Don’t be fooled by the title of this post into thinking that any of these places I will be talking about doing day trips to can be fully explored in just a day, as that is so far from the truth. These are just the places we took day trips to, while we were staying at the beautiful Torraccia di Chuisi.They are mere suggestions for day trips if you are staying in Tuscany and want to explore some of the cities in this region.

Our first day in Tuscany, we decided to explore the closest town to the Torraccia, San Gimignano. San Gimignano is a small medieval, walled town located in the province of Siena. It is well known for its towers and other medieval architecture. Its history spans back to the time of the Etruscans. During the middle ages it was a well known stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way from Canterbury, England to Rome. The pilgrim’s trail is still called Via Francigena and from the Torraccia di Chuisi you can use it to walk to San Gimignano “in less than an hour”. From the Torraccia, San Gimgnano is clearly visible, so we decided to make a day of it. Roberto and I are big fans of hiking and nature, and so we decided to follow the Via Francigena to San Gimignano, giving us a good chance to enjoy the Tuscan countryside.

At first things went pretty well. We were escorted for the first leg of the tour by one of the feline residents of the Torraccia, Leo. After he left us, we followed all the cute little Via Francigena signs, until we got to Montauto.

I am still not clear what exactly Montauto is. But it a big castle-y looking thing that is midway between the Torraccia and San Gimignano. From there, the dirt trail turns into a paved road. We are still to this day not sure if that paved road is a part of the Via Francigena because at this point we could not find another cute little sign for the life of us. We didn’t think at first that the paved road would be part of the Via Francigena so we tried several other dirt roads to no avail.

About an hour into the walk, with San Gimignano still looming far off in the distance, we decided to walk back to Montauto and take the paved road, since we knew that at least got you to San Gimignano even if it wasn’t part of the Pilgrim’s Path. Although the hike was much more than we had bargained for, it was a beautiful day.

We saw many vineyards, farms and other agro-turismo everywhere. No matter which way you turned you were greeted with another view of the beautiful landscape. Granted, this hike was very hilly and so if you are not in fairly good shape, or into hiking, you might just want to take a car. But we were happy to have had the experience we did…as it provided a guilt free opportunity to eat to our heart’s content once we got to San Gimignano!

Once we got to San Gimignano, we were exhausted. As the paved road was pretty much all up hill, and it was at least a 45 minute walk from Montauto. We had no watches, so we really don’t know how long our hike was in terms of time, but after looking at our trajectory on google maps when we got home, we realized it was about 4 miles – counting the getting lost parts…mostly up hill…so like I said, once we got to San Gimignano, we were hungry. We decided to first take a quick look around, and get the lay of the land before eating. Plus we had several restaurants that we wanted to check out before making a decision.

One of the things I immediately loved about San Gimignano is that it is not very crowded. Even though there were a lot of tourists, there were many streets that were empty, and so it was easy to get a lot of beautiful shots. It was on this day that I really started getting into taking photos. Roberto had our video camera, and so I was in charge of the camera during our trip. I had a great time taking photos in Venice as well. But in San Gimignano, I really got into it. Plus I love Medieval architecture, not to mention that once you are high up in San Gimignano the entire Tuscan countryside is laid out before you . So I was in heaven.

After taking some photos and exploring restaurant options, we decided on Ristorante Beppone which basically translates to “Big Pepino”. So of course we had to go. It is a bit off the main streets, but once you get inside, you know you have picked a winner. The whole inside looks like a wine cellar – it is like a brick tunnel – super warm and cozy. We were tired and hungry and so we decided to order a “fiasco” of house wine. I asked Roberto what a fiasco was, and he said a small bottle of wine. It was only 5 Euros, so I figured what the heck. Well what they brought out was a regular bottle of Chianti in the basket. But for 5 Euros, even if you don’t finish it, you haven’t lost much.

Beppone is known for its Tuscan specialties and so we were really excited – already being fans of Tuscan cooking. I ordered gnocchi with a truffle cream sauce and Roberto got roasted wild boar. We figured the two dishes would go well together, and did they ever. My gnocchi were extremely tender, and the sauce, full of the flavor and aroma of black truffles. Roberto’s wild boar was incredible, it was in a tomato base, and there was enough olive oil in there that it was literally swimming in it. Delicious. We really enjoyed that meal. The weather was chilly and so after a long walk in the hills, this was the perfect way to warm up.

