Published on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 by Kathy McCabe It is the season for white truffles (tartufi bianchi)  also known in Italy as "white diamonds" for their expensive price of hundreds of dollars for just a hundred grams. One group of these rare gems can be found around Alba in the region of Piedmont and the whole area seems to go truffle crazy in the month of November. There are five kinds of white truffles of...

Published on Sunday, October 16, 2011 by Kathy McCabe The town of San Miniato, located halfway between Pisa and Florence, is a must for history lover and foodies alike.  At the end of the 10th century, Otto I made San Miniato an outpost of the Holy Roman Empire.  In medieval times, the town sat on the via Francigena, an important pilgrimage route between northern Europe and Rome, bringing many visitors and invaders. In...