But I’m not quite convinced. 

Part of me — the irrepressible cynic, I’m sure – keeps wondering when the other shoe will drop eighteen inches of sleet and snow on our unsuspecting, hatless heads.   Mother Nature will have the last laugh, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.   But mainly, I’m pissed that we’ve all been gypped out of our winter season and the warm and comforting food it inspires. 

I love the change of seasons — four years of wallowing in the banal, unrelenting sunshine of Los Angeles convinced me of that long ago, and the first chance I got I ran back to the Midwest  where we all own scarves and Christmas doesn’t look ridiculous and contrived in the midst of palm trees.  Spring leads to Summer leads to Autumn leads to Winter here in Chicago, and that’s exactly as it should be.   Each new season brings a different wardrobe, a different outlook, a different bounty of food, a different menu.

Winter’s harvest is a joy to shop for – lemons and grapefruits, radicchio and rutabegas, kiwis and kumquats, leeks and artichokes, persimmons and pears.  And I especially love cooking and  baking when the weather outside is frightful:  meaty beef chili, lamb stew and shepherd’s pie; slow-braised country pork ribs, meatloaf and mashed potatoes; warm gingerbread cookies and Red Velvet cake and gooey, fudgy brownies.  It’s all hot off the stove or fresh out of the oven, purposely crafted to warm body and soul.

A bright, busy kitchen on a bitter-cold, moonless night is one of life’s timeless treasures, a hearth laid against the howling wind and a welcome to any traveler on the road of life.   Winter brings out the best of us; it’s a season of giving and sharing, a chance to make amends and toast new friends with a mug of spicy cider or hot buttered rum.

So please, Mother Nature, bring back Winter.  I’m not quite ready yet for fresh strawberries and watercress salad and chilled ahi tuna and cucumber gimlets — we’ll get to those when the moment is hot and the sun beats down on our necks.  Instead, to every season turn.  There’s a time for every purpose, every taste, under Heaven.

Related articles

• Winter For Me Is… (kelsifarrington.wordpress.com)

• Canned Food Month
• Great American Pie Month
• National Cherry Month
• National Grapefruit Month

Now I know what you’re thinking — who comes up with this shit?  Has Congress actually consorted with some powerful and well-oiled Snack Food Lobby to declare the 24th of February to be ”National Tortilla Chip Day?”  And if so, don’t they have better things to do?  

And how do we prepare for these holidays?  Should we decorate the yard for National Cherry Day?  Do we need to go to church on National Gum Drop Day?  Should we stay up all night waiting for the Great Pistachio to bring us gifts?

I don’t know the answers, Hungry Readers, and I couldn’t find any reliable information online.  But I’ll start posting these wacky food holidays around the first of every month so you can mark your calendars.  And you can bet I’ll be celebrating at least some of these days the only way I know how — by eating. 

Enjoy:

12th -  National Plum Pudding Day (Seriously?)

15th – National Gum Drop Day

19th – National Chocolate Mint Day

20th – National Cherry Pie Day

24th –  National Tortilla Chip Day

26th –  National Pistachio Day (Go nutty!)

ALLIGATOR ALLEY (From A Coinnoisseur’s Guide to the Best South Florida Holes in the Wall)

As soon as I walked into this place I knew it was different.  It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust.  The bar was long and narrow, dark and sparsely inhabited at 8 PM on a Friday.  It had the milltown look of a neighborhood bar in the rustbelt, except the guy at the bar was talking into his handsfree earpiece instead of purging the demons of his DT’s.  This place was authentic.  The acoustic tiles on the ceiling were waterstained, the bar was worn in all the right places and bore the weight of countless beers and a bump.  This was a drinking bar.  No TV…no gameshows, no sports, no reality shows du jour.  If you come to Alligator Alley you’d better be ready to belly up.

The sole concession to the 20th century was a jukebox and a small band area in the front of the place that you had to walk by.  There were only 6 or 7 tables and maybe 20 barstools, in all.   