After lunch we decided to continue exploring the town on our own, taking lots of pictures and enjoying ourselves. We also were scouting out all the specialty stores. Bruno was going to be away that night at a Tuscan food producers gathering, and even though he would have missed it to cook for us, we didn’t think that was right. Plus we decided it would be fun to have a picnic in our room that night to celebrate our 11 month anniversary which was that day! We had also been told by Grazia that there was an incredible gelateria in the square called Gelato di Piazza. Now even though I know di Piazza means “of the square” and that was the reference in the name, it is still pretty cool to find a gelateria “named after you”. This particular gelateria has won many international awards for it’s gelato, and so we were excited to try it. I went with nocciola (hazelnut) which is my favorite because I figured this was closest to the best nocciola gelato in the world, that I was ever going to get. I also got “santa ….” because I had never heard of it before and wanted to try it (something that usually works in my favor, but really did NOT in Florence…which we will get to in a later post) which had a lemony flavor dotted with pine nuts. Roberto got his classic pistachio and coconut. They really were so excellent. The texture was perfect and the flavors very true to their names.

After gelato, we decided to start getting provisions for the evening. We started with getting some local cheeses – all pecorino – some fresh and some slightly aged. If all you have ever had before is Pecorino Romano, like I have, you will be amazed at how different these fresh pecorinos are. They are not salty and hard, but more like a havarti both in flavor and texture. It made me even more excited than I already am about having sheep and making cheese someday. Then we got several varieties of salami and prosciutto – some made from boar meat and others from regular pigs, as well as some olives and preserved mushrooms and of course chianti produced in San Gimignano. I had also heard somewhere before about Panforte and how it is a Tuscan specialty. So I saw lots of shops selling all kinds of varieties of panforte, and we decided to get some for dessert. We chose chocolate and marzipan flavors. Once we were finished with shopping we both agreed that although it was the wussy way out, we needed to take a cab back to the Torraccia.

We had a great evening really delighting in our room, eating all these great Tuscan treats and talking about our own future plans for having a farm and enjoying a more rustic lifestyle. We loved being able to buy all local products, much like we did when we were in Vermont and really taste the difference. It is these moments in life that make you think about your priorities in life and really how you want to live it. Being in Tuscany and enjoying all the flavors confirmed for us our desire to live a more sustainable life, where most of the food we either produce or get locally. This is not something that happens overnight, but it is a goal for us that we are looking forward to pursuing in earnest and we have the people of the countryside of Tuscany and their dedication to producing local foods to thank for that reminder.

We found ourselves saying this a million times on our trip. Anyone that knows us, even for 5 minutes, knows how much we love the Green Mountain State – all the mountains, the green hills and valleys, the local producers of everything from meat to cheese and from fresh produce to beer, wine and cider. That coupled with the independent spirit of Vermonters and we feel very much at home. Which is why we hope to make it our home one day. But this is not a post about Vermont, this is a post about Toscana…

(Tuscan view- San Gimignano in the distance)

After our first day in Tuscany, we were finding a lot of similarities to our favorite state. In fact, the similarities are what brought me to Tuscany in the first place. I have been finding myself becoming increasingly interested in the slow food movement, locavore eating, farmers markets, sustainability, gardening, animal husbandry and cheese making and I have been writing about some of this on my blog over the past months (and there will be more on these topics to come). As I am learning more about these things, I am finding that when it comes to vacationing that I like to have an option of staying somewhere that is more in line with this lifestyle and where I might learn a thing or two about my budding interests. In Italy that is Agro-Turismo, a thriving vacation business where Italian farms offer accommodations to tourists and visitors who want to experience a bit of the country life instead of the more common hotels, or even bed and breakfasts. Tuscany is full of such places.

( The “Torraccia” or tower of Chiusi)

I had a fantastic opportunity to go to Tuscany and visit a gorgeous agro-turismo, Torraccia di Chiusi right outside of the beautiful and medieval village of San Gimignano.

