Richelle – from South Africa – and friend Paula kicked off my 2015 US cooking tour by uniting a delightful group of young women over the burners in Richelle’s kitchen. Mille grazie…
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I missed Woodstock – but I was in Naples on January 7th for the addio to Pino Daniele. How not to be with the napoletani for their final tribute to beloved poet/songwriter…
A late December “freddo polare” (“polar cold” – which for Italy means anything below freezing temperature) – did not deter jazz appassionati from heading to hill town gem Orvieto for the twenty-second…
Peppa might not know that cicerchie (translated as “chicklings” or “pulses”) were cultivated in Mesoptamia as early as 8000 BC or that this legume is now recognized officially by the Ministry of…
The tall medieval watchtowers on Lucignano’s main piazza are testament to its bellicose history: ferocious battles raged when nearby Arezzo, Siena, Perugia and Florence vied for dominance of this hill town perched…
There’s no more memorable “Umbrian experience” than lunch with our farm friends, Chiarina and Marino. Just about everything on the table comes from their labors on the land: from the wine to…
Long contested in ferocious battles by Arezzo, Siena, Perugia and Florence for domination of the fertile Valdichiana below, the sleepy labyrinthine backstreets of the fortified medieval hilltop village of Lucignano belie its…
Almost always, any Italian “foodie” experience is also a “people” experience. The two are quite simply, inseparable. Take that “quick stop” at the Caffe’ Mi Piace in Florence, for example. It turned…
No, “a truffle is not forever” – so enjoy them while you can. Due to a rainy spring and summer, this has not been a good year for olives, grapes, chestnuts or…
If you’re a “foodie” visiting Umbria, you can’t miss a dinner of rural goodness with our farm friend, Peppa – and if you’re lucky, learn to make the Umbrian hearth bread la torta…