Curious Appetite

Food tours in Florence

La Panzanella- Florence’s signature Tuscan bread salad (with recipe)

/ antipasti, First Courses, Florence, Italy, Recipes, Seasonal / 2 Comments

Bread salad? Yes.

I wonder if people coming to Florence or other destinations in Tuscany realize what Tuscan cuisine is and what it isn’t.

Tuscan cuisine is a complex yet simple beast. Frankly put, it is not just pizza and pasta. There are flatbread pizzas (schiacciata) and ancient recipes for some pastas (maccheroni alla cacciagione). But pizza is usually best associated with Naples and fresh egg-based pastas with Emilia-Romagna. These are gross generalizations, but you get it!

If I had to sum up Tuscan cuisine, it would be the art of not wasting anything- down to the last stale bread crumb and 4th cow’s stomach, drizzled with local fresh olive oil. Continue Reading →

Barolo Chinato and Amarascato: Pairing chocolate with wine

/ Desserts, Florence, Food & Wine, Italy / 1 Comment
chocolate hazelnut chocolates and gianduja from Piedmont paired with Barolo Chinato. what grows together, goes together.

There are a few things that stuck in my head during my food & wine pairing classes. Old adages like “what grows together, goes together”, you might say. One was related to pairing chocolates and wine. My ever so flamboyant instructor, who probably drank more in class than we did, asked “who in here likes red wine and chocolate?” You can imagine that mostly of us rose our hands and to our reply he said “You probably like it, but it’s actually one of the worst pairings. It’s kind of like sex on the beach- it sounds like a good idea in theory- beach, sex…but then the reality kicks in and you got sand and all that ruining the mood.” Continue Reading →

Unique flavors for any palate to discover in Florence

/ Europe, Florence, Florence, Food & Wine, General Eating Out, Italian Food and Wine Travel, Italy, Travel Adventures, Travel Tips, Tuscany / 0 comment

My life revolves around 3 things: Italy, food and hooch. Food being my first love, Italy second and Hooch the last but not least! I knew one day I would move to Italy but I didn’t have any clue I would have been this lucky. In a country as paradoxical as Italy, I somehow managed to make a way for myself without knowing anyone. In exactly what I wanted to be doing. Believe me, I took odd jobs, had my patience tested and I did whatever I needed to do to. So now that I’ve bored you all to tears with my Dr. Phil Opera book club ego stroke fest, I will tell you that I do plan on writing a book about this experience, it will include of course the token romantic scandal. Stay tuned!

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