Lentils and Cotechino |
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2013 Culinary Tours |  |
2013 Tuscany week:
May 18-25
May 25-June 1
September 28-October 5
October 5-12
November 2-9
Taste of Tuscany mini tour:
May 12-16 and Oct 15-19
Bologna & Tuscany
September 12-18
Campania /Naples tour:
June 6-12
Puglia: June 17-22
In our culinary tours, you will get an insider's view of Tuscany and see the things most people don't see on their own in Italy. Your days will be filled with area delights - great food, wine, history and culture!
to FIND OUT MORE... |
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Vacation Villas
& Farmhouses | 
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Great accomodations for either a night, a week or month - sizes range from one bedroom apartments to large 20+ people villas. Contact Mary @ 972-342.8308
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That's one long sheet of pasta! |
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Making hand rolled Pici pasta |
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New Year Traditions
The year the world was supposed to come to an end is drawing to a close and we're all still here. Mary and I will be celebrating this new lease on Mother Earth and a New Year, drinking some delicious prosecco and cooking up the traditional Italian New Year's menu: cotechino con lenticche, or stuffed pig trotter with lentils!
In most cultures, the combination of beans and pork is supposed to bring good luck, health and wealth for the next year and Italy is no exception. The lentils are said to symbolize coins which you hope to amass in the coming year. And for poor Italian peasants and laborers, the sausage once represented opulence (meat).
Originally from Emilia Romagna, a pig foot stuffed with pork and spices is traditional winter fare and comes both with the hoof attached, calledzampone, and without, which is cotechino. As the pig skin cooks, it softens and becomes gelatinous and unctuous. Either of these can be found in specialty stores, generally precooked and packaged, and are delicious cooked and served with lentils.
Lentils have been grown and eaten through-out Italy for centuries. While any lentil will do for this recipe, the very small, delicate ones from Castelluccio in Umbria are especially good and creamy, and now available throughout Italy and the US.
Steamed kale drizzled with extra virgin olive oil will make this the perfect New Year's lunch.
And don't forget to buy yourself some new RED underwear to wear on New Year's Eve! It's an old Italian custom that's supposed to bring you good luck. We can all use some of that!
We wish all of you a very blessed, peaceful and prosperous 2013! I hope we see each other over the stove either in the US or in Italy sometime during the year.
Buon Appetito and Buon Capo d'Anno...Happy New Year!
Gina & Mary
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Cotechino con Lenticche
Serves 4-6
1 cotechino sausage (available at specialty stores or online)
1 lb lentils
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 fresh bay leaves
Grinding of black pepper
Sea salt
Vegetable broth or water
Bring a pot of water to the boil, add the cotechino and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the sausage. Finely chop the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saut� in olive oil until soft. Add the parsley, bay, lentils and enough broth or water to cover them.
Add the cotechino, salt and pepper and simmer until the lentils are cooked and creamy. Remove the cotechino and slice in �" pieces. Discard the bay leaf and serve the cotechino slices on a bed of lentils, drizzling the whole dish with extra virgin olive oil. |
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Gina's Winter Tour Schedule
Gina will be in the U.S. this winter visiting several cities. We're adding more dates, so check with the website. If you'd like a private dinner class or know a good venue, please contact Mary and we'll try to work you in!
Dallas/Ft Worth area:
Balsamico tasting: January 5, Italian Club of Dallas: (Purchase tix)
Market Street Dish cooking schools: McKinney: January 9, Colleyville: January 14; (Register)
Pop-Up Restaurant: January 13, Italian Club of Dallas. (Purchase tix)
Houston markets: Private classes only at this time. January 16, 17, 18
Dayton: Dorothy Lane Cooking School, February 7 and 8. (Class sign up)
Denver: The Kitchen Table, February 26th,
(Class sign up)
Wine dinner at University of Denver, Knoebel School of Hospitality College of Business February 28. Includes four course Tuscan dinner paired with wines from Castello di Banfi. Contact: Cindy Koch, [email protected] to sign up.
Aspen: Wine dinner Aspen Glens Club, March 2
Kansas City: A Thyme for Everything cooking school: March 9, 12. (Class sign up)
Jasper's Restaurant, March 11 (Tuscan dinner)
San Francisco area: Early April - winery dinner, cooking school venues in the planning!
Check our website for dates and times on classes...and new classes are being added. |
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar and Pop up Restaurant in early January
Gina will be conducting a talk and tasting of traditional balsamic vinegar from Modena on Saturday afternoon, Jan 5th at the Italian Club of Dallas. Focusing on the artisan product that is "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena", she'll discuss how it differs from the mass produced balsamic vinegar available in the super market, what you should look for and how to use it. The tasting will include 12 year and 25 year old balsamic as well as two traditional pairings with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and vanilla ice cream. The balsamic vinegar from San Donnino in Emilia Romagna will also be available to order direct from the producer.
Pop up Restaurant:
Don't forget to reserve a space for our pop up restaurant on Sunday Jan 13th at the Italian Club of Dallas in Addison. Just like going to dinner at your Italian grandma's! Seating is limited so make a reservation here:
Reservations |
New Tours for 2013
This year we are introducing two new tours:
The 'Taste of Tuscany' 3 day, 4 nights tour for those of you that have a vacation time crunch but want a unique culinary experience is available in May and in October. If you have your own group of 6 or more, we're happy to fit you in on your time frame. Special intro price of 2,100 euros this year for this mini tour (normal price is 2400 eu).
The second tour is a 'Best of Bologna and Tuscany Tastes' - a combo of 2 days in Emilia Romagna home of Aceto Balsamico, Proscuitto di Parma, Parmesano cheese and stuffed pastas and 4 days in Tuscany with a cooking classes, wine tours and visits to area hill towns.
Check out the itineraries on our website! |
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The New Ecco La Cucina Cookbook
Gina's latest cookbook now revised and new recipes have been added. It is a collection of traditional Tuscan cooking, featuring dishes of the Siena area. 
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