cookbook
Inside The
Tuscan Sun Cookbook
cooking the italian way with frances and edward mayes
by janet reynolds | photos by steven rothfeld
T
.S. Eliot may have said April is the cruelest month, but he didn’t live in the Northeast in March. Because March in these parts is when winter feels as if it will never — ever — leave. In our minds we know this to be impossible, but in our winter-dreary bones we feel the possibility to our core. Not surprisingly, it’s a time when many of us not lucky enough to take a jaunt to sunnier, warmer climes fantasize about living in a place where spring has sprung. It is a place without snow. It is a place of fresh food and leisurely lunches on patios surrounded by good friends, followed perhaps by gathering around an outdoor fire as the evening cools. For many of us, one of these fantasies is Tuscany. It’s one reason why Frances Mayes’ debut memoir, Under the Tuscan Sun, was so wildly successful. (It has over 2.5 million copies in print and was made into a movie starring Diane Lane.) Since we couldn’t live as ex-pats in Tuscany, we willingly jumped into her life. While chucking it all and moving to Tuscany still is not likely for most of us, we can now cook a la the Tuscans, thanks to Mayes’ new cookbook, The Tuscan Sun Cookbook. Written in collaboration with her husband, Edward, the book features over 150 recipes they’ve gathered in their two decades as honorary Italians. But the book is more than a cookbook; it’s also a travelogue. Sprinkled among the stunning photographs of food are photographs of Tuscany — the countryside, the people who’ve inspired the Mayes’ culinary journey — as well as wonderful explanations of the ritual of eating. The Mayes also offer detailed tips about what your pantry should al-
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ways have so you can whip up a Tuscan meal any time, as well as advice on how to buy the best olive oil, the critical ingredient in any meal. What emerges in this culinary love story is this: Food is not just a way to sustain your body in Tuscany; it is a way of life. Frances wrote a little about that life in an e-mail exchange. Word of caution: Don’t be near a computer when you’re done, or you may find yourself booking that trip to Tuscany. What inspired you to turn these recipes into a book? Tuscans are the most hospitable people on earth. So many friends have shared their kitchens and tables with me. I wanted to pass these easy and tasty recipes on. Of course, Tuscans don’t cook by printed recipes, but by instinct I put it on paper!