I'm a foodie at heart. I never say no to good company over a meal. I love travelling. USA will always be my first choice of destination. Bourdain addicted. Food & Travel Consultancy / Communication, Marketing & Public Relations. Food writer for hobby.

All posts by marcelasenise

Francine Segan

Francine with panettone

“I became passionate about cooking about 20 years ago during a summer we spent renting a house in Italy. I was inspired by the wonderful local ingredients. I was inspired by the Italian friends I made who invited me to dinner for a homecooked true Italian meal. I was inspired by the delicious food I had in every ristorante and trattoria in Italy.”

 

Philosopher Kitchen

What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?

Our kitchen is the most important room in our house. It’s the room where my husband and I start our day, over a cup of espresso and where we end our day each evening over dinner. It’s the room where our children love to sit and chat with me while I cook. It’s the heart of our home.

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?

I like cooking in the late afternoon, after work. It’s very relaxing for me to cook after a day of work.

Are you a creative chef or simply love to follow recipes?

A little of both. I like to follow recipes from my Italian chef friends, but I also like to combine ingredients and spices in my own way to create new dishes.

3 ingredients that are never missing on your kitchen cabinet?

Fabulous artisan pasta like Felicetti, great olive oil from Tuscany or Umbria & Sicilian salt from Trappani

How did your passion for cooking come about?

I became passionate about cooking about 20 years ago during a summer we spent renting a house in Italy. I was inspired by the wonderful local ingredients. I was inspired by the Italian friends I made who invited me to dinner for a homecooked true Italian meal. I was inspired by the delicious food I had in every ristorante and trattoria in Italy.

Dolci

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you know it can never go wrong with it?

My favorite dish is pasta with oil, garlic, hot peppers and a little colatura. I can never go wrong because I use only artisan imported Italian pasta & olive oil.

Would you receive for a day an entire tv crew on your kitchen?

YES! What fun.

Do you follow any tv show or have a favourite cooking book?

I don’t follow any particular tv show, but have many many favorite cook books. I buy cookbooks when I’m in Italy. One of my favorites is by Fabio Picchi, on using leftovers, and another is on Italian desserts by Salvatore di Riso.

Francine Segan, one of America’s foremost experts on Italian cuisine, an engaging public speaker, author, TV personality and consultant.

Bourdain’s latest Parts Unknown work is simply gold!

Bourdain & Obama in Parts Unknown

Parts Unknown logo

It has been out over a week now but just this afternoon I sat down to browse through Explore Parts Unknown
Created in collaboration with Roads & Kingdoms and CNN, Explore Parts Unknown is bound to become the new digital encyclopedia to the world of travel, culture and food.

At “Parts Unknown,” we try to show how other people live, to encourage people to walk in others’ shoes. To that end, we’ve created a new digital experience where we will tell more stories, take deeper dives, and take you further into the world of the show.

Beyond Borders: Big night in Kashmir

Beyond Borders: Big night in Kashmir

As episodes are aired, the site is updated so you can have extra contents, more detailed interviews and stories of each location.
It is priceless. I’m not kidding when I say I spent over an hour reading some bits, without realising time passing by.
Pictures are stunning, writing is impecable.

You have short videos, recipes, storytelling to name a few. One section is geniusly called “KNOW – you’ll want to read this” and you rest assured you will click on it right away!

One of the things that I try to do with “Parts Unknown” is to show how other people live, to hopefully encourage them to go out and look at the world, to walk in someone else’s shoes for awhile. To that end, we’re launching a new digital experience to complement the show: “Explore Parts Unknown.” This space gives us the opportunity to dive deeper into locations that we’ve visited—we’re going to be launching original content around every PU episode, both past and future—allowing me to do more of what I do: tell stories. If this inspires people to follow their curiosity around the world, and get their passports renewed, then we’ve done our job. – Anthony Bourdain

A couple of hours after it was announced on Bourdain’s Instagram profile, I googled to check what it was being said…..there were shockinly more than 12 articles posted already!
Yes it is a big deal and it will only get bigger. I’m already addicted to UnknowParts Instragram account as well! Everyday a new photo with a short story.

Beyond Borders: Vanilla is expensive, but labor is cheap

Beyond Borders: Vanilla is expensive, but labor is cheap

Well if you are a Bourdain fan you would know what I’m takling about. As usual spot on perfection on quality of work!
And in case you are new to his work or at least about this incredible series, on its fourth season, go on and get crazy by spending some hours of your day exploring & “traveling” Unknow Parts.

