Everybody Loves Tuscany

Tuscany Lockdown Round 2 Tuscany, including Florence, where I’ve lived for the past 5 years, is about to start a second lockdown.  The world watched as we first endured a prior lockdown in March knowing it was coming their way with increasing infections of Covid-19 spreading throughout our world. In Italy, we had a very strict […]

Florentine butter chicken or pollo al burro is a specialty at Trattoria Sostanza located at via del Porcellino 25R Florence, Italy. In fact, people visiting Florence line up outside of Trattoria Sostanza before opening hours hoping for a table to taste this dish. This dish comes served sizzling hot in a butter sauce at this […]

Naked Ravioli also known as Gnudi are basically the best part of a ravioli- the inside! Made with spinach and ricotta these soft dumplings can be made carmelized in butter or boiled and then topped with a pomodoro sauce. In the below video courtesy of Fabio Viviani, he makes these naked ravioli carmelized in butter […]

Supplì are similar to Sicilian arancini but are a Roman street food specialty. The popular flavors for Supplì are Classico with tomato and cheese, Cacio e Pepe and Amatriciana. Following are the ingredients for each flavor and a video demonstration for each. Supplì Classico – Video and Recipe courtesy of Tutti A Tavola INGREDIENTS: for […]

Tortellini alla panna is a must try recipe! It’s made with bacon, mushroom, cheese and a herb white wine cream sauce. Recipe courtesy of Recipe30 Ingredients 8 button mushrooms 1 garlic clove  1 shallot  2 Slices bacon rashers (4oz – 100g) ½ tsp thyme 5 tbsp olive oil 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup dry […]

Fish Couscous is a Sicilian cuisine and this recipe for couscous alla Trapanese is a long process to make but definitely worth it! The below video by Pasta Grannies demonstrates the cooking process. You will see that it is not difficult to make although it takes time. Ingredients For the fish soup 1 medium onion, […]

If you are dining in Italy, you are bound to be making reservations in Italian. In fact, making reservations is a necessity in order to secure a table at your preferred time and restaurant in many establishments. Making a reservation in another language, especially over the phone, can be quite intimidating. Many times the person […]

The world watched as Italy went through it’s lockdown in March learning what was coming their way and now, Here we go again….. We all know it’s nearing and no matter how much we don’t want to believe another lockdown could happen again in Italy, the signs are all present that it will. We see the […]

Tourism or turismo in Italian are important and useful words to know when vacationing in Italy. This video is courtesy of Italian Made Easy. Manu Venditti, 100% born and bred Italian, polyglot is a real Italian teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching Italian to English speakers. With students from all parts of the world, […]

Cannoli Cheesecake bites are easy to make and pop in your mouth. Make a lot because they will be gone before you know it. Recipe courtesy of Snappy Gourmet Ingredients 1 1/2 cups waffle cone crumbs (about 10-12 cones) 5 Tablespoons butter melted 8 ounces ricotta cheese room temperature (full fat preferably) 8 ounces mascarpone cheese room temperature (full fat preferably) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon fresh […]