How to Make Homemade Ricotta & Making Cheese on a Cooking Vacation in Italy
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes
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
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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Discover Normandy on a Culinary Vacation in France
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Travel Videos
Its coastline is famous, with thousands of years of history. Its white, chalky cliffs, turbulent seas, and sandy beaches have been the site of battles and voyages. And its food is some of the most quintessentially "French." Normandy is one of the most recognizable names of French regions. It is also one of the most popular destinations for our cooking vacations and cultural tours in France. But many do not… 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
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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Beer in the Windy City
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Wines & Spirits
Today is National Beer Day, and in its honor we'll be talking about beer in our hometown, Chicago. The rise in the production, sales, and quality of so-called "craft" beers in the US in the past few decades, and particularly since the 1990's, has meant a corresponding increase in craft breweries and brewpubs, not to mention a plethora of amazing brews to try. When I was young and growing up… Read
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Types of Cocktails & Mixed Drinks
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, What's Up at TIK, Wines & Spirits
Happy National Cocktail Day! We don't think one really needs a reason to enjoy a nice cocktail, but we don't mind having one. So what exactly is a cocktail? A cocktail is a mixed alcoholic drink that includes one or more spirit and some type of mixer. Not very specific, is it? cocktail (noun): an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or several spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as… Read
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What We Think about Stanley Tucci's "Searching for Italy"
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, Travel Videos, What's Up at TIK
The famous Italian-American actor has a new series on CNN in which he explores Italy's regions through their gastronomy. Find out what we think about his adventures so far! Not into video? Read on for a recap. There is a lot we like about Stanley Tucci's "Searching for Italy." First, it is a series dedicated to food and travel in Italy, which is what we have been dedicated to for… Read
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Recipe for Tagliata di Manzo "alla Roberto"
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes
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
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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My Experience in Italy during the Lockdown
Filed Under Destination Features, Food History, Kitchen Tips, Travel Tips
Our friend Richard di San Marzano in Spoleto is contributing a guest post for us letting us know what life has been like the past year in one of our favorite Italian regions, Umbria. Italy's national lockdown began on March 8, 2020 (although there were regional quarantines before then), and it has continued, like much of the world, with varying levels of restrictions since then. If you've wondered about what… Read
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