Waking up from Siesta ...

This Italian / Tuscan lifestyle really fit us to a t. Coffee, breakfast, big lunch, siesta, afternoon nibbles, dinner, sleep - rinse and repeat. Every afternoon while we were in Italy, once we emerged from our afternoon nap and rubbed our eyes, the next thing of importance to do was to find a drink - either a glass of wine or a campari aperitif. Then we would round up a few nibbles with stuff we just had lying around the place .... for instance, ndjua - the delicious soft, spicy pork salami, the below mentioned buffalo cheese with white truffle honey, a chunk of Dario's salami, cured pig's cheek and a chunk of tallegio cheese. All with some crusty Tuscan bread and a bottle of fine Toscana.



Life is indeed good.

Indulging in cheese with truffle honey

Wandering past a little local food shop, we pop our heads in for a look. Something that caught my attention immediately was a slab of full-cream buffalo milk cheese. It was a large log of cheese, encased in a camembert like rind, with the creamy, gooey innards barely able to contain themselves within the cheese, just wanting to ooze out all over the place. We thought it was only right to take the whole piece, as we couldn't bear seeing it be cut .... so, armed with about half a kilo of buffalo milk cheese, after looking around the shop, we found a jar of white truffle infused honey, the perfect accompaniment !!



And 4 of us polishing this off in one session, indeed indulgent and gluttonous, but oh so damn delicious.

Revelation

With nothing planned one afternoon we took the ten minute drive back to Panzano (which seemed to have an inordinate amount of deliciousness for a village with all of four streets). We had spotted a small enoteca that was packed the night we went to Dario's so we felt a visit was in order. On such a nice day the restaurant had set up tables in the little square across the road, we took a look inside but opted for across the road, it was the best place to take a sit and watch Italian life lazily drift by. Two glasses of wine, a quick squizz of the menu and we were set.



A vitello tonnato had caught our eye (just sooo Italian) and soon arrived carried across the road by mamma. Thin slices of veal slathered with a rich tuna mayonnaise and dotted with a few fat juicy capers.





Next a tagliatelle with ragu, thick ribbons of pasta tossed with papas family recipe ragu and topped off with a touch of Parmesan. Real feel good food.



Then it happened, golden rays of sunshine broke though the clouds and small cherubs filttered and danced as angels heralded with trumpets the arrival of the mozzarella en carozza (mozzerella in a carriage), the plate was placed in front of us and we smiled, we took one bite and "WHAT THE HELL????" how had we not know about this amazing dish before it was incredible,
two slices of bread lightly dipped in egg and grated parmesan sandwiching fresh buffalo mozzarella, fried and sprinkled with a little more parmesan. Heaven. Gooey cheesy tasty tasty heaven.



As we sat back oh so content and sipped our wine in the warm afternoon Tuscan sun, we spotted Dario walking down the street, who in turn spotted us and recognising us from earlier that week shouted out a hearty greeting.



Have I said how much Italian life was getting under our skin yet??

Enoteca Baldi
Panzano square
Panzano.

Breakfast in Greve

We easily got into a routine while in Tuscany recently ... and each day started with breakfast at Cafe le Logge. A beautifully made cappuccino, of which are churned out from behind the counter at an alarming rate !! and today, a simple yet unbelievably delicious combination of mascarpone, tomato and basil.



This keeps us going until we pass by the bakery ... how could we possibly resist fresh baked pizza bread - a slice of one with ripe, fresh tomato and then a slice of one generously sprinkled with salt & green olives.

4 breakfasts and still room for gelato ... Vestri, Firenze

It did take a fair bit of walking around Firenze - wandering through the leather markets and over the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) before we could even think about gelato ... but we had read about Vestri, a famous little gelato and chocolate shop tucked away in the centre of town.

We find the quaint little Cioccolato d'Autore. We squeeze on in - it appears as if they are doing some sort of chocolate appreciation course in the rear half of the room. We spot the counter with the gelatos kept in stainless steel wells, which is said to keep the gelato temperature better controlled. Today we are picking our flavors from a board on the wall, not as many touristy-places would have you pick from a giant showcase, each tub of gelato piled high and overworked with frou-frou and flowers.

I select the Pistachio de Bronte and the chocolate bianco e fagoline di bosco. The pistachio is a very promising natural green color, and not that horrible fake hulk green.. The flavor is intense, and the gelato takes on the texture of pure ground nuts, leaving a smooth coating throughout the mouth. The white chocolate and wild strawberry, divine, and the two flavors work wonderfully together.



Kim has selected the Pesca bianaca and cioccolato gianduia. The chocolate is a rich milk and super creamy. The white peach so fresh and vibrant.



This is indeed a fine example of the frozen treat, everything down to the temperature, texture and even the way in which it was served demonstrated that the crew at Vestri's are serious about 2 things, chocolate and gelato.

Amazingly we resist the temptation of stocking up on chocolate spread before we leave ...



Piazza Santa Croce
Borgo Albizi, 11r
Florence
+39 (055) 234-0374

Frienze; A tale of four breakfasts: part 4

Starting to feel a little full from our various breakfasting we took a wander around the Mercato Central, taking in all the amazing produce for sale especalliy outside in the fruit and vegatable section.

We had heard of a little place on the corner of the market square where all the market vendors go, only problem was we were still feeling fullish so we gave that one a pass and took a walk down towards the river where il Fratelli is located, Florences oldest panini bar, it's been around since 1875, so that should be enough time to get the art of the panini right.



We rock up to the lane where the shop's located and theres a fairly decent line facing into a tiny hole in the wall, must be the place then. The line moves quickly and before we know it we're at the front, there's two guys working in a tiny space whipping out dozens of panini made from the wicked ingredients in the showcase to on side. Decisions decisions ...



Kat ends up with a prosciutto arrosto, crema tartufa (roast proscuito with truffle cream) 3€



I with the salsicca cruda melanzane (fresh sausage and roast eggplant) 2.5€



with these in our hands and another glass of wine (when in Rome people) we picked a spot on the side of the lane and enjoyed our forth pre 12-noon meal of the day.



Via dei Cimatori,
38r, 50122 Florence (FI),
Italy‎ - 055 239 6096