available. Today's salad had mandarin orange segments, apple and the pomegranate arils. Dressed lightly with new extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and cherry balsamic vinegar.

This is just the beginning of winter salad season, orange and fennel is another favorite which I will post soon. I learned a new twist on my last trip to Sicily, which I can't wait to share.

Tuesday I leave for a research trip to Puglia where i will be enjoying Thanksgiving with some new friends. Stay tuned for updates.

With the remaining two pomegrantes I think I will make juice and then reduce to a syrup for sauce.

Cucina Povera- Pamela Sheldon Johns

2011-11-19T16:22:00.000+01:00

I was lucky to receive a review copy of Pamela's new book, Cucina Povera, Tuscan Peasant Cooking.

Pamela has a true passion for Italy and this book, her 16th I believe, is a tribute to the people that have taught us so much. The book is a pleasure to read. I kept it near my bed as reading material first before bringing it to my kitchen. The photographs and stories are as compelling as the recipes. I adore the way the book was printed. The size of the book, the paper used and the photographs.

Pamela and I have had many of the same experiences, gathering recipes from the locals which still preserve traditions. Those that have never written down these recipes. It is a wonderful collection of simple real food, which is only found in homes.

There are so many great recipes I wanted to try and write about,but when I went out to lunch the other day in my village I ate a dish which i remembered being in the book and came home to recreate it.

Tuscans are called Mangiafagioli, bean-eaters. Beans and grains have been the protein for years, especially around the area of Lucca. The dish I ate the other day was called Cacciucco di Ceci, chickpea Cacciucco. The recipe replaces the fish in the fish soup, with chickpeas. There is a similar recipe called Inzimino, which is a squid stew with chard and tomatoes.

In Pamela's book, the recipe she uses is called Ceci Stufati. So many recipes change names and perhaps one or two ingredients just by moving a few miles. This is the beauty of Italian cooking, each mother or chef puts their twist on a recipe, mostly based on what is available locally or at the moment. This stew is made more like the fish stew by adding a tiny bit of anchovy to the recipe. A simple way to build flavor.

Ceci Stufati

stewed chickpeas

1 cup of dried chickpeas, rinsed and picked over

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

6 cups water, heated

3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

3 salt-cured anchovies, rinsed and mashed

8 ounces Swiss chard, shredded

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan, and add water to cover by 2 inches.

Let soak overnight.

Drein the chickpeas. In a large, heavy saucepan, hear the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is golden. Add the water, tomatoes, anchovies and drained chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas for 1 1/2 hours. Add the chard and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

From Cucina Povera, Pamela Sheldon Johns

It is easy to make with precooked chickpeas too, which makes it an easy quick dish to prepare. If you don't like anchovies, leave them out.

What is important is to cook with the best ingredients you can find and keep it simple!

Thanks Pamela for tracking down these recipes and the stories of the people that continue to pass on the traditions.

To order the book, use the link on Pamela's website. HERE

Cioccolosa!

2011-11-16T19:09:00.003+01:00

When the chill of winter first blows into town, any good Italian knows it is time for a Cioccolato Caldo.
If you have never experienced a Italian hot chocolate, you are in for a surprise.

It is not that thin water thing we drink in the USA with marshmallows, but rather like drinking pudding.

I was asked to participate in a pairing of a recipe with Cioccolosa instant hot chocolate mixes, by the Antonelli family. These are used in bars to make each portion to order.

Being American and loving Mexico, where chocolate originated at the "food of the gods", I naturally thought of pairing them with a fried dough, like churro's.

On a recent trip to Sicily I found the perfect pairing, Sfince, a fried dough made into either a doughnut shape or a small fritter, fried and then tossed in cinnamon and sugar with orange or lemon zest.

The Cioccolosa comes in a variety of flavors, but the one that caught my eye was an Orange and Cinnamon mix which immediately reminded me of Mexican chocolate.

What I also loved about the Sfince is their size. Just a mouthful, perfect to dip into your hot chocolate too!

Join me!

Sfince di Antonietta, Menfi

500 grams semola flour, "rimacinata"
500 grams boiled potato, riced
1/2 liter of hot milk
1 cake of fresh yeast
2 tbs of sugar
1 tbs of salt

Sugar and cinnamon with grated orange zest for dusting.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk,
Add the salt and sugar to the flour.
Mix the riced potatoes and the flour together in a bowl, adding the hot milk with yeast.
Mix really well, for at least 10 minutes.

Cover and let rise.

Heat oil for frying.

Wet your hands and grab small amounts of dough and flatten, about the size of a walnut.
When you get the dough near the hot oil, press your finger in the middle to create a donut and let drop into oil.

To create small round fritters, use a teaspoon and drop into the oil.

Remove when golden and toss in cinnamon sugar.

Serve with a cup of Cioccolosa hot chocolate.

