In my continual quest for truth, beauty and eternal happiness….okay, not really, more like my continual quest for yummy things that satisfy my hedonistic nature, I found a beautiful website. I was first attracted to the beautiful photographs. I have a debilitating weakness for scenes of Tuscany and am a sucker for weddings and a well set table. So I was browsing through, and lo and behold, in addition to the typical setup of a website for accommodations in Tuscany with all the myriad of options, they have recipes.

I must admit, it is a small selection of recipes, but the quality so far has been superb. I have a strong leaning towards simple dishes that use a minimum of fresh, high quality ingredients where the flavors of each come through. The recipes, though limited in number, are ideally suited for this. I have been on a tiramisu quest since moving here. Having an Italian friend growing up whose mother did all the old-school type of cooking, including homemade pasta, spoiled me immensely and made me a critic at the age of 12. But I found my tiramisu. One point they emphasize that can not be overlooked is that the coffee must be strong. I love, love, love this.

I am shaking with anticipation at them adding more meat recipes, my canines can never get enough exercise and the quality of meat that you can buy in Tuscany is amazing. The tips listed for cooking Bistecca are spot-on, especially the “turn the steak on the fire only once”, if I can add to this NEVER press down on your meat while cooking, just those two tips will make a huge difference in the juiciness of your steak.

The only part of Tuscan cuisine that I don’t absolutely love is the vegetable preparation. My California roots favor minimal cooking for vegetables, preferably lightly baked or sautéed in olive oil, so the boiled vegetable thing just does not work for me (sorry Mom). The two vegetable recipes they had for veggies, surprisingly to me, actually suited me. I love cannellini beans; they have a comfort food quality to me that is similar to potatoes or polenta, and of course adding olive oil and tomatoes makes for a tasty combination. But OMG the fennel gratin, fennel is served regularly here, both in restaurants and at home, but this was by far, the best I have ever tasted it, absolutely perfect.
Do make sure to use unsalted butter and enjoy, I could have made a meal of just this.

Use the link or at the bottom of the homepage there was a link, the recipes aren’t the focus of the site and it was only by luck that I stumbled upon it. Live vicariously through those gorgeous photos too, even Tuscany doesn’t look like that at this time of year.

www.tuscandream.com/recipes.