Vineyard Tour of Capezzana: No trip to Tuscany is complete without a tour of a vineyard. In our case, we went to Capezzana, mostly because my travel companion, The Hedonist had stayed close to there before, but had been unable to visit. That, so he told me, despite enjoying the wines daily. So this visit […]
Tales of Tuscany – White Truffle Festival
San Miniato, Tuscany White Truffle Festival: I love truffles. Black truffles that are used to make dishes special all year round. And white truffles that I’ve only had once, shaved over gnocchi and served with fresh parmesan in a stunning restaurant in Dover Street. But, I didn’t know very much about them until my most […]
Tales of Tuscany – Fish Feast in Livorno
A Fishy Tale from Livorno Tuscany: I have a few Italian cookery books. Though I don’t often follow recipes last year I started trying to make Fish Stew from Livorno using various recipes in books and on the net as the base for the dish. I’ve actually had a couple of attempts because the first […]
Tales of Tuscany – Pecorino a Latte Crudo
Artisan Pecorino a Latte Crudo and Ricotta from Pistoia: In addition to showing us around Pistoia, feeding us so that we really shouldn’t have eaten for the rest of the week and taking us to the great olive oil mill I wrote about earlier, Miky also took us to visit a very special artisan cheese […]
Tales of Tuscany – Pistoia – a Hidden Gem
Mostly about Miky and Pistoia, Tuscany: My lovely friend from Twitter Michela Ricciarelli turned out to be a real expert and her help to us made our trip to Tuscany very special. She’s a professional tour leader and in addition to working for some of the leading food tours operators in Tuscany, can be hired […]
Tales of Tuscany – Olio Nuovo – Olive Oil
Traditional Olive Oil Pressing and Olio Nuovo: Twitter can be a wonderful networking tool. A few months ago I was busy tweeting about my last trip to Tuscany and an Italian lady started to chat to me. She told me that she loved London and had studied there. She asked why I wasn’t visiting HER […]
Tales of Tuscany
Il Monte – Living a Dream in Tuscany: Some months ago I was invited to an Italian cookery event lead by Chef Anna Binni. For me, it brought back some memories of a recent trip to the Chianti area of Tuscany and at the invitation of TuscanyNow I wrote a blog post about what made […]
Cooking from Tuscany with Anna Binni
Learning to Cook Food From Tuscany: When I was offered the chance to meet and learn to cook with Anna Binni, I jumped at the opportunity. I do love food from Italy, especially Tuscany and I’ve always been curious about how the dishes I enjoy in restaurants and bars are really prepared. Sometimes it’s a […]
Chocolate Cantuccini
Chocolate, almonds and a taste of Tuscany: One of my favourite occupations on my recent trip to Tuscany was nibbling on home made cantuccini with a glass of vin santo after a meal. The little biscuits which we sometimes mistakenly call biscotti over here, were packed with almonds and pleasantly crunchy. In Florence, we […]
Tuscany – Castles and Cuisine – Gaioli in Chianti
Hotel Castello di Spaltenna, Gaioli in Chianti – Tuscany: Someone asked me what the best meal I had eaten in Tuscany was, and I still can’t find a sensible answer. We tried a wide range of food. From family restaurants full of Italians on Liberation day to small bars. The food we brought from the […]