An Italy recap, part I…

We departed for Italy on 10 November, flying direct from Kennedy Airport to Milan’s Malpensa airport.  Our vehicle for this trip was a Peugeot 5008, a very roomy 7-seater MPV.  Our usual BMW would not have been roomy enough for the 30+ days worth of luggage we were hauling around, but this vehicle was perfect.

We drove to our friend Tiziana’s Bed & Breakfast in Tuscany, where we stayed for the first two weeks.  While there, we attended the 38th annual Sagra del Cinghale in Chianni.  This festival celebrates the local wild boar, and we dined on the locally harvested beasts prepared a variety of ways.  Of course, there was amazing local wine to pair with the courses.

That weekend we went to Panzano, a village in Chianti to meet Dario Cecchini the famous butcher at Antica Macelleria Cecchini.  Anyone who watches the Food Network will recognize Dario.  If you don’t know him, check out the link here.  We’re big fans of his sustainable approach to meat, and the fact that he’s developed new cuts for creative cooking with beef and pork.  An 8th generation butcher, he believes in having respect for the animal, its life, its death, and using every last tendon.  

That evening, we dined at the restaurant above the butcher shop, a five-course feast of wonderful beef.