How to Make Homemade Ricotta & Making Cheese on a Cooking Vacation in Italy
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Italy
One of our culinary travelers' favorite activities when they participate in our Italy cooking vacations is making cheese. This is not part of every itinerary: it depends on the region and the specific cooking vacation. But many of our culinary tours in Italy include cheese making, or at least a visit to see how cheese is produced. But did you know you can easily replicate the thrill of cheesemaking in… Read
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Tlacoyos Recipe
Filed Under Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Mexico
When trying to describe tlacoyos to my kids, I said they were a cross between a tamale and an empanada. They have the thick, corn-masa breading on the outside, like a tamale. But unlike a tamale, they aren't steamed in corn husks, they are cooked on a hot griddle (with our without oil) or, sometimes, deep fried. Their shape is also unique, like a football that has been flattened by… Read
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An Iftar Recipe for Ramadan: Lamb Kebabi with Watermelon, Cucumber, and Herb Salad
Filed Under Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Special Occasions, Travel Tips, Turkey
Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims around the world, a time of fasting, prayer, and charity. The dates of Ramadan change each year (moving forward by 15 days), because it follows a nine-month, lunar calendar, but the month-long rituals remain the same and are meant to commemorate the month in which the Quran was revealed to Muhammad. Each year you can find the approximate dates of Ramadan, but its… Read
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Recipe for Tagliata di Manzo "alla Roberto"
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Italy
Last week we featured our friend Richard di San Marzano's recounting of his past year during lockdown in the Umbrian countryside near Spoleto. As you might expect, it featured plenty of good food! We shared one of Richard's family recipes, for Five Leaf Pesto, earlier in the week. Now we're turning up the heat with a classic "tagliata di manzo," as made by Richard's friend Roberto. "Tagliata" means "cut," or… Read
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Recipe for Five Leaf Pesto from Our Cooking Vacation in Spoleto
Filed Under Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Italy
If you had to spend time in lockdown, then perhaps the Umbrian countryside was an ideal place to do it. Last week our friend and partner Richard di San Marzano described his family's experience during the past year in Italy (you can read it here). It included a lot of seasonal foraging and fabulous food, as. you might expect in Italy. Try one of Richard's recipes, fruit of his foraging… Read
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History of the Margarita and a Recipe for a Classic Margarita Cocktail
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Wines & Spirits, Mexico
Happy National Margarita Day! The margarita cocktail is a bit like the Italian dessert tiramisú. There are many different stories for how it got invented and by whom! And there is not even consensus on how the name of the cocktail came about. One thing there is consensus on? That it is one of the world's most beloved and recognizable cocktails. So what is a margarita? It always includes three… Read
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