The fall schedule was really busy, then
when I came back to the US we were hit by the weird weather
that many of you also experienced. We had high winds,
rain, floods, sleet, hail, snow, mudslides AND more power
outages than I care to discuss. To top it all,
immediately after Christmas I fell skiing and injured my
left knee - rehabilitating that one set me back a few more
weeks. All this is by way of letting you know there
have been many, many obstacles that got in the way of my
getting this newsletter to you. And, I'm rushing to
get this finished before I head off to Venice Carnival - one
of the best parties in the world! Of course, we have
numerous culinary adventures also, but dressing up and
attending the private balls is an amazing adventure.
(The redhead in the photo is you-know-who)
The
Road Less
Traveled - Cinque Terre/Riviera
September 24 - October 1, 2006
It's always f
un to have clients return to explore a new
region. Such was the case for this week - two
from previous times, and a new friend. A small, but
very cohesive compatible group - we had a blast. Our
week started off with a zing - Rapallo was the terminus for
the Milan to Rapallo bicycle race. A large part of the
town was out to cheer the winners as they crossed the finish
line. Fortunately, our hotel has great views and we
could watch the race from there.
After our lovely welcome dinner, next morning it was off for
our
first cooking class. For those of you who have done this
trip before, let me assure you that our Chef is as
wonderful and unpredictable as ever! He is such an
amazing combination of extraordinary culinary talent, zany
sense of humor, and thoroughly wonderful human being.
And as I've watched his children grow and enter the
business, it's apparent that the gene pool is alive and well
- all three of the sons work in the restaurant. At
dinner that night, I think the biggest hit was the molded
chocolate dessert (2 of the group were avowed chocoholics).
Next day saw us off to Portovenere and a new fish class
experience. An amazing little village
of only 600
population, but spectacular views everywhere. It's
been a few years since I've been there, so it was fun to
revisit. Of course, views are easy to come by in this
gorgeous area - as we saw the next day. After we
visited our friendly cheesemaker and tasted his warm, fresh
mozzarella, it was off to Portofino - the most famous town
on the Italian Riviera. After lunch and shopping, we
head to Santa Margherita Ligure to watch the fishermen come
in with the day's catch. It's always amazing to
me how small the Mediterranean fish are compared what I see
in my Pacific Northwest. The real treat for me came
when I found out that one of my favorite restaurants had
been "reclaimed" and was being operated by its original
owner. We had a fabulous seafood dinner provided by
Massimo and his staff.
Bright and early the next morning, the shoppers headed out
to the Rapallo open air market, which is conveniently
located just out the front steps of our hotel -
making it
extremely easy to run inside with purchases and dash back
out. Then it was off to Camogli where the views are
some of the best in this area - no small accomplishment.
I think what makes Camogli so special is that is is one of
the last of the small fishing villages of the region, that
is still actively engaged in fishing. The town is
built up the hillside creating viewpoints around each turn.
I wasn't sure if the views or the chocolate specialty of the
area - camoglese (little chocolate dough cakes soaked in
rum) - were the favorites for this group. (Remember, I
mentioned the chocoholics).
That night we had a special demonstration class from Chef
Antonio at our hotel, in which he showed us the secret of
Foccacia al formaggio - the specialty of this area.
The thinnest dough you can imagine (almost like strudel),
stretched and pulled into shape, dotted with stracchino,
then covered with an even thinner dough.
It was already Friday and time for our second cooking class,
followed by our wine/food pairing dinner that night at his
restaurant. I think one of the most fun parts of these
cooking classes is that we
make the food being
serve
d in the
restaurant that night - so you know
we're good!
Photos left are of another "house tradition" - chilled
grappa poured direct!
Our last day was spent touring the Cinque Terre, those 5
remote villages that have become quite famous. We went
by train and boat - always my favorite combination, the
speed of the train is great, but the views from the water
are simply not to be missed. We had a fantastic
lunch that we just stumbled on (hunger got the best of us)
in Manarola - that I will definitely plan to repeat.
