Today I will tell you how to prepare the “Fiorentina“, the rinomated typical florentine plate, a thick beef steak with well cooked outside and with blood inside. Of course we talk about beef, possibly Chianina.  The key issue is the cut, the loin should be with fillet and sirloin and with white fat (the t-bone [...]

Giorgio tells me that when he was a child and it was the San Giuseppe period (that is march), he used to go every morning in Piazza del Campo by a wooden hut to buy a carton of frittelle di San Giuseppe. They were served only in march and there was always the queue … [...]

In Tuscany people think that every single food and ingredient has its own “death”, that is nothing about funerals or something like that, of course:-) …but it simply means that every kind of food “wishes to die, is happy to die.. in a certain way, together with a certain ingredient”. And normally it is true.. [...]

Procedure: In a frying pan, put some extra virgin olive oil. When it is war, add chopped onion (one), carrot (one), celery (one piece). Now add the minced beef (300 gr) and minced pork (300 gr), plus some fresh sausage (2 fresh sausages). When it is well toasted, add half a glass of red wine. [...]

This is really typical of Tuscany.. to begin the meal with mixed Crostini some with spleen paste, some others with mushrooms, and some others with lever. Here is my father-in-law recipe (who, in any case, says that he always changes receipe, depending on what he has in the fridge:-)) Ingredients: chicken lever, onion, celery, 1 [...]

Before coming to Tuscany, I only new the famous song “Viva la Pappa col Pomodoro” sung by Rita Pavone.. in Piedmont isn’t a tradition. When I discovered it (Giorgio made me taste it), I found it really special.. and asked Giorgio to do it so many times! It is a very simple plate, a traditional [...]

Ingredients: a calf spleen, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, bread slices, chili, fresh sausage, 1 carrot, some celer, some parsley, some basil, onion, leek Procedure (This recipe has been given by my father-in-law): The spleen is a slice with a sort of peel from both sides. Remove it and then scrape the flesh with [...]

I love pasta and I adore Pasta of La Tosca! It has the right consistency, it doesn’t overcook, if you follow the cooking times, you will have wonderful pasta plates and moreover this is a certified pasta, with genuine ingredients, produced in a not polluted area.. I discovered this brand of pasta when I came [...]

The Vin Santo is a traditional tuscan sweet wine. It is made with white grape varieties and, when producted with the ancient method, it is really good and wonderful to be drunk with tuscan dried dessert (Cantucci, Cavallucci, Ricciarelli, Panforte, Pan co’ Santi ..) The problem is, that it is very difficult to find a [...]

When autumn arrives, the Siena territory becomes really magnetic for people loving open air life, and living in the countryside becomes truly fascinating. I love this period! After hot summer months, it is quite wonderful to light the fireplace, to put on the first pullovers and look at the woods changing colours into the warmer [...]

I suggest you to go in San Gimignano if not because it’s an extraordinary exemple of medieval architecture unique in the world..also just because of a special Gelateria (ice cream shop): Gelateria di Piazza, with his super creative proprietor, who was two times awarded with the first Just in order to give you an idea [...]

If you come to Tuscany, I strongly suggest to imitate the Siena inhabitants and go by Nannini for a sweet break with a Coffee and some Siena sweets: Ricciarelli, Panforte, Cantucci and Cavallucci. Ricciarelli are soft mandel biscuits Cantucci are hard biscuits with entire mandels Cavallucci are semi-hard biscuits with nuts and spices Panforte is [...]

When we want to start a day at its best, we go in Buonconvento and have a breakfast by the café and pastry  Le Dolcezze di Nanni. I suggest you to try the fresh cakes with rise and a cappuccino: it was long time, I didn’t eat something good in a café.. in this field, [...]

The fresh sausages are one of the most terrible, diabolic things, that I discovered when I arrived in Tuscany: Giorgio bought them in a “macelleria” and we cooked them simply on the fireplace: it was love! We ate salcicce on the fireplace every evening with red wine and white bones for two months.. There are [...]

Typical product of Siena. Sausages with funnel (funnel was used instead of pepper because it was less expensive then pepper. I suggest you to taste some slices of Finocchiona with typical tuscan bread (without salt) and red wine. You can buy it almost in everywhere, when you’re in the Siena territory but I always buy [...]

The Pecorino Cheese is typical of Pienza.  I love it very much, both the Marzolino almost fresh and the most aged. Before coming here I didn’t even know about the existence of this cheese.. but when I tasted it especially as starter, with honey and pines or some particular marmalade, I appreciated very much and [...]