A Family Evening at Don Alfonso 1890
Filed Under Destination Features, What's Up at TIK Italy
Dining at Don Alfonso 1890 during one of our Amalfi Coast culinary tours, or staying at their beautiful relais and taking cooking classes in their charming teaching kitchen, are two of our favorite things to do in Italy. I recently had the pleasure of spending an evening with the warm and passionate Iaccarino family as they worked their magic for the patrons - including my family - in their world-renowned,… Read
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At Home in Positano
Filed Under Destination Features, What's Up at TIK Italy
"My grandfather was a fisherman. He supplied fish to people during the second World War. He would hide it in the caves along the shore and tell the starving families where to find it." We pull over suddenly to the side of the road. "Cherries!" he exclaims, then "Pasquale!" He jumps out of the car and embraces the man selling cherries from a plastic bin perched on the hood of… Read
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Why Naples?
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips, What's Up at TIK Italy
Naples lies in the ever-present shadow of Vesuvius, the famed volcano that buried two cities and left countless dead in A.D. 79. In fact the city spreads to the very foot of the great mountain and even up its sides. Perhaps it is this constant reminder of mortality, the constant presence of risk, that makes Naples so unlike other Italian cities. Or it could be the 4000 years of history,… Read
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La Maremma Toscana
Filed Under Destination Features, Wines & Spirits Italy
... Ma di lontano pace dicono al cuor le tue colline con le nebbie sfumanti e il verde piano ridente ne le pioggie mattutine. - Giosuè Carducci Tuscany is one of our best-selling destinations, which should be no surprise to anyone who knows anything at all about Italy. But to many people, Tuscany means Florence and the Chianti area, while they ignore the rest of the region. Some people do… Read
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Mardi Gras Treats
Filed Under Food History, Special Occasions France, Italy, USA
It's Mardi Gras, the last day of Carnival in European countries, the day before heading into the austere Lenten season. This generally means indulging one last time before swearing off the good stuff like sweets, alcohol, and meat. There are tons of fabulous Mardi Gras treats - many of them liquid - to be found around the world. We're feature a few of our favorite Mardi Gras pastries. Celebrate Carnevale… Read
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Homemade Ancient Grain Pasta with "Sugo Finto"
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes Italy
We're visiting one again with our favorite new chef, Andrea of our Living the Real Tuscan Dream cooking vacation in Italy. Andrea not only shares his recipes - he shares his passion for food and his knowledge as a food historian. The Pasta Andrea explains: "The Mediterranean Diet - the name says it all - originates in precisely those countries that face the Mediterranean basin. This model of nutrition was… Read
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