That evening we had a celebratory pizza on the Rapallo
waterfront to end our wonderful week. Very EARLY the
next morning we all had to be on trains heading to our next
destination.
Cooking in Paradise - Amalfi
October 1 - 8
After my long train ride from Rapallo, Ravello was looking
really good! Of course, I always love being in this
tiny town of 2500 where I'm greeted as a returning friend; a
nice feeling. The gracious outdoor dining at Villa Maria
sets the perfect tone for the week ahead - warm friendly
people, outstanding food. We were eager to begin!
After
a good night's rest we plunged into the history of our town
and region, ending up at the viewpoint from the Villa
Cimbrone which provides a vista of unparalleled
beauty. We just drank it all in. But then we
realized we were hungry, so we hightailed it back to town
for the
perfect pannini lunch in the town square. We
were then free to explore this little jewel of a town on our
own before our cooking class that evening. Mamma,
Chiara and Antonella greeted us when we arrived to cook.
The stuffed zucchini flowers and eggplant parmesan were BIG
hits as well as Mamma's famous lemon cake. In our next class
the next morning, everyone became experts at
Neapolitan crespelle and developed a real taste for the
local sausage. These classes are always great -
providing everyone with time tested recipes for the local
neapolitan cuisine, and pappa's homemade wine!
That afternoon after our 2nd cooking class, we hopped in the
van and head to Positano - yet another famous city. We
shopped our way down to the waterfront and back again - it
is an amazing place. We had dinner on the waterfront
with a marvelous guitarist/singer. We like him so well
several of us purchased his cd. I like Positano at
night.
Pompeii & Naples were next on the agenda and our guide,
Gianni, was waiting for us when we arrived. He's such
a great guide because he not only guides us through Pompeii,
he shares a local pizza
lunch with us (complete with
demonstration on how to eat pizza like a proper neapolitan),
then walks us through some of the nearby highlights of
Naples. A thoroughly satisfying day. But it's
not over yet! Back in Ravello we have a light dinner at
yet another VIEW restaurant, then off to our musical
entertainment for the evening - a delightful piano recital.
Now that's a good day!
In the morning we headed for Vietri, famous for ceramics,
but first a stop to see anchovy processing. This visit
is always enlightening insofar as seeing how much of the
work is done by hand - tedious. Only problem is
I always end up with heavier baggage because I have to
purchase some of their wonderful tuna (really, like none
you've ever tasted - I guarantee it). We finally make
it to Vietri for our ceramic-making demonstration followed
by a buying frenzy. Always tough to get away from
here, but lunch calls.
And what a lunch it is! Our chef in
Cetara always lays out a lavish spread, beautifully
presented and just as delicious. Again, this is a town
that is not "touristic" in spite of having a beautiful
beach. Perhaps it's the difficulty of driving the
Amalfi Coast Highway that discourages people. I'm
always happy we're in the hands of the local drivers who
REALLY know the roads. In the afternoon we visited the
limoncello producer and Giorgio the cameo carver. And
finished the day with a great dinner at Cumpo Cosimo -
always a favorite.
Friday was the blockbuster culinary tour day that I know
we'll all reme
mber for a long, long time. First we
visited the cheesemaker whose crew happily posed for us, in
addition to laying out a wonderful tasting of their various
products - of course this is the area for the BEST
mozzarella, but the other cheeses were fabulous too.
Next came our first ever olive mill visit (in this region),
interesting to see that he was using the antique method.
Then came the bakery where the traditional breads of the
region are produced. We finished the morning with a
quick visit to a fabulous salami maker - another of those
wonderful artisans who take enormous pride in what they are
doing. The aromas were causing our stomachs to growl,
so we headed off to our next meal - which was one of the
best of the week.
The day was absolutely perfect: sunny and mild, not too hot.
The setting was perfect - in a
tiny, tiny village perched
high above the sea, we were served a wine/food pairing lunch
that was perfect from start to finish and featured many of
the most famous dishes of the region but done in amazingly
creative ways. We were so enchanted with this setting
that we had great difficulty prying ourselves away.