(Grazia, Bruno, Jenn)

Just reading about the Torraccia on the website got me really excited about this place, especially the part about the food. You see, there is an amazing chef/ cookbook author/ artist at the Torraccia di Chiusi named Bruno, who is on a bit of a slow food adventure himself. Not only is he a master of Tuscan cuisine, but he also likes to dabble in Medieval and Etruscan cuisines, and grappa production. But what I didn’t know until I got to the Torraccia is what a personable and truly generous person Bruno is. Let’s just say we ate dinner at the Torraccia every night of our stay in Tuscany and enjoyed immensely the wonderful after (and during) dinner conversations about farm life, sustainability, sheep, cheese, olive oil, wine and all the good things of a simple life that revolves around living off the land. The Torraccia produce their own wine, olive oil, olives, eggs, grappa and cured meats and plan on adding chickens and perhaps some other meats to that list later this year. We had exceptional meals there.

At this point I will explain about what “dinner” means to Italians. Everyday, for dinner, Italians in every region, and of every age enjoy a large, at least 4 course meal.

It starts with some kind of antipasto platter or bruschetta, this is sometimes followed by a soup,

(Ribollita Sienese)

but it is always followed by a pasta course, then a meat or fish course, a salad, then dessert and then either grappa, amaretto, sambuca, or some other after dinner drink.

(Jenn with Bruno’s homemade grappa)

Dinner is always enjoyed with sparkling (or natural) bottled water and wine.

(red wine produced right on the farm)

So of course this was no exception at the Torraccia. We enjoyed, seasonal, local and amazing prepared meals. Tuscan cuisine is very rustic.

(Boar roast with greens)

There is a lot of roasted meats, like wild boar, chicken and pork involved, and there are also lots of warming vegetables, like potatoes and carrots. Soups were hearty and desserts were simple and just enough to top off the meal.

(Marscapone Cream with Biscotti)

Now remember, when we were visiting it was just on the edge of spring. On one of our last days there it actually snowed. So since the food served is seasonal, this was reflected in the meals we were served. Everything was lovingly prepared by Bruno and whether we were alone, or there were other guests, he went all out each night. Believe me, we had a great time chatting about food together, even though he doesn’t speak English, and my Italian is barely passable – but that is where Roberto’s help really was worth its weight in gold. We had such a great rapport that we are now facebook friends! At the end of our visit I took home with me a bottle of their liquid gold – olive oil produced from their olives and Bruno’s first cookbook. The cookbook is in Italian, but they are working on an English version and trust me, you want it and we are going to work with Bruno and Grazia to give you a chance to get one. All of the delicious dishes we enjoyed at the Torraccia can be found in this cookbook, so we can now enjoy them at home. Yay for us.

(View from our room)

Now let’s talk about the rest of the experience, now that we have the best part covered. The Torraccia di Chuisi is really and truly out in the middle of the Tuscan countryside, nestled in the fertile hills and surrounded by nothing but farms and vineyards.

(Raja)

For those that love animals, like I do, they have an amazing dog, a border collie named Raja. She loves to play, and she is an unofficial greeter and tour guide. There are also several cats milling about and ready to go on a hike with you.

The Torraccia is also home to two donkeys and two Pilgrim Geese. There are also chickens. We didn’t get a good look at them, but they are there laying their beautiful eggs for our breakfast. I must admit that the first time we drove up the steep dirt road that gets you to the Torraccia, I was concerned. See, Italian roads are narrow, this one was dirt, there are no guard rails, and if you veer a little too far to the side, there is nothing to prevent you from falling hundreds of feet. I wasn’t really prepared for this the first go around. But like Bruno assured us at dinner the first night – after you drive it a few times, it is just like a highway! I wouldn’t go that far, but it does get better. And it is well worth it, because the views from the rooms (and we had a rooftop terrace) are magical and awe inspiring. Everywhere you look is a painting of Tuscany, just like you would imagine, and with the fireplaces burning, the air is full of its scent. Truly heaven for those who enjoy relaxation and the little things in life.

