divina

I do buy candied cantelope ( melon) here in FLorence and can we also use candied pumpkin, actually more often the pumpkin( zucca) is candied and dyed to replace other fruits! I think a lovely local version can easily be made using dried figs, prunes, apricots and pears which are easily available. instead of going to the trouble to candy your own fruit! ( and time and expense) WE have a fabulous spice mixture, called droghe. or spezie regina, which is used in panforte and panpepato. I have my recipe on my site www.divinacucina.com

I second Italcook, all my friends who have gone have been VERY pleased!

I was just there in January, Ortygia I loved the family style food at Trattoria Mariano, more meat based as he was from the Monte Iblea, vicolo Zuccola. It is around the corner from another fancier place my friend recommended. We didn't go to the slow food recommended Don Camillo is the most famous, just off the main entrace down Via delle Maestanza. We enjoy smaller places, and found our first meal by following a tacky sign up a dark alley into an empty restaurant. My husband has his favorite meal there, the Red Prawns, on sliced oranges. I had a wonderful pasta, then the traditional breaded slice of swordfish,the place slowly filled up with locals! We were repeat clients, at Ferro di Cavallo in Palermo, the local cheap trattoria which was a scene in itself. The meal I would drive an hour for was at Majone in Chiaramonte Guelfi outside of Ragusa! PORK, PORK, PORK

oops sorry I missed this! yes Girello, which is eye of round in the states! I have Dario Cecchini's recipe on my site, which is cooked with nothing then covered in a herb infused olive oil! It is the party favorite! Last week tried it with Rosetta, but wasn't as good as with the girello! buona pasqua! I found a maialino al latte, a 5 kilo suckling pig, and am throwin that baby in the oven right now! wanted to do it whole , but my hubby was a little sad looking at it's cute face! So I cut it up and will do it in pieces, but did roast the head for dinner last night! foto's coming later on my whole hog blog! Buona pasqua a tutti!

I also have made my life around food, cooking classes and food tours. Of course living in Italy.... food is the backbone of Life. Through food, I have made some of my best friends, I have taugth classes for the local study abroad schools for Americans, in Culture Through Cooking, lectured, guided tours of markets for Oldways and SlowFood, as well as create culinary weeklong programs for chefs bringing their groupies to Italy. In the past it has been a sideline to cooking classes, but after 20 years of teaching, I am going to concentrate on this side of life. will be interesting to see if I can make a living doing it! I am going to call it being a culinary concierge... and am almost ready with my online maps to go with the service. I know a friend does this in France, Rosa Jackson.

Adam, when you come back to Florence, my fish mongers give me the liver for free. when I have Japanese students I always go and get some. I just do a quick sear and salt. Will try the steaming version next time, although I get tiny livers.

Easter is a big holiday in Florence with a large celebration at the high mass, noon?, in the piazza duomo. they will want to see that. A parade and the large cart is brought in front of the Duomo and from the main alter a wooden dove is shot to the cart ( on a cord) and if all goes well sets off a series of fireworks, symbolizing a good harvest! They used to have bleachers set up for watching, but now I think everyone just hangs out. I have a dining guide on my blog for Florence and Chianti. The big meal is usually at lunch for holidays, so I would reserve a Easter lunch. and tradition has Easter Monday in the countryside. The town pf Greve has a huge flea market in their piazza.

Thanks for the help in English! yes the pala is the peel!! as you can immagine it is easier to get them in and out with a long narrow peel instead of the round ones.

I am wild about pork. here in Tuscany we eat a lot, even raw sausage! stop by my blog, Going Whole HogI presented a panel at IACP with Fergus Henderson and Kate Hill and created the blog to document recipes where were working through. I am now making a Capocolla , cured piece of pork! My first. I just got final advice from DArio Cecchini's "Maestro", Orlando. ( mentioned in HEAT) I worked with Dario for years and was there all day hanging out yesterday. Orlando gave me pointers on the final rub and aging. Can't wait. For lunch we did pork shoulder chops ( same cut the capocolla comes from ) rubbed with fennel pollen and then sauteed in oil, slowly. Deglaze with Vin Santo ( Tuscan sherry) and salt to taste! Last week I did a riff on a stew Dario does with sage, rosemary and VINEGAR! FABULOUS I could go on and on...

