Live Your Tuscany Dream Vacation...

It's a sunny morning and you're rolling out fresh pasta sheets. You're on a fifteenth century estate overlooking an olive grove, the wood burning oven crackling as rosemary-topped focaccia enters its steamy chamber. The lunch table is set with a view of the valley below, bottles of wine waiting to be uncorked, heaping plates of food emerging from the kitchen.

Can it get more perfect than this? We think not.

Join on our Heart of Italy tour from May 11 to 17 to live this Tuscan dream vacation. This tour is a unique opportunity to explore not only Tuscany, but neighboring Umbria and the Marches as well.  

What's Included

Hassle-free, all-inclusive travel... Once you arrive at the Villa, everything is included:  every meal with wine, private transportation, tastings, daily hands-on cooking classes, and more. No need to worry about the stressful details that can make or break your vacation; we take care of it all. Watch a brief video  to see what we have in store for you on our Heart of Italy tour

• all breakfasts, all lunches, all dinners
• 6 nights stay at the villa
• private room with en-suite bathroom
• 6 hands-on cooking classes at the villa
• wine with all lunches and dinners
• wine tasting at an award-winning Tuscan estate
• olive oil tasting and visit of olive mill
• private gelato class with a master gelataio
• interactive pottery class
  
• all organized group activities
• transportation by private bus to towns such as  Frontino, Arezzo, Montepulciano, Spello, and more
• all cooking class recipes
• Rustico Cooking apron
• One-year Rustico Cooking Video Membership (a value of $120)

2025 Culinary Tour Calendar

Heart of Italy Tour: Tuscany & Beyond May 11-17
Liguria – The Italian Riviera May 18-24 (just 2 spots left!)
Secrets of Southern Italy October 8-16

We believe in creating memories for our travelers. Every activity has been curated, every menu designed to give you a true taste of Italy, every cooking class sure to deliver laughter as well as new skills.

We'll take care of you from the moment you contact us to the moment you leave our small group. We don't farm anything out: we're a husband-and-wife team devoted to creating off-the-beaten path experiences for people who want to enjoy culinary travel, and we take care of all the little details that guarantee a memorable trip.

Micol is a Milan native, Dino is half Italian, and we live in Italy full time, so with us, you'll experience the insider's Italy.

Email micol@rusticocooking.com to book. We look forward to sharing our Italy with you!
Micol and Dino

Client Testimonial: Greg M. from Durham, NC

"What a fabulous time I had in Italy touring with you. It was amazing! I knew that Italy was going to be fun... but being with the people you picked to join our tour and the places we visited well, it went so far beyond all my expectations. I wouldn't have changed a thing about the trip... well maybe that we all could have stayed longer. Again, I can't that you enough for making my Italian experience so wonderful." 

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

These cookies are a playful adaptation of Tuscany's famous crunchy almond biscotti: a healthy dose of lemon zest lends them a delightfully refreshing aroma, cranberries provide tang and color, and pistachios bring deep, aromatic notes.

Makes 4 dozen biscotti

1 cup skin-on almonds
½ cup shelled unsalted pistachios, skins rubbed off (measure after shelling)
1 cup finely chopped dried apricots (measure after chopping)
½ cup dried cranberries
200 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for the counter
Grated zest of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs
1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325° convection.
   
2. Coarsely chop the almonds in a food processor; do not overprocess the almonds: they should be the size of large peas (if they are ground rather than chopped, the batter will be too dry and will require additional eggs to come together).
3. Turn the almonds out into a bowl. Add the pistachios, apricots, cranberries, flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt, and mix well to combine.
4. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the Fiori diSicilia. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until a dough just starts to come together. Gather the dough with your hands, squeezing and kneading it firmly to help it form a solid mass.
5. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather into a tight ball, and cut into 4 equal pieces. (If the dough sticks to the counter or your hands, sprinkle the counter with a bit of sugar, not flour.) Shape each piece into a 1-inch wide log and place the logs, 2 inches apart, on 2 parchment paper-lined 11-inch x 17-inch baking sheets. Bake 25 minutes, or until lightly golden and just set. Remove to a cooling rack, cool 5 minutes, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices on the diagonal.
6. Arrange the slices in a single layer on the same parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Return to the oven and bake 5 minutes; the biscotti should not be fully crisp.
7. Remove from the oven, cool on a rack, and serve.