If you are looking for some luxury the Torraccia di Chuisi can give you that as well. There is a beautiful spa there, where they offer massages, Turkish baths and various other beauty and relaxation treatments. There is also a beautiful pool and outdoor porch to enjoy in the summer months. Pretty much everything you need.

But the most amazing thing about the place are the people. The owners, Donatella and Stefano are very present, and always offering help and suggestions. We had trouble with our internet connection, and they offered to let us sit in their offices and take care of some business. When we needed to make a quick call, the phone was made available. Then there is Grazia, the hostess, who is very knowledgeable about the surrounding areas and the history of the Torraccia and also is there to offer advice on everything from where to eat and what attractions to see in the surrounding towns. Grazia spent many years living in England, and so when I wanted to take part in conversation, she easily went from Italian to English and back again. Everyone was just so kind and accomodating, and for us, that hospitality is exactly what made this destination so exceptional for us. I really cannot recommend this place highly enough. They just do everything right.

This beautiful city was historically an independent nation, and during the Middle Ages and Renaissance it was a major maritime power and center of commerce. It was also a major player during the time of the Byzantine Empire, trading extensively with the Muslim world, something still reflected in the city’s astounding and decidedly “moorish” architecture. The City of Lights, which it is often called, is cited as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Having been there, even though briefly, I can vouch for that. It is a labyrinth of canals, cobblestone streets and passageways, surrounded by the Adriatic Sea.

The skyline is all domes and spires jutting up into the blue sky. Venice is literally built in the water of the lagoons that surround it. Making it a most interesting city in terms of its architecture, culture, and food, as all of these developed based on the city’s geography and status in the world for so many centuries.

We flew into Venice and stayed for just one night. We wanted to at least experience a little of what this mysterious city, shrouded in fog, has to offer. We took a public water taxi, the Vaporetto from the airport to the city. It was the cheapest way to get there, but it also offered us an extensive tour of the outskirts of Venice and the many islands out of the main city, like Murano. We stayed at a tiny hotel close to the Rialto Bridge. It was a great central location for us to explore the city’s main attraction – Piazza San Marco and the main tourist port where all the ferries and gondolas park.

We had taken an evening flight out of New York (after flying there from Orlando) and so by the time we got to Venice, it was about 10 AM local time. We had only gotten maybe 3 or 4 hours of very uncomfortable sleep on the plane, but I guess the adrenaline of being in such a beautiful place kept us going. After checking into the tiny hotel and having a much needed shower, we headed out in search of food. This was to be my first ever meal in Italy, and so we picked a nice outdoor cafe’ in a cute little square we found near our hotel. Since Venice is a seaside city, we both opted for seafood.

I had an awesome salad with tuna, and Roberto got a mixed seafood plate with an assortment of cold seafood salads.

Both were fantastic. We enjoyed it with a nice class of local wine and basked in the sunlight of the beautiful day. A good way to start our trip. After lunch we both had gelato on the brain. So we went in search of a place that looked really good. It didn’t take long to find one. Venice (as well as most Italian cities) are full of gelatarias.

There were a lot of flavors to chose from and many that I had not seen before. So I was asking Roberto if he knew what they were. He didn’t so he asked the girl behind the counter for a taste. Well, apparently you are not allowed to taste gelato in Venice and apparently you are supposed to know this, because after this innocent question, the girl got very impatient with us. She couldn’t get us our gelato fast enough.

She gave us our change on top of the gelato counter, and when Roberto slid the coins across, one fell through a little crack between the glass and a euro went into the chocolate gelato. This of course made the girl behind the counter really mad, and we just dashed out of there! But the gelato was worth it. Mine was full of hazelnuts and chocolate chunks. I am not sure what else was in it, but it was simply divine!

Next stop – Piazza San Marco – St. Mark’s Square. This is the place to be in Venice. People just go to the piazza to sit and enjoy the sights, feed the many pigeons, watch the people from all over the world and kiss their sweethearts. Dominating the piazza is the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia which is the Doge’s palace, constructed from 1309 to 1424. It is a marvel to behold in person. Such intricate design and details. You could spend literally hours seeing all the parts of this building and looking in awe at this incredible building that was built before modern technology. The craftsmanship and artistry is just unparalleled.

