Cooking in Tuscany

Ciao Reader! Our fifth live class, and class #101 since 2020, of season 17 with Chicca’s Cooking Club is happening this Saturday, and I’d love for you to join me as we dive into the world of Italian cuisine. We'll celebrate summer with Stuffed Roasted Bell Peppers, filled with a crispy filling made with eggplants and mini bread cubes, plus a lots of flavors and texture! A true classic of Neapolitan tradition, this recipe holds a special place in my heart. Learn my best tips for this seasonal...

This monthly letter is all about inspiring you to cook with seasonal ingredients and bringing you delicious Italian recipes for lunch or dinner ideas. Do you ever find yourself asking: what are we eating today? I’m here to help from my Tuscan kitchen! This month, I’m sharing one of my favorite Italian dishes from a past live class, one that’s perfect for this season and easy to master. It's Semifreddo al Cioccolato - Frozen Chocolate Mousse! Italian chocolate semifreddo is a classic Italian...

New Season: Registration is Open + Special Bonus! Ciao Reader, I’m writing to you from Tuscany, getting ready for Season 17 of Chicca’s Cooking Club—can you believe we’ve already shared 90+ live classes and almost five years of cooking live together? These 90+ classes are a treasure trove of Italian cooking, and they’re free for our current members to watch on replay anytime in our video library! From April through July, we’ll cook six new seasonal Italian recipes live via Zoom. Would you...

Our popular free gnocchi class is back: save the date! Buongiorno Reader! Just a short introduction: I’m Chicca, 100% Italiana, a passionate cooking instructor for over 20 years, and a biking enthusiast based in Tuscany, Italy. Do you want to learn how to make gnocchi? I'd love to teach you my family's favorite gnocchi recipe during my FREE live online class on April 5 via Zoom. This gnocchi recipe, which I learned growing up, uses just two ingredients: flour and water—no potatoes. Even if...

This monthly letter is all about inspiring you to cook with seasonal ingredients and bringing you delicious Italian recipes for lunch or dinner ideas. Do you ever find yourself asking: what are we eating today? I’m here to help from my Tuscan kitchen! This month, I’m sharing one of my favorite Italian dishes from a past live class, one that’s perfect for this season and easy to master. It's Tuscan Onion Soup! Great for cozy gatherings, this dish combines sweet onions, crusty bread, and melted...

Buon anno! We did it—we stepped into 2025! Here in Tuscany, we welcomed the new year in true Italian style, filled with traditions and a sprinkle of superstition. In Italy, we have a saying: “What you do on New Year’s Eve will be done all year round.” It’s our way of reminding ourselves to start off on the right foot because day one is the model for the next 364. New Year’s Eve is a mix of rituals, good-luck gestures, and symbolic acts—small ways to bring a little magic to the unknown of the...

Ciao Reader, When did my love for tiramisù begin? I’m not really sure—I just know that each bite of creamy mascarpone, coffee-soaked ladyfingers, and a dusting of cocoa is pure magic. I’ve been making tiramisù for about 40 years, still using the same recipe I first scribbled in an old notebook.That recipe was written by hand with no instructions, just a short list of ingredients: Coffee 5 eggs 500g mascarpone cheese 5 tablespoons sugar 1 package of ladyfingers Since then, I’ve been making...

Ciao Reader, Greetings from my Tuscan kitchen! This monthly letter is all about inspiring you to cook with seasonal ingredients, and bringing you delicious Italian recipes for lunch or dinner ideas. Do you ever find yourself asking: what are we eating today? I’m here to help! I like to keep things simple and to the point—no fluff, just delicious recipes and helpful tips! This month, I’m excited to share one of my favorite Italian dishes from a past live class—one that’s perfect for this...

Hello, I hope this letter finds you well and in good spirits. Summer has just passed, and after enduring a relentless heat wave for over a month, we're finally enjoying a milder climate. Fall is here, bringing with it new produce and new guests visiting for tours and cooking classes. Yes, I’m back in my kitchen almost full-time, and I couldn’t be happier! If this letter is not of interest, please unsubscribe here. At the beginning of the month, we had the honor of being invited to a special...