Renaissance Masters and Food
Italy boasts some of the longest living citizens in the world. A crucial reason is the Italian diet with its roots in the past. Much like today, food was the cultural center of life in Renaissance Italy. It played an important role in religious holidays and family celebrations and relied heavily on the use of seasonal ingredients. The Italians had some of the best chefs and cooks in Europe at the time.
This week’s menu is an interpretation using ingredients that Italians most certainly enjoyed in the early 16th century, including many fresh aromatics.
Lombardia: Where it All Began Italy and, most specifically, the region of Lombardia, was the first Western nation to be devastated by COVID. Despite all this, Italians have a truly unique take on life – maybe because they have suffered so many hardships through time, they have mastered a fundamental understanding of what really matters. It is because of the value Italians place on family and their traditions that it is easy to understand why the art of cooking and then congregating around the table has been fundamental to their survival in this unprecedented difficult time – especially in the hardest hit region of Lombardia. Their comfort food will most certainly be prepared with recipes past down from generations utilizing products...
Waking Up – Springtime in Florence Isn’t it amazing how just a few notes of an old song can bring you back to a place you haven’t been in years? When thinking about this week’s menu, highlighting the first new vegetables of spring, I kept hearing the lyrics of an old popular Florentine tune – recounting the spectacular beauty of Spring’s awakening in Le Cascine, Florence’s Central Park. This week’s menu highlights Florentine Spring rituals and ingredients Italian cooks are beginning to find in their local markets and that most likely will be included on their Spring tables. Menu Insalata di Faro Primaverile Spring faro salad with radish, fava beans, Castelvetrano olives and pecorino Gigli agli Asparagi e Rucola Artisanal...
Happy Florentine New Year, Dante
“Buon Capodanno / Happy New Year” could be heard again in the streets of Florence last week. The traditional Florentine New Year always has been celebrated on March 25, the feast day of the Annunciation.
To add to these festivities, last year, the Italian government announced the establishment of a National Dante Day or “DanteDi” to be observed annually on March 25. Dante Alighieri is considered the father of modern literature and perhaps the greatest poet of all time. He was born in Florence (Tuscany) in 1265 and died in Ravenna (Emilia Romagna) in 1321, making this year the 702th anniversary of his death. This week’s menu takes inspiration from both regions that were home to Dante.
Umbria: Italy's Green Heartland One of Italy’s smallest regions, Umbria tends to get short shrift, overshadowed by its illustrious neighbor, Tuscany. But in Italy it is known as its “cuore verde”, green heart, where it maintains long-standing traditions of agriculture, art, and spirituality. Umbrians believe that because it is in the center of the Italian peninsula, it is the center of the world! It has been muse to writers, poets, and painters throughout the ages with an inherent mystical link noted as far back as the Etruscans.The cooking is simple in Umbria. It has a relaxed approach and serves whatever happens to be in season. The menu this week highlights its plethora of vegetables, freshwater trout and of course the...
