« Holidays in Egypt | Home | State Capitol – Olympia, Washington »

Some Italian Cooking In Florence Italy

By RomanticHeart | May 30, 2009

Florence Italy accommodation as far as hotel and farmhouse are concerned, let your imagination go from richly furnished 5 star hotels either in the hub of the town or smaller city or smaller town accommodations, hidden away in the green hued country. From palaces to castles wonderfully decorated and pensions or guesthouses owned by friendly area folk. These all year round lodgings have a wide price range but you can assured that good bargains are to be found in the quiet season. Florence welcomes everyone to be comfortable and caters to everyone’s budget.

Wealth and Comfort in Florence Italy

The Savoy Hotel is a favourite for those wanting to fulfil a wish for luxury sleeping, not forgetting the shopping gallery and wonderful cuisine at the restaurant. The Hotel II Guelfo Bianco on the Thru Cavour right close to the San Marco Square has antique art treasures and original paintings and excellent commodities. Or perhaps a stay at the Grand Hotel Baglioni with its sweeping grey stone stairway so characteristic of many Florentine monuments and wooden beams decorating the ceiling all which give you that special feeling of peace and relax.

Florence town should be visited during an extended period and if this isn’t possible, then short visits are ideal to take in all the museums. And for me, one of the finest strategies to do this is by staying in a small town farmhouse near Florence and with your Florence car rental, enjoy little joints into the city. One of the cutest medieval towns nearby is San Gimignano, situated in the triangle of Siena, Florence and Volterra. San Gimignano is definitely known for its thirteen remaining towers of the first seventy-two which once existed. Here, you may have sweet dreams sleeping in a mansion from the 14th century and have breakfast in a dear terrace. Or in a rustic house with high ceilings and worked iron beds.

Praise Good Italian Cooking

At a number of these farmhouses there are cookery classes and it is here where I learned to cook Stracotto or ‘Pot Roast’. This is a very popular weekend Sun. meal in Italy as well as in Great Britain and North America. The Italians serve it over a delicious noodles bed of pasta enriched with the Chianti wine sauce where the others serve it with potatoes. Here goes……

Stracotto ( serves 4-6 persons)

- 3 to four lbs. top round meat

- four thinly chopped garlic cloves

- three medium thinly cut carrots

- 3 medium sliced onions

- rosemary leaves

- two cut up celery stalks

- two cups water

- one lb. ripe tomatoes ( peel, seed and cut them )

- 1 fourth cup olive oil

- one and a half cup Chianti or dry red wine

- one tbsp. Liquified butter

- 1 tbsp. Flour

- salt and pepper as you like

- one lb. Pasta of your choice

Roll and tie up meat and then make little holes to put the garlic into.

In a pan, warm the oil and slowly cook the carrots, onions and celery until soft and add in the rosemary. Push these vegetables to one side and put the beef roll in the middle and brown on all sides at the same time as you are sauting the veggies. Add in the tomatoes and when they’re getting soft, add the wine. Boil until the wine liquid has been consumed to about one half cup and add 1 and a half cup of water and let simmer for about 1 hour more. Separate the meat and veggies from the broth and let the beef cool. With remaining half cup of water mix the flour and the softened butter in with the broth and cook, continually stirring it for 3 minutes. Slice meat and put the pasta and the sauce in the middle of the plate and 2 or three beef slices to the side and crown with some more sauce if desired. Bon appetite!

This is only 1 of the Florence Italy recipes that I learned. Stay tuned for more!.

Do you love to see the world? Want to see some of the best places in the world? Visit famouswonders.com to get an idea of where to go for your next vacation. Make sure to also check out Bargello Museum Italy.