SHOW & RECIPE FOR AUG. 25

This special broadcast of Delicious Mischief comes to you from the Italian region of Tuscany. From the wine area known as Chianti, to be precise. And from the ancient wine estate of Badia a Coltibuono, to be more precise than that.

LEARNING TO COOK ITALIAN
Guido Stucchi learned to cook his country’s many regional cuisines growing up around his mother, a cookbook author and famed instructor. In fact, he saw her at her culinary best almost every day, teaching Italian techniques to students from around the world at the cooking school she founded on her family’s wine estate, Badia a Coltibuono. The name means something like Estate of the Good Harvest, and as Guido makes clear to students in his cooking classes, that applies to food every bit as much as wine.

TUSCANY EQUALS CHIANTI
Chianti is a very specific place within Tuscany – and along the lines of wine laws in France, the name also brings with it a long history of hoops for producers to jump through. Still, sitting in the garden sipping wine at Badia a Coltibuono, it’s impossible to consider those regulations such a bad thing. We taste the wines of Badia a Coltibuono in today’s Grape and Grain segment, and talk about them with Guido’s sister, Emanuela Stucchi. On this fabled estate, winemaking like cooking remains a family affair.

A CHAT WITH THE CHEF
One of the best parts about visiting Badia a Coltibuono, other than having instant access to some of the best wines in Tuscany and cooking classes in the local cuisine, is getting to spend one or more nights at the inn and enjoy lunch or dinner in the restaurant. The menu isn’t cold-hearted enough to limit itself to uniquely Tuscan specialties, but it does offer most of the signature seasonal dishes. We visit with the chef about some of his favorites – not to mention, since we’ve now dined here once in the winter and once in the summer, some of ours.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
JOHN’S TUSCAN PORK AND MUSHROOM STEW

1 pound Italian pork sausage, hot or mild
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped tomato
¾ cup dry red wine

Brown the sausage in the olive oil till almost cooked through, then add the pork cubes. Cook stirring occasionally till dark brown, 5-7 minutes, over high heat. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. When meat is starting to stick to pan, stir in the garlic, carrot, celery and onion. Season again with salt, pepper and crushed pepper, cooking until vegetables turn golden and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook till they start to wilt, about 5 minutes, then incorporate the tomato and red wine. Cover and cook until the meat is tender, the flavors are combined and the liquid thickens almost into gravy. Serve spooned over polenta, or with penne or other pasta. Serves 6-8.