Our barmaid, Alice, took the drink order.  This place has a dozen or so micro brews so I was ready for a glass of pale, thin swill.  Alice knew what she was talking about and asked what we were looking for.  This is when the place took on its character and set the tone for the night. First of all, it was 2 for 1 microbrews.  We got a milk stout named Left Hand, probably brewed in Colorado.  It was sweet and malty and absolutely a pleasure.  The best surprise I’ve had in a while.  We also had #11 which was a little lighter stout from Melbourne, that was also terrific.  If things kept going this way this place was a treasure.  Later we tried a red ale (disappointing) and a pumpkin ale (curious) and a Scottish style stout called Old Chubb.  Like the Left Hand and #11, Old Chubb was terrific:  a dark brew, poured perfectly, with a malty flavor less the bitterness of your typical stout.  16 ounces of liquid velvet.

I began to notice a growl in the background, that was the jukebox.  It played everything from James Brown, to the funk of The Ohio Players, James Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jaco Pastorius (there’s a legend of Jaco that goes with this place), Mingus, Sinatra, The Beatles, Bird, Weather Report and everything in between.  One of the best stocked jukes I’ve ever seen.  All the right genres, all the right musicians.  This place was beginning to feel like a real roadhouse.  Not many places have any feeling at all.  Alligator Alley gets into your soul and dances with it. 

Alice said she had the best burgers in town.  She hasn’t lied to us yet.  We should have tried one.  Started with fried oysters (just OK – too peppery) and the sautéed gator.  I could hear Kilmo, the chef & owner, tenderizing the gator with a club.  When it came it was perfect.  The truth is in the first bite.  When you have expectations and they’re blown away, the rest is gravy.  I was expecting to bite into a lean, leathery NIKE.  This was a lightly battered, Sautéed in sherry moment in ecstasy (if you’re an eater you know what I mean).  We followed it up with a few more beers, a cup of gumbo, a plate of pulled pork and a bowl of chili.  The chili was supposed to have won a few local competitions but was a distant second to the gator.  The gumbo was just OK and the pork had the aftertaste of being smoked over wood that was a little too green.  There was only 1 desert on the menu, Key Lime Pie, and it was factory made and passable.

No review is complete without a visit to the bathroom.  This one was in perfect character.  It reminded me of the sweatshop I worked in, in high school, but cleaner.  I don’t think you’ll catch anything but I don’t think you’ll want to spend enough time to find out.  The walls were autographed by a few local bands “that ROCK!!” and a drawing of Mr. Natural from R. Crumb’s ZAP Comix.  Haven’t seen him since the seventies.

At 9:30 the warm-up act came on; a local singer songwriter, Brian Kline, with an original repertoire that was modeled on Bob Dylan’s middle years.  The outstanding feature of his set was that the sound system was clear and free of distortion.  It found the right balance between amplitude and attitude.  My ears were, gratefully, not bleeding at the end.  The second act came on a little after 10:  David Shelly, Albert Castiglia, Kilmo on bass and _____ on drums:  The Alligator Alley Allstars.  These guys can play.  The two leads complimented each other with very individual and different riffs, Shelly was more traditional and Castiglia was a pyrotechnical genius.  Again, the sound was strong, not paralyzing; just right, like everything else at Alligator Alley.  By this time the crowd had grown to about 40 and they were a perfect cross section; from long haired, burned out freaks, to young republicans to just plain old refugees from the 60’s.  Mr. Natural was no stranger to these folks.

ALLIGATOR ALLEY demands a repeat.  Next time I’ll make sure to get there for the 2 for 1’s and go for the burgers to help wash down that Sautéed gator.

–A.D. Briskin

Image via Wikipedia

Chances are you would if you lived in Peru.  In fact, Peruvians consume 65 million of the warm, fuzzy rodents every year.  Toasted, grilled, flattened and fried, stewed, fricasseed or boiled, guinea pigs account for more protein in the rural Peruvian’s diet than any other source, according to Rick Vecchio of CBS News.  If you’re willing to spare a few hours on your way to Macchu Picchu, you can try one yourself.   You can find the cuddly little beasts on the menu in plenty of cafes around Cuzco, and you can even hire a local guide to take you out for a forkful of Fluffy.  But would you?