Winter is here!

learning from sfince expert, mamma antonietta

Switching Gears to a New Year

2011-11-16T08:45:00.002+01:00

I am getting re-energized by the incredible morning light. Although I am not a morning person, I cannot help but wake up to enjoy all the light available now, since by 5:30pm it is dark.

Catching up on emails, dreaming about 2012 and filling in my calendar with the weeklong programs already booked is a pleasure.

I dream a lot and many of these dreams do come true. If they don't, it is ok. I just need to have goals.

I am offering more tours to Sicily as one of my dreams is to move down there. Taking things slowly.

In May, I am hosting Savory Spoon Cooking School in Sicily.

Am looking at being a guest chef in Puglia in June.

Returning to Sicily in September with a group that met on one of my Tuscan Weeks and wanted to tour Sicily with me too, I have customized my west coast Sicily tour for them and created a coast-to-coast 10 day tour.

In October I have my program with Ecole Chocolate in Lecco for the chocolate masters program and my Kansas City Slow Food tour to the Amalfi Coast.

When that ends, there is the Salone del Gusto in Torino.

I am not going to be offering my Market tours anymore, I will be passing those on to one of my Florentine friends that has lived in Florence longer than I have and is part of the San Lorenzo "hood" too.

I am working on completing my Divina Cucina's Food and Wine Guide to Chianti.

If that is not enough, am also starting to work on my next cookbook.

Other dreams include:

offering my Secrets of My Tuscan Kitchen as an e-book
starting to do cooking videos from my new teaching kitchen

oh yeah, take more time off!

Just so you don't think I am not cooking, here is a recipe we just learned at Becchini Olive oil Estate in Castelvetrano for a shortbread cookie made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Biscotti al Latte

500 grams hard wheat flour ( semola rimacinata)
150 grams sugar
130 grams EVO
15 grams ammoniaca* ( used in italy like baking powder to make cookies crisp and rise some)
10cc milk ( or however much you need to make the dough stick together)
the zest of one lemon, grated
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the flour and sugar together with the ammoniaca and zest.
(* bicorbonata di ammonio is the official name for ammoniaca, here is the link from Wikipedia) so you can substitute a more traditional mix of baking powder and baking soda.

Make a well and place the EVO and milk with the vanilla.

Work the flour slowly into the liquids.

Knead the dough until smooth.

You can extrude the cookies as in the foto, or roll out the dough and use cookie cutters.

I adore learning the old ways. I am now on the look-out for a meat-grinder with a cookie extruder attachment! Thanks Zia Enza and Gabriella for sharing.

I can do private culinary tours for small groups, let me know if your dream is also coming to Italy.

My day classes are offered all year long, ( except when I am on the road) for one, two or three days or a custom week with touring as well as classes.

Stop by my site Divina Cucina for more information.

Updates coming in January.

Sicilian Treasures-Salt Flats-Mothia-Trapani

2011-11-12T18:33:00.001+01:00

There are places in Sicily i adore returning to. The salt flats are probably one of my favorites. We were lucky enough to get a picture perfect day as we left Menfi heading to the East Coast to leave. It is a magical place even when the salt is not out drying covered in the clay tiles, but it is so beautiful to see the salt crystals in such huge quantities. Hard to fathom the work that goes into making salt in the traditional manor.

Join me next year in Sicily, I have already got private tours booked in May and Sept.
I will also be booking in November again next year for the olive oil harvest as well. If you have a small group of friends we can arrange anytime of the year, if you would like to join an organized tour I will be posting dates in January.

I will also be arranging a special "chefs" tour for culinary professionals.
Food and wine celebrating life and culture.

I adore sharing my friends and my special places with you----

Sicily is like coming home.

Sicilian Secrets in the Kitchen

2011-11-10T09:08:00.000+01:00

It is no secret that I ADORE Sicily. I am looking for a place in Trapani to perhaps split my time 50/50 with Tuscany. I want to write my Secrets of My Sicilian Kitchen cookbook.

I have always believed in dreaming and making dreams come true.

Each time I come down with one of my tour groups, my friends share more and more of their secrets with me and I can then pass them on to my friends. A never ending learning process.

Yesterday we spent the day with Gabriella Becchina and her family at their family estate, and did a cooking class with her dad on his version of cuscus and then a fabulous cookie with her aunt.

Gianfranco showing us how to clean and prepare the fish for his cuscus.

learning to make extruded cookies with Zia Enza

they looked so delicate and were as light as air

The cookies were made using olive oil instead of butter, which is a fabulous trick I have learned in Italy, butter is used more north of Florence but EVO is easily substituted for butter in any recipe.

Zagara blossoms and fruit

ancient wild olive tree on the Becchina Estate

collection at the Molini dei Ponte in Castelvetrano

I adore the passion of the people that I have met in maintaining their traditions and continuing with quality products and sharing it with us.

Filippo Drago- Molini del Ponte