The day was capped off by a visit to the town of Amalfi,
where we discovered we had missed the papermaker.
Once again the weather cooperated and we had a perfect day
to v
isit Capri - that magic island. After the ferry ride
over, we jumped into the unique cut-out taxis and headed up.
The garden is always breathtakingly beautiful, but I was a
woman on a mission. In May, one of my group, showed us
a wonderful necklace she had purchased - a lovely silver
bell that chimed. But the real charm was that it was
accompanied by a local legend "The Miracle of t
he Bells."
The bells are sold at a very exclusive jewelry shop, but are
a wonderful souvenir and the small silver one is quite
affordable. Long story short, I purchased mine, then
met everyone for lunch. Showed them my new treasure
and immediately following lunch four others made a bee line
for the shop and bought one for themselves or
gifts.
Obviously, this will become a permanent stop for all future
trips. (Photo - us with bells!)
That evening was our farewell dinner at Mamma's and what a
wonderful e
vening it was. This traditional dinner of
the ancient dishes of the region is such a unique event
made even more special by the fact that we celebrated Judith
& Sue's birthdays - that's
always an extra treat because Chiara and family get more excited than anyone. We had
such a good time we couldn't bear to leave and see the
wonderful week come to an end. It had, indeed, been a
week in paradise. (Photo- Chiara w/Cake & Roman Candle!)
The Tastes of
Tuscany
October 8-15
I had been looking forward to this week
for quite some time - it was my first opportunity to share
my beloved Tuscany with a group of professional colleagues.
It's a completely different experience traveling with people
you've known for years, versus meeting new people for the
first time. One big advantage was that when we
met up at the train station I immediately recognized
everyone - no need for the identifying tote bags.
(photo @Siena fountain)
We quickly settled in and made ourselves
at home in our Chianti villa and savored the Tuscan meal
provided by our local cook, accompanied by delicious wines -
the villa supply would never quite recover! Our first
day was Florence, the market, the shops and lunch at my
favorite - Mario's which everyone agreed was first rate.
After that we headed to the leather coat merchant where
several of us managed to snare some coats that they just
couldn't live without - especially the red ones!
Damage done, we headed back to the villa for our cooking
class with Vincenzo.
I had taken great pains to not tell Vincenzo that these
ladies were professionals as I was afraid it might influence
how he taught. And the thrust of the cooking we do, is
Italian Home Cooking that is true to the region, not
restaurant dishes. Have to say this was a really efficient
class - and the food was great, as usual.
Since we'd done so well with the dinner wines,
we decided to tackle
the grappa producer the next morning. I must say
grappa tasting at 10am is a bit much, but we certainly had
clean palates. At this point I'd like to pass pass on a
favorite quote regarding Grappa: "Grappa
was invented by an alcoholic to save time!" The perfect weather only made our
wonderful garden-setting lunch even better. The food,
the views, languishing in the sunshine - what more could
anyone ask? Well, more wine, so we did our olive mill
followed by the winery tour & tasting. What a
day!
Our special cooking class in the Villa of
"the James Beard of Italy" was, as always, a highlight for
the week. Touring his private acetaia,tasting the
fabulous balsamico is such a treat. The views of the
surrounding countryside are simply spectacular from his back
courtyard. We all decided we'd like to come here and
stay. Later when we visited the leathermaker to see
handbags made, several of the products in the company store
made their way into shopping bags. We finished off the
day with a table full of great pizzas at my favorite
pizzeria. (Photo - balasamico tasting)
Siena and San Gimignano were next on the schedule, always a
treat. October is always a special time to visit the
Duomo in Siena because the magnifice
nt floor is uncovered
and the etchings are on display. On Friday we
headed back to Florence for the guided tour of the Uffizi &
David, followed by last minute shopping time. But that
evening came our BIG treat. Dario, the butcher, has
opened a trattoria nearby and we were the first of my groups
to be able to attend. The building is an architectural
delight, and the meal is incredible - 5 courses of meat -
varied and delicious. We shared a table with some
delightful Italians - with an interesting mix of hesitant
Italian and broken English. Sharing tables with locals
was a real highlight for us. (photo - us w/Dario & wife)
The
Grev
e open air market occupied our interest the next morning
- we visited my watercolorist and many of the other great
shops in town. Once again, our suitcases were reaching
maximum! That afternoon we packed (after picking up
some of our custom shoes), joined Vincenzo for our final
cooking class and Gala Dinner. We couldn't believe the week
was really over. We said our farewells to Vincenzo and
our hosts, and departed the next morning for various
destinations, having spent a delightful week with old and
new Italian friends(photo - Christina @Lunch in Greve)
The Tastes of
Tuscany
October
15-22
I had no idea what was in store for me when I met up
with
this group in Florence - but what a week it was. This
was another of those rare groups that meshed from the
beginning and made my work easy, not to mention rollicking
good fun! It was evident from our Welcome Dinner that
evening and only got better as the week progressed.
