A Cook's dream trip to Tuscany

This past year I fulfilled a long time dream to travel to the Tuscany region of Italy. This would be a vacation focused on food, wine, art and history. While I had already had the pleasure of visiting most of the coastal cities of Italy, including two visits to Rome, I had never ventured further inland. What a delight it was to explore the vast area of Tuscany with its rolling hills, focus on agriculture, reputation for the best food in all of Italy and the jaw-droppingly beautiful, hilltop Medieval towns that cover this expansive area.

Without a doubt, this travel adventure lands in the top five trips I have ever experienced. As an avid travel, that is saying a lot. Along with two of our most cherished friends, my husband and I spent nearly two weeks exploring all things Tuscan. The first half of our journey was spent in a private villa near Montepulciano. It was in a lush setting, straight out of a movie set. Our two story, stone villa was perched atop a hill surrounded by a vineyard, olive grove and loads of rose bushes and Mediterranean loving plants and herbs like rosemary, oregano and citrus.

I started each morning sitting high atop a hill next to the pool . What a treat it was to sip my morning cappuccino as I surveyed the countryside below. It was a thrill to be able able to take in the sights of farmers working the vineyards. As I gazed across the valley I was treated with images of sheep grazing (whose milk would later be used to create tangy, smooth and creamy cheese) as well as watching herds of Chianina beef cattle enjoying their morning breakfast. These images will be forever etched in my memory.

During the first half of our trip, we explored several Medieval towns throughout the Tuscan region. We visited Pecorino cheese makers in lovely Pienza. We spent most of a day experiencing the famous area of Montalcino where we toured the Santa Guilia Winery. We tasted their outstanding Brunello wines and were treated to a mouth watering Tuscan four course lunch. Of course we ordered a couple of cases of their famous wine to be shipped back to the US. Each evening we dined at many different hill top restaurants. While the food with mind-blowing, the jaw-dropping views and surroundings took your breath away. But the pinnacle of all food- related experiences was when we ventured to the region of Chianti. It was there where we were treated to a private cooking class at Borgo Argenina.

We were instructed by 82 year old Nonna Maria and her grand daughter Stephania. There aren’t enough words to convey the preciousness of this experience. Let’s just say that my beautiful friend’s eyes filled with tears when we entered the enormous stone kitchen where we would spend the next four hours. The entire experience was a feast for the senses.

Me prepping for our Panzanella salad…a combination of bread, fresh tomatoes, onion, basil and of course olive oil.

While we had made fresh pasta many times…never had we made it in a magical Italian Kitchen!

Nona Maria allowed us to take a group photo before we had to leave this dreamy place.

Now that it is winter time where I live, I have the time to begin sharing the recipes that Nonna Maria and Stephania so lovingly taught us to make. My husband and I recently hosted one of our themed dinner parties called “Tastes of Tuscany”. Our travel friends, Tim and Cathleen drove to our home for the weekend where we, along with 2 other couples recreated the outstanding Tuscan meal that we experienced on our trip to Chianti. So over the next few weeks, I will be posting the individual recipes that we created and will no doubt become some of our favorite Italian dishes. Stay tuned and Buon Appetito!