by Susan Van Allen
Photos by Bill Sutherland

Iolanda Marcocci.

Iolanda, five feet tall and stocky with a low gravely voice and swollen ankles that spilled over her orthopedic shoes, had a more rough-around-the-edges manner. She prowled from table to stove fully in charge, brandishing her wooden spoon or old paring knife she called "mi amore." She treated Bill and Patty like her own children - one minute scolding them for buying ricotta that wasn't up to her standards, the next pinching them on the cheeks with affection.

"Will you adopt me?" one of the students asked, after tasting Iolanda's ribolitta, a hearty vegetable soup. Without missing a beat, Iolanda lit up and answered with a vigorous, "Si!"

The country cooking centered on simplicity. Olive oil and sea salt were used liberally; vinegars, herbs, and sauces were added with a light touch so the flavors of fresh tomatoes, rich mushrooms, and homemade pasta weren't overwhelmed. And no fancy Williams Sonoma tools here. Iolanda and Bruna used their expert hands as food processors - breaking up tomatoes for sauce, tearing herbs for salad, and mixing dough.

Bill encouraged us to "jump in and give a hand" during the pasta making, but my attempt at rolling pici, the thick spaghetti specialty of the region, resulted in a lumpy mess. As I stood back and watched Iolanda smush up and perfectly re-roll the dough on her mother's old pine board, I realized "jumping in and giving her a hand" would be like me grabbing Michelangelo's chisel and giving him a hand with the David.

Patty set the table with linens from the Arezzo antique market and sprigs of lavender from their yard. With a CD of Andrea Bocelli (also a Tuscan native) serenading us and Bill pouring the wine, we'd dig into the four-course lunch we'd been salivating over during class. The week's highlights for me were Bruna's tagliatelle with cinghiale (wild boar) sauce and Iolanda's creamy tiramisu.

Dinners stretched late into the warm evenings, showcasing a range of local restaurants and chefs. In each, the bounty of the area's farmlands was transformed into flavorful dishes - from simple grilled chiana beef to rich duck spiced with wild fennel. And as our own class party continued, we got to know more of Montefollonico's natives. (CONTINUE...)