Tuscany Cooking Clas

Sunday morning, I ran through the incredible green vineyards again wondering where the movie director was hiding.  Simonette and Paola greeted us for breakfast.  Traditional Italian mornings consist of sweet, not savory.  She presented a chocolate cake made with stale bread instead of flour and four types of fresh made preserves.  The conversation centered around EU politics and the different countries' stereotypes.  I loved hearing a non-American perspective as I enjoyed both ripe watermelon and the view out the kitchen window.

A Welsh man who now lives in Denver joined our small class.  He had biked to the farm from the next town over.  We started with the biscotti - my request.  In January,  I bought Vinsanto, a dessert wine in which one dips biscotti.  I have enjoyed a little bit almost every night since.  We kneaded dough for ravioli,  floured turkey cutlets for balsamic turkey,  churned cream for gelato,  and cut peppers for pepperini.

At 2:00, when we completed the class, we all sat with the family in the kitchen to savor the meal.

Later in the afternoon, we went to a medieval castle - now a Chianti winery.   A Chianti wine must be aged in the large barrels below.  The small barrels house the speciality wines and the vinsanto.  Leonardo Da Vinci invented the little contraption on top.

We ended the day with parma ham and canteloupe and a few more glasses of Chianti.