The piazza is also home to St. Mark’s Basilica and clock tower and from the piazza you have a straight view to the Grand Canal and there are several cafe’s.

It really is the center of Venetian life, and is a bustling place, full of tourists, street vendors, and flower pushers (different from actual flower vendors), which out of all the people selling things are the most annoying and unfortunately made appearances in every Italian city we went to on our trip.

Wandering around the piazza we saw an advertisement for a Vivaldi concert that night in a little building right off the piazza. They were going to be featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Roberto and I are both huge fans of Vivaldi and his compositions, and since we were in the city of his birth, we decided this was something we needed to do in our lifetime. We got our tickets (which were VERY reasonable) and headed back to the hotel for a quick rest.

Before the concert we made a stop at Harry’s Bar for a world famous Bellini (which were NOT very reasonable, however, the experience was great) and headed off to the show. It was a wonderful evening, and a great way to spend our one night in Venice.

The next day, we were headed to Tuscany, but not before enjoying a typical Italian morning. Roberto has been telling me about breakfast in Italy for years now – about going to your local bar (what they call cafe’s in Italy) to get a cornetto or tramezzino and an espresso drink of some kind. So we got up fairly early and found a bustling pasticceria full of Venetians on their way to work.

Roberto gave me instructions, and I ordered myself a cornetto (like a croissant) filled with vanilla pastry cream and a cappuccino…in Italian! I was nervous, but it went fine, and I had an amazing breakfast! Roberto had a nutella filled cornetto and a succo di pera (pear juice). In Italy when you go to a bar for your breakfast, be prepared to stand at the counter and quickly eat your pastry and go. This is not a time for relaxing, people are in a hurry and on their way to work, and space is limited, so scarf it down and get moving!

If you are still hungry, walk a few more steps and you will likely come to another bar, and you can get something else – this is also a very Italian thing to do, apparently. So that is what we did, we went a few steps down and enjoyed a tramezzino, which is basically a triangle sandwich with a savory filling. We got ham and artichoke heart with a nice smear of mayo. The ham was sliced so thin that it literally melted in your mouth.

We spent the rest of the little time left we had in Venice walking the streets and taking photos of the canals, bridges and shops before the rest of the tourists got up. It was a wonderful way to see the real Venice and its people.

Here’s one quick clue:

Did ya get it? Espresso……the land of espresso….un caffe’ per favore….???
That’s right folks, I have been away for a bit in the Mother Country – Italia!
I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Tuscany to experience and write about Agro-turismo a thriving vacation business where Tuscan farms offer accommodations to tourists and visitors who want to experience a bit of the country instead of the more common hotels, or even bed and breakfasts. I will write more about our experiences there in a later post. But for now I will leave you with a quick overview of our trip – for when you are in Italy, being such a small country, it is recommended that you visit several regions. We flew into the beautiful and ancient city of Venezia, Venice, and spent one night there.

Venezia- gondolas-duomo-venetian masks

Highlights of course were Piazza di San Marco, the Gondoliers, and the amazing and thriving shops all over the city dedicated to the celebration of Carnivale – full of elaborate masks and costumes. We even had a drink at Harry’s Bar, for the fun of it!

Venice really is an enchanting and romantic city -made up of tiny canals where most people travel by foot or boat (no cars) full of tiny shops, cobblestone streets and the most amazing architecture.

The next day we headed to Tuscany and specifically to Torraccia di Chiusi right outside of the beautiful and medieval village of San Gimignano.

The Torraccia di Chiusi is an amazing place. The accommodations are exceptionally beautiful and the views from the villa are stunning. All you foodies out there should go, just to experience Chef Bruno’s cooking. He is an absolute genius in the kitchen and of course prepares traditional Tuscan cuisine using fresh and seasonal ingredients that they produce right there on their farms. He also enjoys preparing Etruscan and Medieval cuisines if you are so inclined. He was a joy to spend time with each evening at dinner, hearing his food stories and about life in the Tuscan countryside.

San Gimignano- entrance to san gimignano – us with chef bruno – tuscan hills – view from our room

There is an ancient pilgrimage trail, called the Via Francigena that you can walk from the Torraccia di Chiusi to San Gimignano in about an hour. I will talk more about our adventure on the Via Francigena in a later post, but let’s just say that it didn’t take us an hour. But San Gimignano was worth it – such a quaint and beautiful place.

