Guido's Stinco Arrosto, or Roast Veal Shank

At the beginning of February I was invited to a Vinsanto tasting at Badia a Coltibuono, one of the historic estates of Chianti Classico. We enjoyed some memorable vintages, and the tasting was followed by a meal cooked up by Guido Stucchi Prinetti, who has taken over the cooking classes his Mom -- Lorenza De'Medici -- used to hold for foreign visitors. The main course was a stinco arrosto, roast veal shank. It was quite good, and when I asked he replied he'd be happy to show me how he did it. It is, he says, one of his Mom's recipes, and classic cucina borghese, upper middle class Italian cooking.

It's also quite easy to do, requiring little supervision, and Guido therefore uses it often in his cooking classes, having the students get it going and then teaching them something else, for example how to make pasta.

Guido started holding the lessons by chance; after Lorenza decided to retire in 2000, Francesco Torre, the chef at their restaurant, taught for a while, but then he married and American, and is now in Napa.

"That left me," Guido recalls, adding that he has always liked to cook, and in addition to drawing from his mother's experience, is working to recover old techniques and traditions.