Sunday dinner

We went out to eat both Friday and Saturday nights, so I decided to cook tonight. In Pienza, we hit the macelleria and bought salcicce, some porchetta and un fegatello--a sheep's liver! I found a bag of dried white beans in San Quirico d'Orcia. With this mix I am making a "cassoulet," which is a classic French dish, but I am putting a very Italian spin on it.

Joe went out in the yard and picked some thyme, sage, rosemary and bay leaves, which I added to the dried cannellini beans, along with olive oil and salt. I covered the beans with half white wine and half water (notice that some of the wine also made it into the chef's glass!). Then I sauteed all the meats and put them on top of the beans, along with the pan juices. Now they are in the oven in my clay roaster and the apartment smells fantastic. It will be about 2.5 hours before we eat, that is giving me a chance to put my feet up and do a little blogging.

While we were in Pienza, we also found a shop selling Marzolino, which is my all time favorite Italian cheese, only available in March. It's made from the milk of sheep after they eat the first new shoots of spring grasses, and it's just creamy, soft, fresh and can be eaten at every meal. We will break it open later as an appetizer. I'm sure I will have it for breakfast too.