Contents

1. A Favorite Recipe: Risotto Funghi

2. Skiing in Tuscany

3. Abetone

4. Low Cost European Airlines: Carriers into Pisa

Risotto Funghi

What happens in winter in Tuscany? For one thing, the crowds are smaller, and the museums, churches, and restaurants become wonderful havens from the weather. The weather in Tuscany in winter is not extreme, and winter quickly becomes spring. Nevertheless, if you think that shopping, and visiting churches and museums are the highlights of a winter holiday in Tuscany, we would like to tell you about the wonderful outdoor life available here to winter sport's enthusiasts. Most of us don't think of Tuscany as a ski destination, but there are two great ski resorts quite near to Firenze, Pistoia, and Lucca. After skiing, many of us have enjoyed the hearty Risotto Funghi served at Fagiolino , a restaurant in the village of Cutigliano, in the mountains above Pistoia. Here is our version for you to try at home:

Risotto Funghi, or Mushroom Risotto

• 7 cups good quality chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (we suggest crimini, but a mix of button and wild will make a good substitute)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper
• 1-ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated according to package, then drained and roughly chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
• Fresh Italian parsley, for garnish

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Cook the sliced mushrooms, 1 onion and 1 minced garlic clove in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms, butter and herbs and season with salt and pepper. Add the rehydrated porcini mushrooms and 1/2 cup of the broth and sauté for a just a few minutes, then set this mixture aside.

Sauté the other onion and garlic clove in another tablespoon or two of the olive oil until just translucent. Add the rice and stir quickly until it is well-coated. This takes about 1 minute and assures that the starchy coating of the rice is cooked and keeps it from becoming sticky or gluey. This is an essential step. Then stir in wine and cook until it is nearly all evaporated.

With a ladle, add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to cook and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy; you are looking for the same al dente feel to rice that we want in cooking pasta. The goal is at achieve the proper texture, and not necessarily use all the broth. The rice cooking and stirring process should take about 15 or 20 minutes.

Add the mushroom mixture and parmesan cheese, and cook just until the cheese is melted.

This is nice served with a sprinkle of the chopped parsley and a drizzle of best extra virgin olive oil. This serves four to six and is well worth the time and effort!

Skiing in Tuscany!

Although the ski season in Tuscany is relatively short, just like winter in all but the most northerly mountainous regions of Italy, we do have some exciting slopes with good snow. The ski resort closest to Firenze and several of our villas and apartments is Abetone in the Pistoia mountains, about an hour and a half drive from the center of Firenze.

Abetone is the most important ski resort in central Italy. It is known all over the world, and part of its fame is due to the local heroes, the great ski champions Zeno Colo , Celina Seghi and Vittorio Chierroni , who enthusiastically sang its praises throughout their stellar careers. The ski facilities in Abetone have undergone many recent improvements, and all of the slopes are now interconnected. There are several lifts, and among the newest is a telecabina or cable car lift.

Additionally, Abetone has added quite a good deal of snow making equipment, and recently advertised over 100 snow making machines. This resort is the top ski destination in the Apennines, with seventy kilometers of downhill runs, including those at Cutigliano , Doganaccia and Pian di Novello, and about fifty cross country ski runs. The slopes themselves are situated between four well-linked valleys: Val di Luce, Valle dello Scoltenna, Valle del Sestalone and Valle di Lima.

Together, these valleys form some of the most gorgeous scenery in Tuscany. The nearby ski resorts of Corno ale Scale and Cimone have joined forces with Abetone to offer a special pass allowing holders to access the slopes at all three resorts. This is known as the Big Snow pass, and is available at each of the resorts.

If you love to ski, we urge you to consider making it a part of your Tuscan visit. Abetone is handy to Lucca, and quite a beautiful drive from Pistoia, Lucca, Prato or Firenze. In addition, a special ski bus service connects Firenze to the mountains during winter weekends, leaving Firenze at 7:10 and returning from Abetone at 19:15.

Abetone

Set high in the mountains above Pistoia, Abetone is truly a beauty spot, but one that is different from the other lovely cities of Tuscany; these hilltops resemble an Alpine landscape more than an archetypal Tuscan one. The State-protected forests of this area are rich in firs, larches and pines, and the town of Abetone was actually named for a giant fir tree that grew in the forested hills.

The forest is crossed by paths that are the starting point for a range of excursions from simple walking and hiking jaunts to more adventurous mountaineering trips. The area is active all year round as a focal point for outdoor enthusiasts. The highest nearby peaks, at nearly two thousand meters, are the Alpe Tre Potenze.

I feel that the mountains of northern Tuscany are some of the most breathtakingly beautiful scenery that I've ever experienced. There is a certain wildness, a sense of something quite different from our more gentle rural lands, that reveals a layer of life that the average tourist to Siena, Pisa, or Firenze never experiences. I love these mountains, and urge you to include them in a visit.

Le Piramidi dell'Abetone

While Abetone is known much more for its natural beauty than the buildings or history of the town itself, The Pyramids of Abetone are landmarks in their own right. They mark the border of the former Duchies of Tuscany and Modena, and they were erected on the occasion of the opening of the road built by Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, between his lands and Modena. This road was especially designed to avoid the lands of Bologna, ruled by the Papal State, Pietro Leopoldo's great enemies. The pyramids are constructed of Tuscan stone with marble ornamentation, and bear inscriptions praising Pietro Leopoldo.

Orto Botanico Forestale dell'Abetone

The Botanical Forest of Abetone is an Alpine arboretum containing a variety of plants that once thrived in the mountain climates of Italy but are now under threat of extinction. The Forestale was opened to the public in 1987. The Botanical Gardens are extensive, and they are largely dedicated to forest trees, featuring typical vegetation of the Apennine forests and some imported plants as well.

One small area is occupied by a sandstone and limestone cliff garden, and there is a lovely small lake. The trails through the forest follow a main path that divides the Orto Botanico into three areas, with trails that lead to the Sestaione waterfall; to an area of sandstone covered with rare mosses and lichen; and to the main area that features the typical flora of the Pistoiese Mountains and other nearby areas, including the Alpe Appuane. Hiking through the Orto Botanico Forestale dell'Abetone is quite a popular and enjoyable activity for those who visit this area in spring, summer and full.

Low Cost European Airlines: Carriers into Pisa

For those of you who may be interested, we find these new carriers to be an exciting opportunity to fly into Pisa Airport from the United Kingdom and other European countries, as well as an opportunity for very inexpensive connections from the United States and Canada. Here is a list of the European low-cost carriers that fly into Pisa, the dominant major airport in Tuscany:

Ryanair ( www.ryanair.com ) services Pisa with direct flights from London, Brussels, and Frankfurt.

Air Lib Express ( www.airlibexpress.com ) flies into Pisa from Paris.

Hapag-Lloyd Express ( www.hlx.com ) services Pisa through its hub at Cologne-Bonn.