Food & Wine

How to Have a ‘Sideways’ Visit in Tuscany

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The wine that got Sideways’s Maya into wine is grown in a single vineyard in southern Tuscany.

Tuscany’s Wine Windows – An Architectural Curiosity Makes a Comeback

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First used during the bubonic plague in the 17th century, Tuscany’s wine windows are reopening. Learn more about “buchette del vino” and where to find them.

Porcini Mushrooms: How Italians Ease Into Autumn

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Funghi Porcini

Some time between beach season and boot season, porcini mushrooms begin to arrive in the market, at road stands, and on menus. Though they are available almost year round, porcini are one of the true harbingers of autumn in Italy, their nutty flavor and mossy smell pulling diners away from the beach and into the cozy embrace of the woods.

Italian Nonnas Show You How to Make Fresh Pasta [Video]

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Making fresh pasta is one of those things that has always been a mystery to me. Just a couple ingredients – it looks so easy! But I’ve never been able to get it right.

Luckily, there is YouTube, where a whole crop of nonne from nearly every region in Italy can teach you how to make both short and long pastas.

101 Cookbooks unearthed a handful of excellent how-to videos from Italian grandmas making pici, orecchiette, tagliatelle, trofie, and more.

Watch below as The Orecchiette Ladies make their eponymous pasta shape. If you’re hungry for more, head over to 101 Cookbooks for more videos and links.

via These Incredible Italian Grandmas Teach you to Make Pasta from Scratch – 101 Cookbooks

Five Favorite Flavors From Ferrara and Modena

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Flavors of Ferrara and Modena: Fresh tortellini and tortelloni for sale in Mercato Albinelli

To ring in the New Year, my family and I rented a farmhouse for a few days on the outskirts of Ferrara. Thinking back to the trip, the timing wasn’t ideal. Ferrara was freezing and on New Year’s Eve, the fog was so thick on our drive into town to watch the fireworks over Castello Estense that we wondered if we should even go out at all.

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Ancient Greek Temples and Mozzarella di Bufala in Paestum

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Paestum Temple

If you tell a Roman that you are going Paestum for the weekend, invariably he or she will tell you: “Make sure you pick up some mozzarella di bufala.” Paestum and Its Greek Roots and Ruins Paestum is a sight to see without the culinary pit stop. A city known as “Poseidonia” when it was part … Read more