Carabaccia {Tuscan Onion Soup} & a COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY !
I was so excited when my friend Judy (Mrs. Divina Cucina herself) sent me a complimentary copy of her cookbook, “Secrets from my Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts Francini” to review.
I met Judy on Twitter last year and she’s amazing. She began her culinary career as a pastry chef in California & continued her studies of Tuscan cooking at the source, learning from locals and at the markets. She has lived in Florence, Italy, with her Italian husband for over 25 years. It is in Florence where she previously ran a cooking school & now hosts culinary tours (of which one day I hope to tag along on). Her cook book is a collection of almost 100 of her favorite Tuscan recipes, which have all been lovingly approved by her Italian husband, Andrea, so you know they’re deliziosi!
The book is lovely! I especially like how Judy has incorporated a blank notebook style page opposite from every recipe so you have room for your own notes! Just brilliant! Every recipe is easy to follow with clear instructions. I even love the laid back style font the book is printed in (yes, I’m a details girl).
There are so many fantastic authentic Tuscan recipes throughout, I had a very hard time deciding which recipe I was going to try first… Ultimately I decided on a soup because well it’s freezing here so…. I picked Judy’s Carabaccia {Tuscan Onion Soup} to give a try & I’m ever so happy I did. It was so flavorful & tasty! Even the bambini devoured it.
I know you’ll want to try it for yourselves…
From: Secrets from my Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts Francini
What you’ll need:
2 lbs onions, red or yellow
4 slices bread – toasted
5 cups broth
Parmesan – grated
8 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
What to do:
Slice the onions thinly (I used a mandolin & it worked beautifully) and saute in 8 tbsp of olive oil. Cook slowly in a covered pot over low heat for 30 minutes. If necessary, add a little water to avoid burning. Add broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toast bread and place slices in soup bowls. Top with Carabaccia, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Buon Appetito!
So do you want a copy? I thought you might say that…
Well I won’t keep you in suspense, I’m going to let you know how you can get your hands on a copy of this book right now! You can order a copy of Judy’s cookbook and you can check out Judy’s website. It’s chock full of beautiful recipes and information about her tours.
OR YOU COULD WIN A COPY…(I see you smiling) Judy has graciously agreed to give a copy of her cookbook to ONE LUCKY READER! *the virtual crowd goes wild* Evviva!
I know you want to enter…It’s even autographed! Yep, Judy herself has signed the copy! As if that wasn’t enough the giveaway is OPEN TO EVERYONE (no matter where you live) I’m so grateful for this!! So come one, come all…
Here’s what you need to do to enter:
Simply leave a comment here with your favorite all time Italian dish. Yep, that’s it!
At 12pm est (you all know by now that’s because I live in this time zone & well I make the rules LOL) on FRIDAY JAN 8th. We’ll choose ONE random winner by random number generator. Only ONE comment per person please. Don’t be stingy, duplicate entries will be disqualified so play nice.
So what are you waiting for, put that comment in NOW ; ) In bocca al lupo (good luck)
Homemade ravioli with any type of filling. I think I like the variety this yields
My favourite would have to be a Caprese Salad .. simple ingredients but oh so tasty! Mouth is watering just thinking about it.
My all time favorite is Fettucine Alfredo but I also love pesto and Penne with Vodka Cream sauce.
I’ve always been afraid of making french onion soup, but this looks similar, easy and delicious! My favorite italian food would have to be…hmm…fresh made pasta with homemade ragu!
My favorite is spagetti and meatballs. Of course it’s a family recipe from my Italian great grandmother. Fabulous!
My favorite? Carbonara. Especially when made by my favorite sister-in-law! (wink, wink)
I think it’s almost impossible to pick my one favorite Italian dish, but I’m going to go with homemade tomato sauce. It’s very simple, not very time consuming and the basis for so many more great Italian dishes. Of course, then there are the Italian dishes that don’t use tomato sauce!
Wonderful blog!
Favorite dish for me would be Osso Bucco with a heady saffron rissotto…
happy food that makes me smile while cooking it and then eating it!
Love your site…found it by way of Tasty Kitchen.
My fave Italian recipe is – Spaghetti Carbonara! I love all things Pasta.
Thanks for the entry. This cookbook looks awesome!
Share His Love,
Faithful…
There are just so many choices, but if I was stranded on a little Island in the Mediterranean and could fiix only one thing every day it would probably Pasta al Pesto, maybe toss in a little bit of chicken and some sun dried tomatoes for a little variety every now and then if I could.
Hello! Hmmm, this is a tough one!
I would have to say gelato, especially Nocciola (hazelnut) gelato, is my favorite Italian food. I also love meatballs of any sort in pasta. Thanks for the recipe and the opportunity!
