Everybody Loves Tuscany

Summer Pasta Recipes Here are 4 quick and easy summer pasta recipes.   These recipes are light and perfect for a summer night.  Enjoy!  Video from youtube courtesy of Vincenzo’s Plate “Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life.” –Anna Akhmatova  

Italian summer words Learning Italian?  Practice with the below short clip. Here’s a video with photos to help you learn some Italian words related to summer.  At the end of the video, there will be a review to test your memory.  Words include: Ice cream, Shorts, Beach, Sun, Hot, t-shirt, Sandals, Watermelon, Bathing suit and Fishing.  Video from youtube courtesy of ItalianPod101.com “Italy […]

Mousse con crema al formaggio e caramello salato 175 g of granulated sugar 60 ml of water 250 ml of fresh cream 3-4 g of salt 250 g Philadelphia 250 g of cow’s milk ricotta 50 g of powdered sugar grated rind of 1/2 lemon dried amaretti Preparation In a saucepan pour the granulated sugar […]

Pasta Fredda Pasta Fredda with pomodorini pesto and mozzarella is the perfect summertime dish.    Served cold or room temperature it is great to bring or serve at outdoor parties, picnics and more.  Simple and easy to make and filled with flavor. Ingredients for 4 people   400 g of short pasta 200 g of […]

Arno River Boat Ride A boat ride along the Arno is truly an amazing experience and I recommend it to anyone visiting Florence.  Reservations are required and boat rides are usually available from April to October. The actual boat ride lasts about 45 minutes and offers amazing views of the Ponte Vecchio and more which […]

Crostata tiramisù INGREDIENTS for a 28cm tart: For the base: 2 eggs, 250 g flour, 150 g sugar, 70 ml of vegetable oil, 50 ml of milk, lemon peel, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon yeast , 60 ml of sweetened coffee to wet for the mascarpone cream: 2 yolks, 150g sugar, 400g of mascarpone, […]

Conan & Jordan’s Wine Tasting in Chianti If you’ve been wine tasting, you know what it is supposed to be like.  From swirling the glass, checking the color, tasting and then describing the wine.  This clip is a bit different!  It is a comical look at wine tasting with Conan & Jordan in Chianti.  Enjoy! […]

Italian Phrases Tourists Should Never Use Here are the top 10 Italian phrases that tourists should not use while vacationing in Italy or in fact anywhere.  Some of these statements are just offensive and aren’t even nice for anyone to say even if not a tourist.  Although one’s first reaction might be to use common […]

Recommended Restaurants —The Real Deal! We all have different tastes and know what we like. Visiting a new country is about stretching your comfort zone and experiencing something new, but how far out do you want to reach? This isn’t a post listing restaurants I recommend in Florence. In fact, it is a post about […]

Italian Pistachio-Orange Biscotti INGREDIENTS: YIELD: about 30 cookies                  4 eggs 3/4 cup (150 gr) of sugar 4 oz (115 gr) of unsalted butter 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract zest of 1 orange 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2⅔ cups (400 gr) of all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons of baking […]