Where I live in Chianti, pizza pala is a long pizza . using the longer wooden "pala" like for taking breads out of the oven. I was also tempted by the class!

did you make it like a ganache?

yeah.. letting it rest is a good idea. usually the ratio for ITalian pasta is 40 yolks per kilo, in Piedmonte, but what size eggs and what has the chicken eaten make a big difference as well as the weather! When I worked in a restaurant in SF we also did yolk only pasta, but back then ( 25 years ago!!!) we used all purpose flour.

Ciao from Tuscany! I am just doing my first Capocolla and blogging about it on my going whole hog blog. I am using the "recipe" my local butchers have given me... salt, garlic, pepper, chili no nitrites. Am a little worried as it is a warm winter!

how about something simple like short cooking time!

ciao from tuscany! Bean eater land! I have several recipes on my site so stop by for a look. WE adore our beans, cooked with olive oil, sage and garlic in the water, then salted at the end. That is the beginning, and as Maureen said just crowned with green peppery olive oil , hot or cold and we are happy. tuna and beans, cold as a salad garnished with sweet red onions. As well as bean and pasta soup, with spelt FARRO is popular in Lucca, Beans cooked in a sage and garlic infused tomato sauce and served with grilled sausage. Cooked beans warmed in the pan dripping from roast meats! AHHHHHHHHHHH

Can I mention the weather ???? Chances are it will be horribly hot! Are you looking for somewhere to base yourself then tour from? I think it is hard to find bad food anywhere in Italy, and prefer mamma food to star chef food mostly with a break now and then for something refined. Since I live here and cook for a profession I am rather blessed. In summer most families from Torino area head down to the Italian Riviera for family vacations at the sea. Most Italian families stay at hotels with mezza pensione, meals included, so cheap you can't refuse, but not fabulous food! are you planning on eating out daily with the kids?

I have been living in Italy for 25 years and still have problems with all the endings on masculine and feminine. ( and also spelling in English!) What sounds right is al barbera..not alla barbera, perhaps since it is still wine, which is masculine? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Italian grammer!

I have some friends here in Italy that like to use smoked pork... for an extra flavour! try it and see if you like it! and next time just salt one, and smoke the other!

Ciao from Firenze! I have had an online guide on my site since 1997, and although everything is not on there.... it is a good beginning! there are a lot of new places in town too. My guide is arranged around the neighborhoods, which is Emily's second version of her guide she also did! I will be coming out with a dining guide map this spring! small.. for your pocket!

I once ordered a cappucino in Sausalito, and it came spiked! I almost died as I had some sort of a liver thing that I picked up in Europe and went into extreme pain!

no brandy in Bicerin.coffee , hot chocolate and hot milk.

In Florence the Fiorentina is a cut of meat.. it does not mean it is from Tuscan beef. Cesare originally from lucca now has Maremma in New york and raised Chianina beef there. A florentine steak is a 2 pound t-bone. But no one here would use the beef from Piemonte to make it and call it a Florentine steak. When I was working at the Macelleria Cecchini, I saw Aimo of Aimo and Nadia in Milano, cook a Milanese ( breaded and friend beef) with a cut of the fabulous beef from Piemonte.. where he threw away half of the beef to make it! All of the fabulous fat! At EATALY they have a fabulous selection of the Bue Grasso! the Fat Steer beef... lovely!

We have some Genepy and I woudn't say it tastes like absinthe...need to retaste it with that in mind. Also I ADORE the cinema museum. they just celebrated the restoration of the Palazzo Madama.. incredible!!!! overwhelming. Like most big cities a week you just scratch the surface. What was really lovely too, and didn't break the bank, was having "tea" in the Palazzo Reale, in Palazzo Castello. the rooms were restored and filled with the tea service from the Royale Family, more like a museum. My husband had a lovely quiche, I had a hazelnut cake, 2 teas. I think it iwas under 20 euro a wonderful break! I will blog about it soon.

Just got back from 4 days in Torino. It is so much cheaper than Florence. You must got to the Porto Palazzo market, huge! It is also cheaper to have fabulous pastries and coffee sitting down in Torino, how civilized! I am also into chocolate and enjoyed the Chocolate coupon book you can buy at the tourist office, sort of a do it yourself chocolate tour with tastings. We stayed near Piazza Vittorio and wanted to try Da Michele, looked great and not expensive. another fun thing to do is the happy hour. Normans is an established place for this. I think standing up a drink is 8 euro.. and a free buffet. sitting down is 18 a person and they bring you the largest table size plate with some of everything.. rather fun!

I won't be back down in Florence until after Christmas but can send some up to Belgium.. no problem!