Montalcino may be best known for its splendid Brunello but it has some lesser known gems as well. Amongst its rolling hills fly amazing honeybees, silently working their magic amongst the vines. Each visit to my home there has me shipping cases of the nectar back to America.  And once my treasured package arrives, it is play time!  My most recent shipment contained deep dark chestnut (castagne) honey, gentle sunflower (girasole) honey, herb infused rosemary (rosemarino) honey – each flavor so different and exquisitely reminiscent of the plants and flowers that cover the land.

Continue reading Risotto with Sausage, Green Apple, Pecorino and Honey too! at Our Italian Table.

Fresh local berries are everywhere right now – supermarkets, farmers markets, people’s backyards, even Costco. And I see little point in cooking these lovely little gifts to death or burying them in a complex dessert. So what better medium for showcasing them than simple baked ricotta?

This dessert is all about the cheese, so for this recipe skip the Trader Joe’s dairy case and go find some high-quality ricotta. Also, have some fun picking especially flavorful honey.

Continue reading Baked ricotta with blueberry compote at Our Italian Table.

I was supposed to be at yoga class this morning but a soufflé laced with cheese and drizzled with chestnut honey led me astray.  My ‘down dogs’ will have to wait until another day. However, I am pretty certain that any dish that brings together cheese and honey has its own sort of food karma – so I may have arrived at the same result without all the effort! 

I have been drooling over the cover of my February issue of La Cucina Italiana since it arrived from Italy a few months back. 

Continue reading Food Karma: Soufflé di Formaggio, Miele e Noci (Soufflé with Cheese, Honey and Walnuts at Our Italian Table.

The Tuscan kitchen is based on the concept of ‘cucina povera’ which literally translates to ‘poor kitchen’.  This way of cooking, or should I say philosophy, takes whatever humble ingredients you may have on hand and transforms them into a feast fit for a king. It is about using available simple seasonal ingredients and creating something magical – a melding of flavors from food grown, raised or foraged from the land itself. 

Continue reading ‘Cucina Povera’: Chestnut Crepes with Fresh Ricotta and Honey at Our Italian Table.