Monthly Archives: March 2010

Tuscan chocolate cake

03/31/2010 | Topic: dessert, Italian food

My boys loved this cake—and have already asked when I am going to make it again. Maybe I should make it when our cousins visit? They would love it. I am so lucky to have boys who are into food, who give me compliments as well as critiques. (Last… [more]

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: An Italian Affair—recipes and a glorious meal from an Italian farm kitchen

03/28/2010 | Topic: Italian food, menus, things to do

Oh yes, I am having an affair with Italian food. Day by day, I am falling in love.
I signed up to participate in Foodbuzz’ 24-24-24 and was selected. My theme: pure Italian food. Better said: all of the Italian I can possibly insert into one fantastic… [more]

Fuori TASTE event Florence, Italy (part 2)

03/22/2010 | Topic: Italian food, things to do

fun facts & finds:

into design as much as food? check out Sestini & Corti

tomatoes! I told the gentleman I was from Seattle. He told me he sells his tomatoes in Seattle… had I heard of Sur la Table? um—yes! (still trying to find

… [more]

Fuori TASTE event Florence, Italy (part 1)

03/19/2010 | Topic: Italian food, things to do

Extra points for effort: riding my rickety bike—with its dilapidated front-basket—across Florence. That was me this past Monday (March 15), on my way to the TASTE event in Florence. The 5th annual food event was a 3 day affair, full of newbies and icons of food. It included [more]

because its ugly, that's why.

03/16/2010 | Topic: food spotlight, just talk

Why did you buy celery root? Because its ugly, that’s why. And it promised to challenge me to learn something new. I know very little about celery root, but since I made the investment to buy one, I now have the motivation to find out how to cook it—at… [more]

Red, white and… green.

03/12/2010 | Topic: Italian food

This is a mini-tribute to the Italian flag. I am living here, after all. So why not? Red: pizza sauce I make from scratch. My kids love it… so much so that they prefer eating pizza IN. It is simply [and very, very conveniently] my basic tomato sauce,… [more]

Tuscan white bean spread

03/10/2010 | Topic: Italian food, starters

I find ‘white bean spread’ to be a spy-cover for what it really is: roasted garlic spread (at least—my version of it). It is so common in trattorias and osterias all around Tuscany and greater Italy, to find a mix of bruschetta or crostini on the menu. In Tuscany we… [more]

5 ideas for "what to do with leftover polenta?"

03/08/2010 | Topic: Italian food

It almost makes you want to double the batch—having these ideas floating around in your head. OR maybe just make a batch of polenta, conveniently forget to serve it, then have the whole bulk of it for leftovers. Polenta is a fantastic stand-in for pasta or potatoes,… [more]

you are just 6 ingredients away from the best-ever Tiramisu.

03/05/2010 | Topic: dessert, Italian food

My sons and I had a once-in-a-lifetime 6 day Tuscan road trip. I could go on and on about it, but I already have here and here and piled photos here. We drove from Florence to Volterra, took a ferry to Elba Island, hopped back to… [more]

5 weird things I learned at culinary school

03/02/2010 | Topic: culinary school, just talk

Sure I learned how to fabricate a chicken and make bechamel; we clarified butter and practiced our knife cuts. We used chinoise to strain our sauces and hailed the art of cooking an egg. We used bain maries and whisked emulsions, studied food culture across the… [more]