The anticipation is mounting for our Tuscan Coastal Wine Dinner this Wednesday, July 20 at 7 pm. I am serving some of my favorite dishes alongside unique Banfi wines, and we get to eat outdoors on our Piazza under the starry sky! We are looking so forward to serving you a special dessert Zuppa Inglese (Tuscan trifle) paired with Rosa Regale. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, buy them now!
When I was living in Cercina and cooking at Trattoria i Ricchi, every Saturday afternoon I would start the process of assembling our version of Zuppa Inglese. It was the first authentic Tuscan dessert I learned to make. Under the patient tutelage of our signore, Maria and Bianca, I learned the secrets to creating this rustic Italian version of the English trifle. This was the mainstay of our dessert list before the famous tira-mi-su became so popular.
Shortly after I mastered this dessert and a few other crostata recipes, I started adding some traditional American desserts to the list. It wasn’t long before we became known for the likes of pineapple upside down cake, baked rice pudding, orange glazed angel food cake, brownies and jelly rolls. At the time, it might have seemed a little odd to see Florentines driving out to a countryside trattoria to feast on Tuscan grilled specialties and desserts by “L’Americana.”