When you take one of The Chopping Block's culinary vacations with Onward Travel, you will be part of a small group of travelers who all enjoy food and wine. Each group is different, of course, but lifelong friendships are often formed among travelers. At the very least, you'll enjoy conversing with like-minded foodies from all over the country who appreciate similar interests.
When my friend Cheryl and I went on the Cook Like a Tuscan tour last October, we loved everyone in our group, but we especially bonded with a couple from Chicago, the Marzanos. Lisa and Kevin were so much fun, and we all had similar interests. They are both regulars in The Chopping Block's wine classes and are big fans of Advanced Sommelier Mary Ross. Lisa is also a Culinary Boot Camp graduate. Whenever we had free time, we often went out in search of more food and wine, whether it had a label (or not) or served in a straw basket!
Lisa showing off homemade wine made by our chef and served at the Tuscan villa one night
Lisa and Kevin drinking Chianti at Dario Cecchini’s restaurant
This was confirmed when we traveled to Montalcino to taste Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's - and the world's - most renowed red wines. This 100% Sangiovese ages for at least five years or more and has an aging potential of 20 to 25 years! That's why it comes with a lofty price tag. We made sure to taste some great wines during our guided tasting in the morning, then we were on our own for lunch.
While most of the rest of our group used the time for shopping, Cheryl and I opted for a Brunello tasting flight with a lunch of charcuterie and cheese. Seeing Lisa and Kevin at the table next to us having the exact same meal and flight, we knew we had found our people!
For the rest of the trip, we swapped stories about Chicago, other travels, wine-related shows and entertainment (including a recommendation from the Marzanos for the amazing Cork Dork book), even our love for Top Chef (they are now part of my Top Chef Fantasy League!).
When we took a day trip to Siena later in the week, we were provided options by Onward Travel for lunch on our own that ranged from casual to fancy. Of course, the four of us opted for a fine dining lunch at Osteria Le Logge which was one of the standout meals (with perfectly paired wine selected by Kevin) we had during the week.
So when Lisa told me about a rosemary shortbread she had at a winery in Napa Valley on a previous trip, I was all ears. She and Kevin had done a wine tasting at Faust Haus on their 10th anniversary trip in 2021 and enjoyed the amazing patio and beautiful views. The staff brought out snacks to go with the tasting - including the shortbread - and they begged for the recipe. They were told no at first, but the winery staff later emailed them the recipe. Lisa promptly passed it along to me and Cheryl like any good friend would!
I made the rosemary shortbread around the holidays and included it in a sweet treat assortment I gave to the ladies in my workout group, and it was a big hit. Recently, one of those ladies asked me to make it for her niece's bridal shower so I was happy to oblige so I could share the story of it with you. I doubled the recipe this time which is about as much as would fit in my food processor. So, if you need to make more than twice the recipe, be sure to make multiple batches.
Rosemary Shortbread
Adapted from Faust Haus
Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe
Yield: Serves 8
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Inactive time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons honey
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, rosemary and salt.
3. Add the butter and honey, and pulse again to form fine crumbs.
4. Continue to pulse until the crumbs start to come together, but do not over-process. The dough should not be smooth.
5. Working quickly so as to not heat the butter, press dough into an ungreased 9-inch cake pan. (Remember, I doubled the recipe so I'm using a larger pan in the photos.)
6. Chill the dough for about 15 minutes in the freezer. The goal is to ensure the butter in the dough is cold when it goes into the oven, which will prevent the shortbread from spreading.
7. Bake until golden brown, around 35-40 minutes.
8. Cut into bars while the shortbread is still warm.
You can make this rosemary shortbread for an unusual party dessert (as I will be doing again this weekend) or serve it with wine like the Marzanos enjoyed at Faust Haus. We have some fun wine classes coming up soon, including:
- Culinary Heaven: Wine and Cheese Pairing Friday, May 31 6:30pm
- Spanish Wine and Tapas Pairing Friday, June 7 6:30pm
- Get to Know your Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc Friday, June 21 6:30pm
- and a brand new wine class: Italian War and Wine: Mussolini's Influence with Sommelier Christophe Bakunas Friday, June 28 6:30pm
Rosemary Shortbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, rosemary and salt.
- Add the butter and honey, and pulse again to form fine crumbs.
- Continue to pulse until the crumbs start to come together, but do not over-process. The dough should not be smooth.
- Working quickly so as to not heat the butter, press dough into an ungreased 9-inch cake pan.
- Chill the dough for about 15 minutes in the freezer.
- Bake until golden brown, around 35-40 minutes.
- Cut into bars while the shortbread is still warm.
