Wine Lover's France: A Guide to Loire Valley Wines
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Wines & Spirits
Someone once said, "There is no such thing as a heavy Loire wine, nor a high-alcohol Loire wine."* As you will discover on our Loire Valley wine tours, here white wine is supreme. This is the land of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Vouvray, Muscadet. There are varieties of red (from the Cabernet franc grape), but the area's most known wines come from the Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne grapes.… Read
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Ricotta & Spinach Ravioli from a Tuscany Cooking Vacation
Filed Under Destination Features, Recipes
While a handful of Italian cities lay claim to the original ravioli recipe that dates back to the 14th century, every family today has their own way of making, and filling, the stuffed pasta. This simple but delicious ricotta ravioli recipes hails from the Tuscan countryside, specifically our cooking vacation "Cook in the Heart of Chianti". While the dish goes well with most red sauces, we suggest you pair it… Read
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Italian Recipe: Sarde in Saor
Filed Under Food History, Recipes
Want to wow your guests with a unique and tasty dish from the Veneto? Serve this characteristic fish appetizer with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio, Tocai, or Prosecco, and give your guests something to really talk about. Venetian in origin, sarde in soar are popular throughout Italy, including this version which hails from Umbria. If you are lucky enough to be preparing this dish in Umbria, use the small… Read
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Culinary Trips to Italy: A Guide to Umbria Wine
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Wines & Spirits
Umbria may be the fourth smallest producer of wine in Italy, and the region may be lesser known than its neighbor Tuscany, but as the saying goes, good things come in small packages. With Umbria’s varied landscape — rolling, fertile hills in the west; mountains in the east; and volcanic tuff and limestone in Orvieto — and a moderate climate similar to Tuscany, there are a number of different wine… Read
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Foodie Trips to Italy: A Guide to Italian Wine
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Wines & Spirits
Nothing says foodie trip to Italy like a nice glass of Italian wine. More than pasta, prosciutto, parmigiano, and pizza, wine forms part and parcel of Italian life from the Southern shores of Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, to the northern environs of Piedmont, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Valle d'Aosta. Each Italian wine region that The International Kitchen visits on its culinary tours boasts its own varieties and terroir as distinct and… Read
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Must-Try Roman Food: What to Eat in Rome?
Filed Under Destination Features, Food History, Travel Tips
Although no longer the seat of a large empire, Rome is still one of the culinary capitals of the world, home to centuries-old culinary traditions. If you head to the Eternal City on one of our culinary vacations in Italy, you can try famous Roman dishes throughout Rome's many neighborhoods. There are many food places in Rome, from Michelin-starred restaurants to bakeries to snack bars. So what is the true… Read
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Machu Picchu on a Peru Culinary Vacation
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Travel Videos
Machu Picchu is the top reason for why many people travel to Peru, and not just because it's situated in the forest of the Andes mountains and been named both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the new seven wonders of the world. (Although all of those are reasons enough to visit this stunning archaeological site). There's a magical quality to this city that was excavated just over… Read
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Eggplant Crumble with Parmesan from our Provence Cooking Vacations
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes
Tomatoes play a big role in Provencal cooking, and not just because they're available in abundance throughout the Summer and into the Fall. Whether the tomato is red, orange, or yellow, their uses are numerous, which Chef Reine Sammut proves in so many of her Provencal and Mediterranean-inspired recipes. She uses them in everything from gazpacho to risottos, and even desserts. And when she teaches any of these recipes during… Read
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Art & Cooking Vacations with The International Kitchen
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, What's Up at TIK
When we travel, our cameras are always at the ready to snap a photo and remember a particular monument, landscape, or moment. But that's not the only way to capture a place; creating a piece of art is a unique and wonderful way to immerse yourself in a place and remember that moment years later in a special way. That is why we periodically pair up with artists to offer… Read
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Avocado Salad from our Israel Cooking Vacation
Filed Under Kitchen Tips, Recipes
The story of Israeli cuisine is one of many different cultures, as its people have brought traditions, recipes, and ingredients from six different continents and more than 120 countries. As such, the food scene here is one of the most diverse in the entire world. Much of the cuisine in Israel is both light and simple, which is apparent in this delicious take on an avocado salad. It incorporates a… Read
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