From the Torraccia di Chiusi we made several day trips. Our first was to Firenze, or Florence.

Firenze – duomo – motorini – duomo

It was a pretty cold and gray day when we went, which didn’t make it so enjoyable. Although our good friends Erin and Chris from The Olive Notes spent a year living in Firenze and so they had given us an extensive itinerary of things to do while in Florence – mostly involving food of course, and seeing some of the major sites. We weren’t able to do it all, but I will discuss the highlights in an upcoming post.

The next day we headed to the medieval city of Siena which is famous for the Pallio a horse race that is done on the campo, the center of town, that is a scene of not only sportsmanship, but also huge political rivalries. The Pallio really defines Sienese life in so many ways.

Siena – duomo – lions head detail – the campo

When we visited Siena it was a nice a quiet day. The city is very charming and was probably my favorite. It was easy to navigate and the architecture there was so unique. I really enjoyed traveling the ancient streets and stairs.

After five idyllic days in Tuscany we had to head south to Rome, for some family time. Roberto doesn’t make it home very often, and so we had to make sure to go to Rome where his family lives.

Roma – forum – colosseum – pantheon

What can you say about Bella Roma? It is an incredible place. Going from the more medieval towns of Tuscany to a truly ancient place, like Rome was an amazing chance. In Rome you have the ancient alongside the most modern. From the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Forum to Via del Corso where Prada and Dolce Gabbana live.

Roma – trevi- bronze angel- piazza di spagna

The enormity of the buildings were breathtaking, and photos will never do justice to these ancient and modern buildings, fountains, and structures – everywhere you turn is a work of art, or some kind of major human accomplishment…and the FOOD. The food throughout the areas of Italy we traveled were all amazing, but in Rome, it is just abundant – markets, green grocers, cheese and meat shops. It is unending. Oh and did I mention the gelato and coffee? Those are whole posts to themselves.

Our final four days were spent in Ostia, Rome’s seaport.

Ostia – ostia antiqua – port of rome – il mare

Ostia Antica is nearby and again, everywhere you look are ruins. Ostia is reminiscent of Saint Augustine, on a much smaller scale. But it was nice to end our visit with a place that reminded us of home, and where we were surrounded by family.

I will be working on some follow posts to feature all the places we went. So stay tuned! This small tour of Italy is not yet over. I am still getting settled back into real life, and I am starting to make my way around the blogosphere!

NOTE: Thank you for all your concern about Roberto’s family, the earthquake was in the Abruzzo region of Italy, so all of the family is OK. I have a friend in that area, and she is alright too. Thanks again for all your concern. You guys are all so sweet. If you are looking for ways to help, please check out Michelle’s post at Bleeding Espresso and Sara’s post at Ms. Adventures in Italy . Thanks you ladies for getting that info out. Our prayers go out to the people of Abruzzo and their families.

Hello food lovers!

I have a bit of a food mystery here…I have some wonderful friends who travel the world, and when they go somewhere they come back home with spices from their vacation destination. They have acquired so many spices over the past few years, that they had an overload, and thought to send some of their extras to me. I received a huge box of exotic (to me) spices in the mail some weeks back. Some I have shared with foodie friends I have gone to visit in the past month or so, and I have been fun experimenting with the rest.

There was however, one item in the box that I was not familiar with and when I asked my friend about it, he told me that they are organic day lillies from Taiwan and that they are usually used in rice or meat dishes. The only characters that I could understand on the bag says: “ciharaay”.

Even with that information I have remained perplexed about what to do with them. So, I thought it would be fun to do a little experiment with my fellow food bloggers. If you are feeling adventurous and would like to cook with these flowers, please leave a comment here. The first 3 people to leave a comment or anyone who leaves a comment on this post before Thursday (which ever comes first), will get some of these flowers in the mail from me and can feel free to create a dish using these lovely flowers All I ask in return is that you post about your own experiment, whether it is a success or failure, so we can all learn something new.

