Tuscan lunch

Those of you who are not interested in food can skip this post. For the rest of you, wish you could have been here to enjoy this.

So the Stoic One and I drove over to Tuscany to explore the area, and we happened upon a most exotic place, called La Corte Dei Papi, http://www.lacortedeipapi.com . It is just down the hill from the house of Ms. Mayes of "Under the Tuscan Sun" repute.

This was our menu:
Carpaccio with local salad...sounds pretty mundane, except it was made with smoked duck breast. Fantastic. The combination of the dressing, the greens and the duck breast were brilliant.

Next we moved to the primi, or first dish. Pici pasta with pachino tomatoes and crunchy breadcrumbs. The pici, a type of noodle common to this area, were made in the kitchen and the tomatoes grown in the garden/green house.

This simple dish was perfection. The pasta and tomatoes were perfectly cooked, al dente, and tihe bread crumbs just crunchy enough to give a bit of bite.

Then we moved on to the secondi, guinea fowl with little corncobs. Cooked, again, perfectly.

Then we had an antipasta dessert...really.... It was home made marshmallows with chocolate. They were small.

 Then dessert, for real...

One of the best desserts I have had in Italy. Home made chocolate ice cream, with coffee cream, and delicious cookies...Price? 60 Euros...

Here is a picture of one of the rooms...

They are all different and over the top opulent.

If you should happen to be in this part of the country, on your way to the Terontola train station, or otherwise, I encourage you to stop in. The host, David Papi, is delightful, charming and humble. He has a very special property and is always adding things. He is currently restoring a wing over the pool. Can't wait to return and see it when it is completed.