Project Food Blog Post #1 "Reasons behind my choice to start a Food Blog"

We interrupt our regular scheduled programming for my Challenge One submission to the Project Food Blog competition. The goal...to find the next food blog star!
You already know my story,but here's the reasons that maked me decide to partecipate at this contest :
Apart from the food passion,i've also been a huge follower of internet since the early 90's.
After spending some years surfing on the net,i've decided to become an "active" user,so i started writing about my job and my passion,which is the same thing : Tuscan Cooking.
While i was travelling around the world,i've started to notice something which was often done abroad :
Recipes that are modified and adapted to the taste of the country they're prepared in.
In my opinion that's not the right thing to do,as the original taste and ingredients would be modified,making it just another recipe,which is not the original thing anymore, example : a simple plate of "Fettuccine al Pomodoro" re-invented and adapted to a french nouvelle cousine making it more rich and colorful at the eye,ignoring that the secret behind the original Italian recipe was not that,but the simplicity and the quality of the ingredients like tomatoes,home made pasta and freshly harvested olive oil,so if i would want to give something more to this plate i would instead,for example,add fresh home-made pasta prepared with eggs from the farmer.....that would really makes the difference !
To make it short....yes im here to win,like everyone else,but my first objective is to "broadcast" my message to every family,to teach them how to make a real Italian dish,so that for a Sunday Meal they could really let their families taste the true taste of Italian Cooking,in my case,the Tuscan Cooking !

If,after reading all of this,you still think i deserve your vote...:-)
Voting Open: 6AM Pacific Time September 20th through 6PM Pacific Time September 23rd
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ME

Stringhe in Umido (Stewed String Beans)

Stringhe are a Tuscan heirloom string bean; the word Stringhe means strings and the reason for the name is obvious -- when they're harvested fagioli stringhe are 40-50 cm long, or about 18 inches.
Stringhe are also called S.Anna beans, fagioli serpente "snake" beans. Again, references to their length. Production of stringa is limited to the Lucca,Valdarno (between Arezzo), Florence, and Prato, and you'll find them in local vegetable markets (production is limited enough that they're more difficult to find in supermarkets) throughout the summer.

Ingredients:

gr 600 string beans (washed, topped and tailed)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
A slice of tuscan prosciutto
2 large ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
Basil
salt and pepper


Direction:

In a saucepan put some minced onion and garlic,tuscan prosciutto, chopped tomatoes, Stringhe beans (string beans), basil, olive oil, salt and a little water. Cook slowly until everything is well cooked and juicy.

Filetto di Manzo all'Alpina "Beef fillet with porcini mushroom cap"

Ingredients for 4

4 beef fillets
4 porcini mushrooms caps
extra virgin olive oil
garlic
calamint
chilli
salt


Preparation 


Clean the porcini mushrooms caps. Put them in a baking pan and season with olive oil, salt, red pepper, sliced garlic, calamint and a splash of wine. Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees. Cook the tenderloin on the grill. Then place the fillet on a plate and above the cap of porcini mushrooms. Dress with extra virgin olive oilAccompany with a red Sangiovese wine

*Look my post about Garfagnana Porcini Mushrooms

Black Figs Tart

Hello everyone !

After my 2 months break (i spent my Honeymoon in French Polinesia and California) i'm back again in the "old world".

Sorry about this long absence,but now i'm all freshened up and ready to bring you new recipes...
This morning  my father came back from his farm (Maolina) with a basket full of figs and so i got the inspiration to make this...

Figs are the only fruit to fully ripen and semi-dry on the tree.
Wrapped in a thin, deep-purple to black skin, the juicy, red-pink pulp of this fig is packed with small, edible seeds. The flavor is sweet and floral, reminiscent of honey. A slight shriveling or cracking near the stem end is caused by the sun and is a common characteristic.
High in fiber, figs are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, magnesium, thiamine, potassium and protein. Figs are considered to be an antibacterial and anti-ulcer food, as well as a natural laxative.

Ingredients for 8
2 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 2 ½ sticks softened unsalted
butter, a
heavy 1/2 cup figs preserves, 2 egg yolks, 5 crisp sweet
apples, 1 heavy cup wallnuts.
Preparation
Soften butter and combine with eggs, sugar and flour. Work
the dough until the consistency is soft and delicate. Prepare
a mold on a shallow-edged baking sheet with parchment
paper. Smooth dough onto the full surface of the mold.
Spread with figs preserves. Slice figs and layer on top
of the preserves. Sprinkle the figs lightly with sugar and
scatter the wallnuts.
Bake 30 minutes at 350F. Dust with confectioner's sugar,
cut into squares and serve.

Thank you Kevin

Kevin Lynch is a certified sommelier through the Court of the Master Sommelier. He is also the co-founder of Native Food and Wine. He is a regular contributor to national and international wine, food and lifestyle publications and is writing a book about the wines of Tuscany. Kevin has been traveling the globe for over a year in search of great wine.
Kevin tell my story and recipe in this site http://www.examiner.com
Thank you Kevin for your friendly!!!!!