divina

They give me an eye-dropper when I buy mine. 10 drops to a kilo of fruit in syrup to start! open away from face! DO NOT BREATHE IN! even when they sell it to me, she holds her breathe and away from her face.

Pre 9/11 I travelled with it in my handbag! Now I would make sure it was sealed.. and put it in my luggage.

I get mine at Bizzarri in Florence. In northern Italy I got in in a Pharmacy.

i southern Italy i have had biscotti di vino made both with red and white wine. Mostly the ones I have had are shaped like a taralli they are made with wine, and olive oil which gives them a fabulous crunch I like them rolled in sugar before baking. here is a recipe http://www.robinsfyi.com/holidays/christma...cottidivino.htm

Ciao bella Mine is a 3-2 1 300 grams of Farina 00 200 butter, unsalted 100 sugar 1 egg I mix the flour, butter and sugar first.. until crumb like , then bind with the egg. I often add lemon zest, sometimes baking powder.. and for a softer crust, some milk. Auguri!

Florence - Cibreo, the restaurant.

It is very rich and fatty! It is sold in winter usually for new years celebrations as Maureen says, with mashed potatoes or lentils. It grows on you! For me once a year is plenty! And I love porky things!

I have a dining guide to Florence on my site. Florence is famous for its steak, which is usually a 2 lb piece of meat! But you can go somewhere like Mario's trattoria near the market and get a traditional menu and if you want to try steak... get a filet instead of the tagliata, which is a good size for one person. they have the best soups too. only open for lunch and closed on Sunday in venice go to the Rialto market and try some of the tiny winebars nearby, they have sort of Italian tapas!! are you on a student budget? Venice Fish, Florence beef ( nice boiled beef sandwich in the San Lorenzo Market at Nerbone's. ( bollito) for about 3 euro! Rome Pork ( porchetta, pancetta, guanciale!) amatriciana pasta sauce, or carbonara White pizza ( pizza Bianca) Piazza al taglio fabulous long pizza's where they cut off to order and you pay by weight. I would have risotto in Venice, Soup in Florence and Pasta in Rome. Sometimes menu's get redundent... gelato everywhere ! I have a dining guide online for Florence. There are lots of places with a nice fixed menu, for under 20 euro.

I have been living here since 1984. There really is no problem in finding student places to eat, they pass around the info. have her contact me. My nephew just finished a semester abroad so I have lots of info. the best thing of course is to cook and eat at home! My nephews school got the kids a menu plan, coupons for meals at 10 euro around town! once she is here and knows where she is living I can suggest where to shop and where to eat!

the first lasagna I ever learned was from my Italian American friend Rocco's mamma. ( no not the TV Rocco) but the did have the local Italian restaurant. There is no one recipe for anything. but hers had layers of ricotta. I was in Naples one summer, and ordered lasagna.. it was layered with sliced ham, hard boiled eggs!!! not light summer fare! Farther south you go the more these meals get heavier! Look at the Timballo in Big night! So yours was an ITALIAN lasagna! My Italian girlfriend from Naples, breaks raw eggs , beats them lightly and then pours them on top of the uncooked lasagna, it enriches the dish and she says, holds it together better when cutting!

Even in Italy, they are selling dry pasta, for assembling the lasagna without cooking. When you do preboil the pasta it grows, and gets a silkier feel to the lasagna.. like mamma does! do both and try! I also make baby lasgana's ( open ravioli's) baked, and have used the non boil technique successfully. but it is a different mouth feel. If you really want to make an Italian weep, make it like mamma did!

lunch at Trattoria Sergio or Mario's near the Central MArket. lunch only. Dinner Caffaggio on via guelfa ( fixed menu 18 euro plus wine) Fancier: Cibreo there is a trattoria at half price about 30 euro, restaurant 60 plus wine.. dinner club, 5 euro for membership, dinner and show 27? have fun! do go look inside the central Market at san Lorenzo, a food lovers paradise! maybe I';ll see you . I am always there

I adore eating at La Torre, right behind the city hall. I live here in Italy, and just ate there again on Wednesday. Fresh pasta with wild boar ragu, roast lamb, veggies, house wine. Two of us 50 euro. Simply good! I have a dining guide on my website

Winter is a perfect time to make the Tuscan Wild Boar Stew in Dolceforte it is also uses with wild hare. The sauce is really magical and I would try the recipe with beef or pork as well. I serve it with mashed potatoes. Now that you mention it will probably make it for my Thanksgiving dinner, ( am tired of turkey!)

http://www.lacortechiusa.it/uk/cucina.html I googled Scuola di cucina Monferrato and got this

I would suggest staying in an agritourismo ( farmhouse) and ask if they can do a class. going to a market though may be tough as in the countryside market day is once a weel, but with clothese more than food. Judy ( from walnut creek in my previous life)

In Italy i have had basil sorbet and ice cream ( gelato) and i make a basilcello.. so I would infuse the basil in a simple syrup.... and go from there. Cream and butter and mascarpone will kill flavor. once you have your basil simple syrup, you can use that as your base. Also sometimes a little citrus will pick up and highten flavor.

you can also grill the rinds, and they soften and melt. Cheese stores also used to put them through electric grinders and sell as cheese.. which they are. Just harder! Nothing is put on the rinds, the forms are soaked in a salt water bath. they usually scrape them a little to clean off any dirt from aging. Enjoy! I throw them in my minestrone!

Funny you should ask.yesterday in cooking class, I had Shauna,the "Gluten Free girl" as a guest with her new hubby, the Chef. of course it was a gluten free lunch. I tweeked a favorite recipe for a farro salad and used Riso Venere from Ferron. We parboiled the rice in salted water, for about 30 minutes then drained and continued with the recipes as for Chicchi. There is a link to the recipe on my blog enjoy! it was fabulous, chewy and full of flavor. It needed nothing . I would have loved to had some salmon or shrimp, grilled scallops, for color as well as flavor.

When I was taking my very Italian husband to America, I told him to avoid discussions when someone offered him a choice, say BOTH. one of my favorite restaurants in Florence, used to offer a wonderful menu, traditional menu/recipes on the left side, on the right new twists! Easy! BOTH but be clear! I do hate when I order porchetta..and it is not porchetta! PS I have yet to see spaghetti and meatballs in Italy, I believe I must go to Abruzzo.

love pumpkin ravioli.. with amaretto cookies crumbled in. Pumpkin soup... ( cibreo firenze) garnished with crushed amaretto cookie and parmesan Saffron Pumkin risotto Pumpkin leek risotto ( touch of chili pepper) Grilled marinated Pumpkin, garlic, chili Pumpkin gnocchi with balsamic ( traditional!) and parmesan Pumpkin BRead.. real bread.. not sweet

I will check my notes, I know when the cone was invented, and who was the first Italian to make ice cream in Paris- I know Buontalenti, the architect made gelato in Florence and that was a LONG time ago! commercial ice cream ( gelato) shops as we know them today?

I had lunch with Fergus, before we did our presentation for IACP, and at a table for 6... I would say my FAVORITES: Pig cheek salad, bone marrow, Fish and chips. also his breads on the sandwich side were totally appealing. Looked fabulous.

have a blast!!! I am probably not going this year, my chocolate tour ends that friday, and will have had enough!

Totally Italian! I have a dining guide online for florence and chianti. People want to know how they can pay to be on my site. I only put who I haev been to and liked... and also since i pay for maintaining a site.. think my guide is large enough already.. and haven't put new stuff on in awhile. but Italians have learned.. almost everyone pays... to be reviewed! so bizarre!