This was a group that reminded me of the "gang of 8" from
May 2005.
There was the Philly contingent - 8 strong; but
interestingly, they didn't all know each other before coming
on the trip. They were traveling companions
of 4, 2 and 2; plus 2 from North Carolina. I think
we'd all agree that the star of the show was Lydia from SC.
This is the sweetest little lady imaginable and was the
favorite visitor of ALL the Italians. We're all
grateful that Shasta brought her along, she was truly a good
will ambassador.
The enthusiasm w
ith which this group approached every single
activity was a joy. Whether it was the markets in
Florence (the leather coat man still has not recovered), to
the cooking classes, the culinary tours; you name it, they
plunged right in and had the best time EVER. Theresa,
our waitress in Florence just loved them. We had
serious eaters and appreciators on this trip that made us a
big hit with all the cooks along the way. Everyone
responds to someone visibly enjoying the food served.
When we visited Dario, the butcher of Panzano, he was so
taken with the group that he dashed outside and joined us
for a photo in front of his blue cow. That's the kind
of response we got everywhere!
All of our meals and tasting experiences were greeted with
the same degree of passion - except perhaps the
grappa tasting. When it's the first
time a person has ever had grappa it can be a bit
overwhelming - it is truly a taste that needs to grow on
you. Susan's expression said it all. However,
even if it isn't your favorite drink, it is still
interesting to see how it's made. Every now and then
someone falls in love with it (Grappa Gary comes to mind).
Whether it was the watercolorist, the ceramicist, the hand
made leather producer, the shoemaker, the olive mill,
winery, balsamico, open air market - they all were enriched
by this group's desire to embrace as much of Tuscany as
possible in the small time allotted to them. I'd have
to say, several were prize winning shoppers to rival any
I've had in the past. (Fashionistas with bounty pictured
below)
In case you h
aven't gotten the picture, this group made their own fun - I just provided the wonderful setting and
cast of characters that only Tuscany can offer. You'll
just have to believe me when I tell you it was a fantastic
week, filled with great fun, shared experiences and new best
friends!
What a great job I have.
The Tastes and
Traditions of SICILY
October
22-29
Then I hopped on a plane, though the ground fog had me
wondering f
or a while, and I was off to Sunny Palermo.
When I arrived there was a street fair in process and I
spent the better part of the afternoon trying to capture the
feel of it in photos. The central feature was a great
band that looked as though they were extras in Godfather,III, with an amazing lead singer/dancer. But
on either side of the stage, was a table piled high with
cooking ingredients. Turns out it was a
demonstration and competition of how to build the perfect
Cassata Siciliana - the most famous and revered dessert of
Sicily. It was definitely the biggest Cassata I've
ever seen and well worth watching. I reflected on the
fact that was a great way
to begin a culinary tour; watching
two ladies building cassatas. Thus began our Sicily
week.
This was another of my favorite groups - repeaters from a
previous experience. These folks had been with me on
the Cinque Terre/Riviera trip and endeared themselves to
Chef Fausto by giving him wonderful Disney kitchen tools -
he still has their photo up on his website.
Our adventure began immediately at the airport with a taxi
driver that didn't quite have a grip on space engineering.