Last weekend Roberto and I had a chance to go and visit our friends, The No Fear Family. Although we initially “met” through the Wonderful World of Food Blogging, Judy from No Fear Entertaining and her husband T (and their girls and pups too!) have become really good friends of ours outside of the blogging world. Even though we both live in Florida (which is close compared to other food blogging friends I have), they still live about 5 hours from us, so we don’t get to hang out as often as we would if we lived closer…that said, we decided we needed some hang time and so they were gracious enough to host us AND Pepino at their beautiful house in Cape Coral. Now that is a good friend!

We got there just in time for Judy to leave and pick the girls up from school. So I made sure to get myself to work while she was out. Judy showed me prior to leaving (why is it that even in a rush, food bloggers find time to give another food blogger a “tour” of their fridge the moment they arrive???LOL!) that there were some eggplants that were on the verge in her fridge, so I decided to make some Baba Ganoush. Now T used to not be a big fan of the stuff, but he has recently been converted, thank goodness, and claimed that he liked mine, so I was feeling pretty good. For dinner that night we had Peter from Kalofagas’ famous Pork Souvlaki which really lived up to all the prior praises. We had it with home made tzatziki and bread, roasted potatoes and a delicious Greek salad – Judy, I really need the recipe for the dressing. It was great! I wish we had more pictures of the food and us preparing it, from that night – but we were too busy gabbing that we forgot to take many!

The next day Roberto and T went to a local Italian market while Judy and I stayed home and…BLOGGED. Yep folks, that is how addicted to blogging we really are! We also worked on the Daring Baker’s challenge for this month. Even though I have officially dropped out of the group, we thought it would be an awesome thing to do together, since we have been talking about doing a DB challenge together forever! But I can’t say any more about it, because it is a SECRET.

When the guys got back they came with provisions for sausage lasagna and sausage for lunch (I hate to tell you we ALSO had sausage the next morning for breakfast – Judy’s homemade that is!). Actually I was kinda sad I didn’t see this awesome market – that Roberto claims is “just like being in Vegas at the Venetian” (not that I have been there either…), because it sounded incredible. So maybe next time they will let a girl come!

T grilled up some pinwheel sausages for lunch and then the rest went into the 25 LB LASAGNA that he made for an impromptu NO FEAR dinner party they had that night. It was a wonderful time meeting some other friends of theirs (and a friend of their friend!!!). The lasagna was some of the best I have ever had, and we all had a blast – especially the dogs, and the kids!

I don’t think Pepino will ever forget this weekend. He had a BLAST and has pretty much been sleeping ever since we got home!!! (Actually when we got home he hid under the bed for an hour, pouting because he missed his new friends!!!).

The next day before heading back we had a great morning exploring Sanibel Island and Captiva. These are world famous beaches that I have never been to before. The water was beautiful and both beaches are great for shelling – we also saw jellyfish, sponges, horseshoe crabs and various other cool sea life.

We had a wonderful weekend and you can be sure there will be many others to follow! If you want to read Judy’s account - check it out here!

Two weekends ago, Roberto and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with Peter and Christey from FotoCuisine. We met them back in September, when we were all at the Fooduzz sponsored Florida Foodies Dinner at The Blue Zoo in Orlando, FL. We sat next to them during dinner and just really hit it off. They are also a husband wife team, except the roles are reversed, HE is the cook and SHE is the photographer. So before the evening was over we made sure to discuss plans for a future get together.

(Did I mention how TALL they are…I am not a short woman by any means, yet they both tower over me! LOL!)

Peter and Christey live in Melbourne which is on Florida’s famous Space Coast and about a two hour drive from us. As soon as we arrived at their place, they whisked us off in their open air jeep for a lunch date at Matt’s Casbah, a new eatery that they enjoy. We had a great time at lunch catching up and getting to know each other better. Then we took a nice stroll through downtown Melbourne stopping in several antique and gift shops. When then headed back to their house for an evening of cooking, food trivia and videogames!

As you all know by now, Peter and Christey are the winners of POM Wonderful’s Featured Blogger recipe contest and so Peter decided to make his winning dish for us (although at the time he didn’t know he was the winner!). However, instead of duck, he made it with some lovely fresh grouper steaks. He started by making the sauce, showing us his procedure step by step.

