Nestled in the far southeastern corner of Merced County within a hundred miles of Sacramento, California, lies a once sleepy farming community and town called Le Grand. There you will find the home of Dario and Josephine Giampaoli and the headquarters of their Double G Farms.

“We are located in the heart of one of the world’s most productive farming areas, the Central Valley of California, where we grow 1,300 acres of cotton, corn, almonds, tomatoes and wheat,” reports Dario Giampaoli. “Farming has always been the Giampaoli's way of life. First generation is gone . . . but definitely passed the tradition of love for the land to the second and third generations,” he says.

Long time members of the Le Grand community, Dario and Josephine stay involved are committed to preserving this “beautiful little town” and culturally diverse community. “Ours is a tight-knit community and many of us still have relatives in Italy. So it was only natural for the Italian-American Womens Club to publish a collection of our favorite recipes” states Jo.

We are pleased to include some of those recipes here and invite you to try one of Dario’s and Jo’s favorites, the Ribollita. “In the winter-time when the nights in the Central Valley are a little cool, we like to build a cozy fire in the fireplace and feast on big bowls of this Ribollita,” Jo volunteers. “It just makes you warm all over.”