Then it was off to our hotel and time to freshen up before
dinner. That's when I took the time to go to the
street fair. Next morning we were off for Monreale
followed by Palermo and its markets. Palermo is really
a magnificent city with some of the most beautifully
majestic buildings. It's a source of amazement as to
how old this civilization is, and how many others have
passed through a/k/a conquered. (photo-fountain of
shame)
Our dinner that evening in one of the oldest Palazzo's in
Palermo was hosted by the absolutely charming, Countess
Stephanie. She has wonderful English skills, a
delightful sense of humor, and is a wonderful host. We
all agreed that the swordfish she served was the best we had
ever eaten, and I'm not a great fan of swordfish.
(photo - in palace)
The Greek ruin, Segesta, was our first stop the next
morning, then it was off to the olive mill for a tour where
the mill was actively pressing olives. Time for a
fabulous country snack, then we were off for a cooking class
with Joe from Philly, now living in Sicily. Onward to Erice and the wonderful pastries and marzipan by the author
of
"Bitter Almonds" - a gracious, lovely woman with an
amazing story. A quick stop of the salt processor and
it was onward to a little town outside of Palermo to meet up
with Pete's relatives. Our local driver had been in
touch with Pete's relatives so that when we arrived it
wasn't such a shock. It was a fabulous reunion enjoyed
by all of us - even non-family members!
On to our stop in the middle of the isl
and, a remote
mountain village that is home to our Sicilian coordinator.
Believe it or not we found a few ceramic treasures here
(shipped home) but nothing compared to the lunch we had.
Course after course (we lost track) of delicious morsels all
local. We finished off with our canoli making
demonstration, then headed back to our agritourismo for the
evening. There
we encountered the very entertaining Giacomo,
another of the drivers. His English is absolutely
amazing, he narrated our cooking class as though he was an
announcer on the Food Channel (which he confessed to
watching). He kept us entertained even through the
local musicians who came in. Because Pete's family
heritage is Sicilian, he and many of the others were up
dancing. It was a tired, but happy group who trooped
off to bed that evening.
We had a new cheese producer to visit the next morning that
was out of an old movie. It's difficult to believe
that cheese is still being produced the way it has
been for hundreds of years. Then it was off to Cefalu
for a brief respite at the beautiful beach. Once
again, the weather was picture perfect! Lunch at the
seashore is always such a pleasure - hard to beat.
San Stefano and our ceramic demonstration was next on the
agenda. Certainly none of us will ever forget the
grandfather with the twinkling blue eyes and full of
mischief. Taormina was our next stop - up the winding
road to this gem of a town that is always a favorite.
Our hotel is perfectly situated with panoramic views from
all rooms, a gracious comfortable setting for the next three
days. (photo - Etna view from hotel)
Dinner that night featured a selection of the famous
Sicilian desserts - Doug once again had his new favorite,
Cassata Siciliana. Next day came the
winery on the slopes of Mt. Etna
with a tour and tasting
lunch - a magnificent view. Cooking class with
Chef/Author Eleanora was next and what a treat it was.
It was especially fun to watch as Pete and Rachel identified
many family favorites from Pete's family dinners. She
is such a marvelous teacher with a passion for her culture
and its cuisine. One has a sense of being in the
presence of someone very special and dear; a national
treasure.
Next morning, Jerry our tour guide, introduced us to the
significant portions of Taormina's history. It is a
small town, but exceptionally beautiful and positively
heaven for shoppers. I know for a fact that several
merchants were very happy we found such lovely ceramics
there - shipping home large quantities from many locations!
We finished off the week with our pizza party - of course,
w
e had to start with antipasto, because in the opinion of
our Sicilian hosts, just pizza isn't enough. We had
experienced enough of their
hospitality by then that we just
ate and enjoyed ourselves, relishing the many
wonderful
moments we had experience during our week.
It was a fabulous ending to the fall trips and renewed again
my conviction that I have the BEST job in the world and
definitely meet the most fun people!
Hope to see you soon - on a
tour
Ciao, Bev
