It’s almost Easter, the days are getting longer and my hens, ducks, geese and quail are busy again laying lots of eggs after a slow winter. I’m busy too, making pickled eggs for the holidays which is an Easter tradition in my family. METHOD To make the pickling brine I combine our red wine vinegar…
Last year was my sixth year cooking for guests at La Petraia and we welcomed more dairy and wheat free diners than any other year previous. Probably more than all years combined. We also had more vegetarians and vegans. “Paleo” and “GAPS” became new words in our dietary lexicon and food sensitivity levels grew…
At La Petraia we don’t have cows. The principal fats we produce are olive oil and lard. I have found it possible to reproduce, with good results most butter based desserts and pastry using these two fats. In this post I will discuss olive oil, which is an excellent choice for anyone…
Last spring we harvested our fava leaves along with their beans and we saved all of the shells from our peas. The fava leaves we used fresh in salads and in a spectacular fava leaf risotto which was a big hit with our guests. The surplus leaves we dehydrated along with the pea shells. I’ve…
Capofreddo is the head cheese we make from our Cinta Senese pigs every winter. Unlike our salt cured salumi products (salami, gota, rigatino, spalla and prosciutto), capofreddo belongs to the cooked salumi family which includes mortadella and buristo, or blood sausage. Because it is not cured or aged capofreddo is ready a day or two after it is…
Madame is stressed out. It’s just past dawn and well below zero on a Sunday morning and the line in her boulangerie is right out the door. Inside, the longest loaf of bread I have ever seen is being sliced and sold by the meter and in the back a teenage assistant is packaging Galettes des…
Introducing our newest book…… Click on the image to find out more about Dinamica…..
Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog where I will try and post a weekly account of what I am cooking, growing, and most importantly what I am learning from La Petraia. I will also share with you my stories of the places I travel to and the people I meet who inspire me….