vin santo and chocolate chip biscotti

Last night my husband and I celebrated our 21st anniversary. It doesn't seem that we have been married that long. Oh, the interesting things that we have done, in all this time that we have been together. And yet, we still go out and laugh at each others jokes, and tease each other relentlessly and just simply enjoy each other's company. And last night, was no exception. We went to this really fabulous asian fusian restaurant where we dined on satay, avocado shrimp salads and lobster cooked in lemon grass, chili and lime. We ended our meal with Fra Angelico and chocolate chip cookies, the closest thing the restaurant had to offer to vin santo and chocolate chip biscotti.

Last year for our anniversary we were at La Moscadella, in Italy sitting in the room pictured above, enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Gherardo and his wife Roberta. We stayed for three days and three nights at the secluded and recently rennovated farm house in southern Tuscany. We were the only Americans, amongst a handful of German tourists. I found La Moscadella on the internet and corresponded with Gerardo throughout the summer prior to our September trip. He and I had worked out an arrangement whereby he would meet us with his van, at the train station after we had come up from Rome. He drove us back to La Moscadella through the stunning countryside past Pienza and Montepulciano to the tiny remote village of Castelmuzio where La Moscadella is located.

During the day we wandered through the country side, down back roads lined with olive trees and sage. We visited churches and tiny medieval hill towns throughout the surrounding area. We swam in the frigid, but beautiful pool, equipped with a swim up bar and submerged bar stools. We were always slightly bemused to find the bar tended by, what must have been a relative or zio. He would be all by himself waiting to pour a caffè or aparitif to anyone who would swim by. As we sunned ourselves on deck, we would look down into the valley and watched as shepherds moved their flocks to and from their pastures. The clanking of bells, the sounds of the crickets and silence of the countryside were music to our ears.

At night we would brave the ferocious mosquitos and eat dinner on the patio of La Moscadella. The dishes we were servered were "straordinario" out of this word, and delightful. Wonderful flavorful dishes, seasoned with local herbs, sage and thyme. The food tasted like the air smelled around La Moscadella. We would end each meal with Vin santo and biscotti. But, not just ordinary biscotti. These were home made, the largest biscotti I had ever seen, and filled with chunks of chocolate. We toasted our years together with biscotti dripping with vin santo.

Last night, although we were not seated on the patio of La Moscadella, sipping Vin Santo, enveloped by the dark Tuscan night, we still celebrated as we always do, always appreciating and enjoying the fact that we have many more years of adventures and celebrating yet to come.