The story of a Syrian chocolatier

Peacebychocolate by Assam Hadhad

When speaking of Syria, war, refugees all I can think is how can these people rebuild their lives?
Back in Damascus Assam was a chocolatier but lost everything as we could all imagine.
When I came across the story of Assam Hadhad‘s family my joy was immense! How a wish of wanting to spread joy to show gratitude to Nova Scotia, the Canadian town that welcomed them one year ago when they flew away from the war, became their way of starting a new life.
Today, one year on, Peace by Chocolate has 10 employees and even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has met the family enjoying bites of chocolate!
Never understimate the empowerment of food!

Shakespeare & Company Café

shakespeare and co Paris

When George Whitman opened his parisian bookshop, together there was always a second part of the project that never came to life. The Shakespeare and Company Café. That was until 2015 when his daughter Sylvia and husband David decided to make her dad’s dream become reality.
With spring season right on, if you happen to be in Paris, do make sure to visit the location. Bookshop and Café are right next to each other, same place where Whitman started it all. A visit to their website is also well worth it! Not only impacably cool but full of historical information too.
Vogue magazine made a delicious article about it! Read it on…

shakespeare and co old style

shakespeare and co location

shakespeare and co the famous lemon pie

Photo credits: Shakespeare and Company website

Michi & Fabri

Michela & Fabrizio

“He’s a very useful hand in the kitchen but his main aim is to pinch the saucepans away to transforme them into lamps.”

lamp saucepan

What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?
It has a “leading role” importance.

the kitchen Michi & Fabri

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?
Early evening.

cooking Michi & Fabri

Are you a creative “chef” or simply love to follow recipes?
Michela: I tend to creat and when trying following a recipe, I get it ¾ right and the rest I just add my final touch!

celebratios Michi & Fabri

Three ingredients that are never missing in your kitchen cabinet?
Leek, parmigiano cheese and freshly grounded black pepper.

How did your passion for cooking come about?
Michela: Inherited from my family just like many of my passions.

kitchen stories Michi & Fabri

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you know it can never go wrong with it?
Michela: Lentil curry and risotto.
Fabrizio: rich sauces for pasta.

rich sauces for pasta Michi & Fabri

Would you receive an entire tv crew in your kitchen for a day?
Michela: I would say so…

fire place Michi & Fabri

Do you follow any tv shows or have a favourite cooking book?
Michela: Books. Specially those from my favourite aunt and her sister: “La casa golosa” and “Fare festa” by Michela and Paola Brengola.

working in hte kitchen Michi & Fabri

Michela Volante – is a Turin “born & bred” gal that lives and cook at the same house she was born! A writer, translator, school books author, she is very much in love with the word “writing” since she first learnt how to hold a pen in her hands. Domani andrò sposa e Uno a testa published by Ed. Frassinelli are her own novels.

Fabrizio Farina
– a graphic designer of an eccleitc kind, achieved his position in the editorial world passing through the world of atomic energy. He’s also a radio speaker with his own show ‘Ettore’ on Radio2 and mad about sci-fi culture. Viaggi nel tempo (2016) is his most recent work with Einaudi Publishing house working on this priceless anthology. He’s a very useful hand in the kitchen but his main aim is to pinch the saucepans away to transforme them into lamps.
They share their house with their wonderful cats.

Grace Parisi

grace parisi kitchen stories

She was born in a family of cooks and couldn’t avoid the influence. She has a resume that leaves any food writers wannabe dribbling! Yet her simplicity and good taste on making simple things turn into divine meals is pure talent within her DNA.

What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?
It’s a place of sharing and giving. It holds the potential for community.

grace parisi in her garden

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?
I love cooking on Sundays to prepare food, not only for that day, but for the week ahead. or at least the foundations for meals throughout the week. It’s relaxing but also focused because my schedule is so tight these days. (I fly to Birmingham, AL for work every week). I need to leave my family with some of me to remind them of me while i’m gone.

grace parisi sunday cooking

Are you a creative chef or simply love to follow recipes?
Creative. But i do follow recipes for unfamiliar foods or baking.

Three ingredients that are never missing on your kitchen cabinet?
Sriracha, cumin and coconut milk.

How did your passion for cooking come about?
I grew up in a food-centered family. My mother, grandparents, brother…all cooks.

grace parisi fruit pie

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you kow it can never go wrong with it?
Pasta All’Arrabbiata. Spicy, quick, saucy.

Would you receive for a day an entire tv crew in your kitchen?
I’ve shot in my house numerous times. The crew comes in and literally takes over. Pictures on my walls are taken down, my kitchen counters are cleared, new props are put in place and there is no room for anything! So much photo equipment, props and crew! I love the energy of a film/photo crew, but by the end of the day, I’m ready for them to leave. We shot an episode of the TV show I was on, “Simplify Your Life” (several years ago), in my back yard and the crew trampled plants, moved my grill and furniture and never put it back. My poor plants! It took them a few years to come back after that. I much prefer photo crews to TV crews. More respectful and less crazy!

grace parisi fruit pie mise en place

Do you follow any tv show or have a favourite cooking book?
I kind of love “La Mere de Famille”, a confectionary cookbook. Lovely photos. Also “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi – vegetarian magic.

