Over the Tuscan Stove

I am leaving for a week in Sicily ( I know, poor me) and leave the pantry full for my husband when I go away for any length of time. I had already made some pulled pork a week or so ago and found some lovely sweet red onions at the market and could'd resist making some pickled Mexican onions for garnish for the pulled pork. Mexican Pickled Onions I used something similar to this recipe-  but.... Instead of parboiling the onions, since they are so sweet, I just lightly salt to pull...

Where does a cook go when hungry' We are really lucky to have a great family restaurant near by, I Latini, on the road from Certaldo to San Gimignano. Chiara Latini runs this small hotel and restaurant, grand daughter of Narcisso Latini, who opened the original I Latini restaurant in Florence. Times change and families get larger and larger. Chiara's parents now own Da Giovanni in Florence, just around the corner from the original restaurant which is now run by her uncle. What I adore...

Often it is hard to know when to change your wardrobe here in Italy. Spring has arrived and the days get longer, more sun and warmth. Next thing a storm blows in and temperatures drop and back to layering with sweaters to keep warm and soup and stews back on the stove. Sometimes there are recipes that I love that I can adapt to the seasons like I do with how I dress. Years ago I learned a fabulous Farro Salad when staying down in Umbria at a friends converted Castle B&B ( it has since...

The weather here has been so odd, that I haven't risked walking in the fields to look for wild asparagus. We have had so much rain ( much needed rain) that it would have been a muddy mess. That said, I do know that on the road down the hill from our house, heading into town, I always see the female asparagus fronds after the season is over. So sort of remembering where they are, I keep my eyes peeled for asparagus. Usually the local neighbors beat me to it. I often see them with their...

For me, potatoes in almost any form are comfort food. I adore eating out when you eat like you are at someone's mom's house in Tuscany. Many small family trattorias I go to are like that. For making a lot of roasted potatoes quickly, they don't have time or space to roast all the potatoes at once, so here is the trick. The potatoes are boiled first and then roasted off to have a crunchy finish at the end before serving. TIPS: Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water. Let...

Once the artichokes have sat overnight in vinegar, remove then and let them sit for a day to drain, upside down on a plate. When they are dry, place then in a jar and cover with olive oil. It's important to leave the open to remove any air in the jars. Hit the jars against the table several times and using a knife or fork, press down on the artichokes to remove any air bubbles. Once the jars have "rested" to remove any air, you can cover them and store then until ready to...

When shopping at the market, as I mentioned, we first enjoy all the the seasons best fresh. As the season goes on, then prices start to drop and we think about buying in quantity and putting up the excess for another season. I saw the first tiny "baby" artichokes at the market yesterday. Usually I would just clean these and make a nice raw artichoke carpaccio with some shaved parmesan cheese. I first learned to make my preserved artichoke hearts from several vendors at Florence's San...

Spring is arriving slowly here in Tuscany, the hills are turning a patchwork of velvety green with rolling hills of wheat and dotted with yellow colza plants. The vines are budding and trees are filling out with leaves. It is my favorite season,but also because our little vegetable gardens are coming to life. My friend Kate in France, my soul sister in the kitchen and I have decided to celebrate the culinary traditions of our adopted homes by creating a special blog post, Keeping...

red tuscan poppies I left Tuscany with blossoms ready to bloom and came back to full-on spring in my own garden. Now to get back into the kitchen and start creating and preserving. borage blossoms, you can eat them and also the leaves flowering thyme first pea pods are starting to form We also just removed the saffron bulbs from the ground.We will separate the bulbs and replant in fall when we finish harvesting the tomatoes. the dry saffron bulbs- waiting for fall This is...

Once a year there is a culinary conference in America with IACP, where it is my opportunity to connect with other culinary professionals and I ADORE IT. I haven't been in two years and was great to come to New York, where I have never really been, to attend the conference. Here is the view from my room. We stayed just down the street from Times Square which was really larger than life and passing through at night, was like being there in the daytime there were so many LIGHTS! I was...