I love so many! My favorite, if I must choose…….Chicken Marsala!
My favorite homemade Italian recipe
is Spaghetti and meatballs.
A girl that I worked with came to my apartment and taught
me her family recipe for sauce and then I learned how to make the
meatballs from Rao’s restaurant.
Denise
Melanzane alla Parmigiana, or Eggplant Parm– I still crave the one I had in a basement restaurant in Rome, but until I make it back, I’ll have to be satisfied with the home made stuff, Mollie Katzen’s recipe is fantastic!
Oh, I love Gnocchi Sorrentina. Had the best of my life in Positano – gorgeous views, gorgeous food, gorgeous husband. Would LOVE a copy of this book!
FETTUCCINE ALLA CARBONARA! It’s one of the first meals I had at an authentic, fancy italian restaurant in my hometown. This recipe looks great, I’m sure it’s a wonderful book.
Homemade gnocchi with pesto is my favorite. Gelato is also pretty tasty:)
My all time favourite must be a creamy tortellini al forno that I prepare for me and my husband with fresh ham and ricotta filled tortellini, tomatoe juice, cream, smoked ham and mozzarella.
I love love love zeppole. Sweet and simple…and addicting!!
Carbonara, baby!
My favorite is chicken parmesan. I like that you have a blank page next to each recipe. I am always making notes in my recipe books.
Cannelloni. Yumm-O!!!
Spaghetti Bolognese
My favorite is chicken ragu with fettuccine, just creamy and comforting! Thanks for all of the work you do on your site for ALL of US out here!!! Hugs and Happy New Year!
Are you kidding me?…….Lasagna!!!!!!
My very favorite is lasagna but it HAS to be made with ricotta cheese!
I love Alfredo sauce- on pasta, on chicken, on rice… just yum. I had the real thing in Rome and it was pasta perfetta.
My favorite Italian dish? How do I whittle it down? It is a toss up between good authentic lasagna and pasta e fagoli soup. Both make my taste buds tingle.
Homemade gelato! The book looks beautiful!
Goodness – I don’t think I could ever choose just one. However, the cold weather is making me crave Ribollita from Firenze. I would have to choose that delicious soup.
There are so many wonderful Italian dishes, but I would have to say the most memorable meal was Steak Florentine in Florence several years ago! That was quite a piece of beef!
Risotto! I love risotto, plain, with sauce, with meat/fish, I just love it!
oh man…. this is hard and Im not even Italian! It would have to be Chicken Fricasse or Fricasse of Chicken with Chocolate.
My favorite has to be Pasta Bolognese.
Favorite Italian dish, I do not know the name of it, hence I will attempt a description. It was a chicken cutlet (thin) breaded and fried. It had a wonderful lemon butter sauce! From my research, it might be Chicken Milanese.
My favorite Italian dish is pasta bolognese. My fiance makes it in huge batches and we eat it for days.
Panna cotta!
I have to say that ONE of my favorites is pappardelle al cinghiale.
Your soup looks so yummy especially today since it’s so cold here. Eggplant Parmesan is my favorite.
Thanks
Definitely fettucine with alfredo – YUM!
Arancini. Of any kind. They are addictive.
Fettucine with Baby Clams & Panna Cotta for dessert!
Awesome! I love Italian food.
My fave? Anything that involves homemade egg noodles and garlic!
I have actually been doing a lot of Italian cooking lately. My New Year’s Eve Dinner Party had an Authentic Italian theme. My favorite recipe to come out of all the recipe trials was Little Parcels of Sweet Squash Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s book The Italian Country Table. So yummy! And I do love listening to The Splended Table on NPR. Want to see how my Itlian Dinner turned out? Here’s my blog post: http://foyupdate.blogspot.com/2010/01/italian-dinner-party-recap.html
It’s so common, but I just LOVE fettuccine Alfredo! Mm, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. And there’s nothing like soaking up the delicious creamy sauce with a piece of crusty garlic bread. Oh, my…
Angel hair with pesto … so so so delicious. What a fabulous giveaway. OMG my fingers are crossed.
Not being very skilled at Italian cooking,(my hubby is French) I leave to the pros. So when we visit our favorite little Italian Cafe I always love to order a dish called Linguini alla Lucca.
It’s grilled chicken breast sautéed with baby spinach, pine nuts
& mushrooms with a yummy lemon butter sauce and served with linguini.
Absolute Bliss!
My fave is baked ziti. The soup is on my list of things to make this week. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Eggplant Parmigiana!!!
My fav. italian dish is simple Marinara and Meatballs…mmmmhh.
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