Grace Parisi – or better know as the recipe goddess in the web world, “possibly by accident, she chose a career in food media that began more than 20 years ago. An art school grad with a degree in painting, Grace found bizarre work as a commercial TV food stylist gluing sesame seeds to hamburger buns and plumping barely cooked turkeys with mashed potatoes. Unfulfilled, Grace moved on to editorial work, food styling and writing for publications such as McCall’s, The New York Times, Redbook, and Food & Wine among others. This summer she joined the editorial team of Marley Spoon as Senior Culinary Editor.

Grace eventually joined the staff of Food & Wine Magazine as Senior Test Kitchen Editor, where she developed and wrote many noteworthy monthly columns, such as Food & Wine Handbook; Tasting & Testing; Flavor of the Month; Power Pantry; and Chefs Recipes Made Easy. Her most recent series was Grace in the Kitchen where she drew inspiration from personal experience and her family. She’s the author of 2 cookbooks, Summer/WInter Pasta and Get Saucy, a collection of more than 500 sauces which was nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award for Best Single Subject Book. She’s currently working on a third. Her recipes have also appeared in numerous collections and anthologies. She plays guitar, loves surfing, camping, gardening in her postage-stamp Brooklyn backyard and cooking for a crowd, including her husband and two children. She dreams of raising chickens, erecting bat houses and making found-object bird feeders.”

grace parisi at work

About excerpts from her website.

Racconti di Cucina

angela-frenda-book-cover

“Among the many reasons I cook there is the fact that I wish to give my son Giovanni dishes that he will remember throughout his whole life, exactly as it happened to me.”

Angela is a journalist. She was born in Naples. She used to write about politics. Her grandmothers taught her what she nourished in herself, for years. The passion for cooking. She went on to become food editor for Corriere della Sera Cucina where she also has her weekly webcolumn ‘Racconti di Cucina”.
We can now have it at our homes on our cooking books shelves.
Each single recipes tells us a little story. All part of her life. Very southern. Very rich. Very luscious.
You can follow Angela Frenda on Facebook but I actually love her Instagram account.
The quote I started this post is from one of hers when sharing her fond feelings through her food and mouth-watering pictures.

Photos by Laura Spinelli & Claudia Ferri for ‘Racconti di Cucina’ the book.

angela-frenda-recipes

angela frenda cooking

ingredients angela frenda book

pasta angela frenda book

pistacchio angela frenda book

Racconti di Cucina by Angela Frenda
Published by Rizzoli 2nd Edition 2015/16
€19,90 hardback

Fattoria di Statiano

pool-statiano

A little family farm in the Maremma region of magical Tuscany that has been transformed in an Agritourism. They have horses, cats, chickens. They produce their own wine. Tina, the host, makes a mean seasonal fruit jam. Breakfast at Statiano is the best pampering to start off your day. Actually after having watched the sunrise. Totally worth waking up at 5:50/6am for such experience.
I did stay in one of the small houses where I had my own, fully equiped kitchen, which is always handy when you want to make a quick bite during the day, some italian coffee to brew in a vintage moka or even cook your owm meal. It was called Tiburzi. All rooms, small apartments and houses have a name. Tina and Paolo (her partner and host as well) cook and serve dinner upon request. They are delicious, very on the comfort side idea of a tuscan meal. Never without a glass of vin santo and some crunchy cantucci to wrap up your dinner time.
They are dog friendly. They have a swimming pool. There is an unbelivable silence. Only nature chats to you.
The location, Pomarance, is perfect to access Volterra, the sea side and beautiful drives to reach San Giminiano and Siena.
It was all I needed. Peace & quiet with some small adventures in between. Some days I didn’t even leave the farm. Books, sun, good food and amazing blue sky kept me company.
I can’t wait to visit Tina & Paolo at Fattoria di Statiano again very soon!

cantucci-and-vin-santo-statiano

cat-by-the-window

food shopping

grapes-statiano

horses-statiano

piazza-volterra

pool-statiano

road-to-statiano

statiano-casa-pranzo

statiano-casa

sunrise

sunrise sept

sunrise sept II

tiburzi-house-statiano

vendemia-statiano

taste of tuscany

Statiano wine

grapes at Statiano

Sunset Tuscany

Fattoria di Statiano
56045 Micciano,
Pomarance (PI) Tuscany
Tel.: +39 0588.61153
Cel.: +39 338.5057879
Fax: +39 0588.61153
E-mail: info@agriturismostatiano.com