Home At Last! has a new look!

Earlier this month my new website for Home At Last! With Patty Gironda went live. (www.HomeAtLast.net)

There was a flurry of emails from friends and associates congratulating me on the new look, the exciting line of products and general well wishes!

Happily for me, there were also a lot questions about the slideshow of Tuscany. Is this your village? Do you know the people in the pictures? Is it as romantic as you hear? Yes, yes, and yes!! Tuscans are generous, passionate people. Their love of good food, fabulous cheeses and fine wines is apparent in every village, market and social gathering!

Open-air markets through-out Tuscany offer the freshest produce and seafood, regional cheeses, smoky-cured meats and sausages, porchetta (roasted pig) and fried polenta and olive oils. Restaurants through-out the region specialize in seasonal dishes that include truffles, wild boar, pears, and super-Tuscan wines. It's a feast for the senses!

The anticipation of entering a town square filled with stalls of glorious Tuscan specialties causes my knees to weaken and is only remedied with a hot, frothy cup of cappuccino enjoyed at a local coffee bar. Due cappuccini, per favor!

I hope you will take a moment to visit the new site. Be sure to check out the Summer Special from our friends at Villa LaGrotta, in lovely San Guistino Valdarno. Claudia, the manager, was featured on Home At Last! and cooked a beautiful meal for our audience. You can download or print her recipe for Turkey Stuffed with Mortadella in my Recipe Section.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pate

Image
Every silky-smooth bite of this pleasing chicken liver pate was worth the extra calories!  Created by my daughter-in-law's mother, Jill, the recipe captured everything I love about pate! A perfectly smooth pate enhanced by the addition of cognac. The rich chicken livers pared deliciously with a dark berry compote made of strawberries, blackberries and fresh blueberries! Recipe: Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pâté FAST MAKE-AHEAD 1/2 pound chicken livers, well-trimmed 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced 1 small garlic clove, smashed and peeled 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves Kosher salt 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 teaspoons Cognac or Scotch whisky Freshly ground pepper Toasted baguette slices, for serving In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to l...
Read more

California Sourdough Bread

Image
I found this recipe in one of my favorite chef cookbooks. The recipe is made over a couple of days and calls for starter made from potato water. I had just made up a batch of potato starter-but with potatoes and the potato water, so, that was the first substitution I made. I also switched one cup of the required bread flour for a cup of Italian flour. The results were wonderful. As you can see there is a golden crust around the entire bread but instead of a typical chewy sourdough crust this was a little more crispy. . .like German brotchen. The recipe called for spritzing the dough with water before putting into the oven-which I did-but I also placed a small glass bowl with water in the oven-occasionally pouring water on the floor of the oven to create steam. My husband told me he loved me as he ate his hot-from-the-oven bread! I wanted to share a photo of the inspiration behind all the sudden interest in bread baking.  My friend, Char Fontane gave this to me for Ch...
Read more

Parrot Fish

Image
Asian-style Parrot Fish Dark soy, sesame oil mixed with a little olive oil, freshly-grated ginger and garlic! Yum. A little chopped green onion and blood orange. Yes! One of my last blood oranges was squeezed for a citrus marinade that made for a nicely-flavored and springlike taste! I might be rushing the seasons a little but this easy recipe would certainly be good anytime of the year! The Parrot Fish has a nice firm texture with lots of flavor. The bones were easily removed from the meat and so the yield is very good. I grilled the fish on the infrared for about eight minutes and finished it off in a very hot oven! Definitely worth a try!
Read more