It is not the last time I will show up to taste Chianti wine. There was a tent set up in Piazza Repubblica over the weekend, hosting 7 different wineries from the Chianti region referred to as LAMOLE (a subregion within Chianti Classico). (The Chianti region is one of… [more]
The truth is, I like getting acquainted with new ingredients, foods, vegetables, products and wine. I like opening a cookbook from an unfamiliar culture. I like a culinary challenge. But mostly, I like to add to my kitchen mastery. Think wizard with a wand—only I wield a sword. My… [more]
Geez, I didn’t realize I was in such a starch craze. Might trim off a few pounds if I start focusing on greens instead!
Why the starch-fest? Well, 1. it is part of my culinary repertoire that I still want to master, and 2. it is cost-effective to make your… [more]
It makes me so happy that Erika and I (aka Gina and Gina) made ravioli. Pasta has been on my list of ‘things to make’ since I landed in Italy 9 months ago. I even bought a very cool ravioli tray in December (it is a tray where… [more]
I don’t bake bread. Or pizza dough, or croissants or cinnamon rolls. I don’t DO yeast. Until now.
I always stood on the stage of ‘cooking.’ But I knew at some point I would have to tackle my fear/avoidance/aversion to baking-with-yeast. To part the curtains, and brave the unknown.… [more]
I have been spending time on a tomato peel—sliding around the web (I hope you just pictured one of those carnival slides—where you would sit on a burlap bag, and slide down rolling humps and your stomach would flop? Remember that feeling?). And while sliding around might be messy… [more]
Its hardly fair to call this Eggplant Parmesan—because it isn’t.
Its Eggplant Pecorino. Or so it was when I cooked it with Erika at her Agriturismo in Tuscany.
I just love the common sense of this: why serve guests a dish with cheese that is native to… [more]
You may not know that my ‘Italian’ name is Gina. There is no exact translation for ‘Janelle’ so one day mio marito (my husband) slid in the name ‘Gina’ when an Italian was having difficulty pronouncing ‘Janelle.’ It stuck. It became easier to introduce myself as Gina… and really a… [more]
The containers are critical. You need containers that are no larger than the slices of eggplant being layered. The eggplant is both the bottom and ‘lid’ layer. I used fresh tomatoes, but I also made it successfully with really yummy jarred tomatoes. The sky is the limit: look in… [more]
My brother, sister and two nephews are coming to Italy for an extended visit. We love that they are here for Easter—Florence boasts fireworks and a ‘dove’ delivering big bangs and smoke from a chariot near the Duomo. Does it get any better than that?
And since we cannot seem… [more]
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