The story follows Dara Willcox and Austin Clarke, two ambitious individuals from different backgrounds who fall in love during a weekend in New York. As they plan their future together, a celebratory engagement dinner takes a turn when a wine spill foreshadows impending troubles. Austin receives distressing news from London that jeopardizes their plans, leading Dara to unexpectedly cancel the wedding without explaining her reasons. Their relationship is tested as they navigate challenges that threaten their dreams of a shared life.
From the famed author of Under the Tuscan Sun, the most delicious Tuscan pasta recipes that can be made in the time it takes to boil water Frances Mayes is known for transporting readers to the charming Italian countryside in her bestselling books. In Pasta Veloce, Mayes brings that irresistible Italian flavor right to your home with 100 of her favorite pasta recipes. These well-loved recipes blend traditional Italian technique with magic from Mayes's home kitchen where experiments are always in progress. Pasta is the most versatile food on Earth. And if you do it right: fast! Pasta Veloce offers a multitude of under-30-minute, luscious recipes, all accompanied by Mayes's evocative text. While there are numerous pasta cookbooks, few feature a true Italophile's passion and eye for detail that can get a dish to the table in, as Mayes describes, "the time it takes to boil water." From a Tagliatelle with Duck Confit, Chestnuts, and Coffee Reduction to a glittering Capellini with Golden Caviar to the perfect vodka sauce, Pasta Veloce is your guide on those nights when you're ready to skip the whole production of it but still want to eat like royalty in a rustic Italian village.
The bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun discovers the hidden pleasures of Italy in a sumptuous travel narrative that crisscrosses the country, with inventive new recipes celebrating Italian cuisine. Don’t miss Frances Mayes in PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special! “Reading this book is a vacation in itself.”—The New York Times Book Review (Best Travel Books of the Summer) The Roman Forum, the Leaning Tower, the Piazza San Marco: these are the sights synonymous with Italy. But such landmarks only scratch the surface of this magical country's offerings. In See You in the Piazza, Frances Mayes introduces us to the Italy only the locals know, as she and her husband, Ed, eat and drink their way through thirteen regions—from Friuli to Sicily. Along the way, she seeks out the cultural and historic gems not found in traditional guidebooks. Frances conjures the enchantment of the backstreets, the hubbub of the markets, the dreamlike wonder of that space between lunch and dinner when a city cracks open to those who would wander or when a mind is drawn into the pages of a delicious book—and discloses to us the secrets that only someone who is on intimate terms with a place could find.
Exploring the hidden pleasures of Italy, the author weaves a rich travel narrative that traverses the country, uncovering its charm and beauty. Alongside captivating experiences, readers will find inventive new recipes that celebrate the essence of Italian cuisine, making this work a delightful blend of travel and gastronomy.
Shares the essential elements and principles of the Tuscan lifestyle and furnishes suggestions, ideas, and creative projects designed to bring the spirit of Tuscany into one's own home.
The new novel from the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun tells the story of four American women who become unexpected friends when they move to a beautiful villa in Tuscany. She watches from her terrazza as the three American women carry their luggage into the stone villa down the hill. Who are they, and what brings them to this Tuscan village so far from home? Kit Raine, an American writer living in the small Italian town of San Rocco, is working on a biography of her close friend, the novelist Margaret Merrill. But her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women - Julia, Camille and Susan - all of whom have recently formed a friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. For Susan, the most fearless of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of a staid retirement in the States by taking on the lease of a big, beautiful house in Tuscany ... Though novices in a foreign culture, their renewed sense of adventure imbues each of them with a bright sense of bravery, a spirited lust for life, and a fierce determination to thrive. With Kit's friendship and guidance, the three friends launch themselves into Italian life, pursuing passions long-forgotten - with drastic and unforeseeable results
The best-selling author of Under the Tuscan Sun shares the story of her youth in the American South and her decision to return to the places that shaped her early ideals, a journey marked by her regional travels and growing appreciation for Southern writers. 80,000 first printing.
