Tuscan Family Recipes with an Expert Cook at Her Home in Florence - Day Trip from $54

Mirella lives with her husband Stefano (her partner in life and in the kitchen!) in a small town called Antella located in the South of Florence. The town is in the Chiantigiana area and is surrounded by the Chianti Hills. Mirella's love for food and cooking comes from her paternal grandmother (nonna) who she used to help in the kitchen as a young child. As an adult she began trying out her nonna's recipes for herself. Her grandmother was a highly-skilled chef and an expert in the history of Florentine cuisine from the Renaissance period. After Mirella completed her schooling, she decided to follow her passion and enrolled at the Istituto Alberghiero in Florence, a school which trains you to work in restaurants and hotels. Over the years she has worked in several restaurants, hotels and schools. Now, Mirella organizes cooking courses and summer camps for students, teaches simple cake baking and organizes visits to nearby farms where you can learn about milking cows and cheese making - on top of hosting travelers to teach them about authentic Italian cooking! Join Mirella for an in-home meal. Mirella’s approach to cooking has been influenced by her Florentine, Tuscan and proudly peasant roots; peasants couldn’t afford to throw anything away and so they invented the most ingenious ways of recycling yesterday’s leftovers, like “la ribollita”, the famous Tuscan vegetable stew made with dried bread. Her cooking is also greatly influenced by Renaissance cooking, especially the dishes served at the Medici court. Mirella has a different menu for every season, as she prefers using seasonal ingredients in her cooking. Some of the dishes you might eat during the winter are bruschetta with sausage and stracchino cheese, ribollita (stew) or Florentine pork with peas. In spring you may be served a vegetable tart, penne with ragù sauce (meat-based sauce), peasant’s meatballs with seasonal vegetables and cioccolatissimo (extra rich chocolate dessert). The summer may include dishes such as bruschetta with tomato and basil, fresh cheeses and honey, pappa al pomodoro (made with dry bread, tomatoes and olive oil), hunter’s chicken with roast potatoes and tiramisù. In autumn you may be treated to eggs with caper salsa, pecorino cheese and salamino grapes, pumpkin risotto, pork with prunes and pinenuts, and chocolate flan. If you book a cooking experience, join Mirella in her kitchen for a hands-on cooking lesson where she will teach you how to make 3-4 of the dishes you will eating later, such as a pasta, pappa al pomodoro (made with dry bread, tomatoes and olive oil) in the summer, ribollita (stew) in the winter, various bruschette, pasta sauces and other seasonal recipes. Mirella also offers an optional market tour add-on. Please note, Mirella speaks very limited English, so either a family friend or her son will join you for the experience as a translator. Also please note the price of your experience includes alcohol.