April
1st
I just couldn’t resist. The markets are full of crates upon crates of strawberries. How could I not make some simple vanilla pudding to put my fresh cut and sugared strawberries on? So I made two, one for me and one for my hubby (he should really go on a diet!)
fresh strawberries sprinkled with a little cane sugar, no lemon, no wine
Freshly made pudding
Recipe for the pudding:
Whisk together 2 egg yokes in a bowl. Pour 1/4 sugar, 2 T cornflour, pinch salt into saucepan and stream in 1 cup milk while stirring over medium heat. When mixture thickens pour about 3/4 cup into bowl with yokes, whisk and transfer back into saucepan. Cook for a few more minutes, fold in 1tsp vanilla, let cool then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Tags: getting married in italy, Italian foodies, Italian recipes, wedding planner in italy, wedding planner in tuscany
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March
20th
Carneval culminates in sugary treats – frittelle or fritters are sold piping hot at local fair for 14 euros a chilo, recipe follows
100 gr rice
1/2 liter milk
lemon rind
sugar
1T rum
3 eggs
50 gr flour
Oil for frying
powdered sugar
Overcook the rice in the milk, about 30 minutes, add a little sugar and lemon rind to flavor. Cool the rice and add the rum, egg yokes, and flour. Let stand for a few hours. Beat egg whites until stiff and add to dough, mixing well. Drop dough into hot oil by the tablespoonful and fry until done but not too browned. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Tags: event in Florence, getting married in italy, Italian foodies, Italian recipes, Real Italian Food
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March
15th
March 19th is Italian Father’s Day, celebrating the Catholic Saint Joseph as Jesus’ supposed father.
And when Italians celebrate there’s always food involved! Dad’s sweettooth is satisfied with scrumptuous donuts, fried or baked, filled with cream, rolled in sugar.
Mmmm, Mmm, finger-licking good!
Thanks to blog.maremmaonline.it
Thanks to stickygooeycreamychewy.com
Thanks to becuoco.it
Tags: Italian foodies, Italian holidays, Italian recipes, wedding planner in tuscany
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February
22nd
Somebody twittered me @weddingitaly and asked, “why’d you call your blog spaghetti and meatballs? I thought you did weddings in Italy… ”
And I answered the same thing I always do and said, “I bet you think spaghetti and meatballs is Italian, right? Well, it’s not.”
Sometimes it’s hard to explain what it’s like living abroad, but this morning I came across a really cute blog post via Italytutto by a fellow-Californian who lives in Venice. Italy to Los Angeles and Back is an easy read and consolation for expats. Thanks Marie :0)
To get back on topic, spaghetti and meatballs is an attempt to tear down the cliches about Italy and Italians and bring out the truth about what goes on in Italy, how Italians act and think, and anything else readers are interested in finding out about before they visit or get married here. The information on this blog comes from Italy itself, from people who live here (like me), and from real eye-talians.
Now here’s what Italians say about spaghetti and meatballs plus two other tourist menu favorites: caprese and spaghetti with tomato sauce: Continue reading…
Tags: Fun Weddings in Italy, getting married in italy, Italian foodies, Italian Wedding, wedding planner in tuscany
Posted in Diary of a Wedding, Italian Ideas, Real Italian Food, Tips for Weddings in Italy | 2 Comments »
October
6th
Tuscany holds endless secrets that visitors and locals alike try to uncover. The harvest season brings up two of them, one of which is the secret behind making an award winning Brunello wine. (the other one we’ll talk about soon, after a good day in the woods 
As grape harvesting ends this week, a visit to the producer of 20% of all Brunello wine was a must. Brunello and Banfi are not just two names – they are Tuscan history, tradition, and a one of a kind success story. In 2010, Brunello is once again chosen as the world’s best red wine at the International Wine Challenge and Banfi carries forward this fine wine tradition with a young and vibrant co-CEO Cristina Mariani-May.
Where does the secret lie: in the hand-picked grapes? in the hybrid barrels? in the innovation inspired by the youthful managers?
Your call. Good excuse to come to Tuscany and find out 
Hand pickings
Each barrel yields 16,000 bottles of wine - salute!
Tags: getting married in italy, Great Italian wines, Italian foodies, Italian Wedding, Wedding in Tuscany
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November
8th
If you’re connected right now, go to Italian TV and watch young chef Mario Bacherini show you how to make the ultimate pizza. Easy, tasty, and fun.
Young cooks are popping up like bean sprouts and hitting the TV screen by the numbers. We just talked about two of them (see our post on November 7th) and here are two more for you.
Aside from Mario Bacherini, a traditional tall, dark and handsome Italian who takes you through the basics of Italian cuisine like how to make batter, pizza, and crackers (wow!), Mattia Poggi entertains the masses with innovative dishes showing how you can cook like a pro on a tight schedule.
Any way you look at it, cooking in Italy is definitely still IN!
Tags: Italian foodies, Real Italian Food, romantic weddings in italy, wedding pizza party
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June
21st
So there I am in a packed pizzeria in downtown Florence, sitting next to a table of fellow Americans. Their pizzas are served and then all of a sudden everyone at the table pulls out a pair of scissors ….
The saying goes, ‘when in Rome do as the Romans do’, and you can bet that the only one who pulls out scissors in Rome is grandma when she has to cut up a roasted chicken. No Italian in their right mind would use scissors on a pizza.
There are two ways to eat pizza, here they are:
Pizzas are ordered individually and served that way too. No “give us a pan for 12″, everybody gets to choose their own toppings. Most Italians eat pizza with a fork and knife, like you eat food in civilized countries. In some areas of Italy where the pizza dough is a little more crunchy and therefore easier to handle, or if you’re serving pizza to kiddies, they might cut a slice and pick it up with their hands, kind of the “finger lickin’ good” thing.
No way, no how, nowhere do Italians use scissors to cut up their delightful disc.
Tags: Italian foodies, Italian Pizza, Italian style, wedding pizza party
Posted in Diary of a Wedding, Real Italian Food | No Comments »