Then he got me to chip in with frying up the tortilla strip garnish, at which point he dusted the grouper steaks with flour and white pepper and pan fried them.

The dish was delicious – the sauce was a perfect way to use pomegranate juice and the bed of fried tortilla
strips really soaked up the sauce!

After dinner Peter showed me some of his favorite cookbooks that he has spent the last year working through and learning from – like Bouchon by Thomas Keller, Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio and one of my favorites, Les Halles by my own food idol, Tony Bourdain. It was really fun to see the cookbooks that inspire Peter’s cooking as his style is so very different from my own. I am sure that his cooking would be praised by his favorite chefs for his attention to detail and fabulous sauce making skills, which he showed us again the next morning when he made prosciutto eggs benedict with the most delicious hollandaise sauce I have ever had. Another secret talent is Peter’s awesome martini making skills. He made sure to keep us full of yummy comos the whole night, while he himself, went for the classic martinis.

We had a great time visiting Peter and Christey and getting to see a bit of the Space coast on Sunday morning before heading back home. I am sure there will be many more food filled visits! Next time, here in Saint Augustine!

Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful birthday wishes! I had a wonderful day with Roberto and my mom and was able to speak to many loved ones that were not able to be with me. So it was a success! This post is about another success – that of a very successful meal out. I hope you enjoy.

We had a wonderful dining opportunity while we were visiting my Dad and Stepmom over Thanksgiving at the Fair Hill Inn in Elkton, MD. It is not often that I get to enjoy a meal of this caliber, a true work of art, created by people who have a real passion for good food that is local and seasonal. It is like my dream meal come true. Top that with the ambiance of a 1700′s Inn and I am sold. When someone asks me what I “like to do” – this is going to be my answer. You can’t eat like this everyday, but if you get the opportunity, I recommend going for it, as it is a memorable experience and something everyone should do at least a few times in life.

Of course my Dad and Stepmom know how much Roberto and I love food, and so they planned a really nice day for us the Saturday after Thanksgiving that really stimulated all of our senses. They live in Annapolis, MD which is less than 2 hours from where the borders of MD, PA and DE intersect and that area is rural, full of farmland and hills and is a great place to explore.

We spent the morning at Longwood Gardens which is located in Kennet Square, PA. It is a beautiful botanical gardens with many outdoor gardens and exhibits as well as an indoor conservatory which was all decked out in holiday splendor. Here is the mission statement of the Gardens: “Longwood Gardens is dedicated to preserving the spirit and beauty of the early 20th century gardens of Pierre S. du Pont. Longwood is a display garden promoting the art and enjoyment of horticulture for the public, while providing opportunities for research and learning. We are committed to excellence, good management, and fiscal responsibility”.

We spent an enjoyable afternoon at the gardens, but the real highlight of the day trip was to take place a few miles away at the Fair Hill Inn. My stepmom, Kayzie is a wine distributor, in MD. She has been doing this work for a long time and is very knowledgeable and skilled in her trade. So much so, that even when her clients move to another area, they still keep her as their rep. Such is the case with the owners of the Fair Hill Inn, Phil and Venka Pyle.

Everything at the Fair Hill Inn is made from scratch. Not only do they bake their own bread and make their own pastries, but they butcher their own meat and make their own cheeses. Chef Phil Pyle attended Le Cordon Bleu and studied culinary, pastry, bread baking and chocolate. Food really is their passion and the restaurant is a true labor of love. Every month their menu changes so they can base their dishes on what is in season and can be obtained locally. The area surrounding the Fair Hill Inn is rich farmland, and so this is a feasible way for the restaurant to be run. Guests at the restaurant can also chose to order a la carte or they can chose the chef’s 7-course degustation menu.

It was hard to pass up the 7-course menu, but it was only 2 days after Thanksgiving and the day after the Leftover Queen Thanksgiving Leftovers Dinner. So I needed to take it easy. I think we were all feeling the same way, so we decided to order from the a la carte menu. I am glad I didn’t order the 7-course meal, because Chef Pyle had some “in-between” treats in store for us as well.
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