According to the outraged comments posted by some readers of  Lynn Levin’s excellent article titled “How to Eat a Guinea Pig (And How to Cook One  if You Must)” (http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/how-to-eat-a-guinea-pig ), most Americans would definitely not eat a guinea pig; the very thought of partaking of a “pet” drives some people into paroxysms of rage.  Check out these unedited comments: 

“What the heck are you people thinking you evil disgusting barbaric excuses for humans. i was just looking to buy a pet guinea pig (NOT FOR EATING) when i came across this horrible page.  Please kindly reconsider your eating habits!”

and this, from a rather mean reader:

“I mean come on thay are cute loving creatures and very smart how can you eat something like that!!! go eat your children insted there all ugly =)”

and my favorite, if just for the irony:  

You retared! I own guinea pigs. goto hell!!

The rather naive opinion of Americans like these that certain animals are for eating while others are for petting has always tickled me.  I mean, why is it ok to eat a tuna, but not a dolphin?   Why do we relish steamed lobsters, but turn our noses up at roasted crickets?  We Americans don’t eat cats or dogs (but the Chinese do), and yet we’re happy to tear the flesh from the bones of a sweet little lamb, or to gnaw on a veal calf that’s never had the chance to run and play in a sunlit meadow.  

This selective carnivorism is a privilege of well-fed people who get their plastic-wrapped, name brand meats from clean, brightly lit supermarkets.  I have a hunch that if you were to pluck these same folks out of their suburbs and drop them into some poor, dusty village high in the Andes where money and meat are as thin as the mountain air, it wouldn’t be long before they’d, too, find a guinea pig on a plate acceptable — maybe even appetizing.

So would I eat a guinea pig?  Yes, I would, partly because I’m curious about the taste and intriqued by the animal’s cultural relevance to Peruvians, but more simply because I believe meat is meat.  I don’t discriminate — I’ve eaten everything from ostrich to armadillo to the aforementioned veal without any moral or ethical hesitation.  I’m not gunning for Andrew Zimmern‘s job, but it really doesn’t matter to me if my meat crawled, crept or slithered to my plate; or if it was once cute, or smart, or even kept as a pet.  If it tastes good, and it’s not endangered, I’ll eat it.

And what would Jesus do? According to Rick Vecchio’s article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/19/world/main650148.shtml), Peruvians believe that even He may have feasted on Fluffy.  Vecchio says that centuries ago, conquering Spanish priests forced native artists to sculpt and paint designs based on Catholic dogma.  But, as often will, bits of the Indians’ own proud heritage crept into their art:  many churches still standing today around Cuzco show depictions of Jesus and His disciples gathered around a Last Supper of roasted guinea pig. 

Your comments are welcome, and if you’d like more information on travel to Peru (and that guinea pig-tasting tour I mentioned), please email me at ShawnaBohnVoyage@gmail.com.

Related articles

• Raising Guinea Pigs as a Survival Food, by Lisa F. (survivalblog.com)

We’ve found a fantastic shopping/cooking/tasting field trip that may be the most brag-worthy experience you’ll have here in this world-class city.  The Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy is now offering hands-on, half-day cooking excursions for beginners and seasoned food tourists that, at about 1000 baht ($50 US) per person,  may just be the best bang for your buck in all of Bangkok!

Your adventure begins when you meet your English-speaking chef/instructor at, oddly enough, the local Dunkin’ Donuts shop.  He’ll be your guide as you explore the exciting Asoke produce and seafood market, where you’ll select the fresh peppers, spices, herbs, vegetables, and sea foods you’ll be cooking with later.   Thailand’s year-long growing season ensures that thrilling local flavors are always in season, and this market is not to be missed!

Then you’re off the to Bankok Thai Cooking Academy, housed in a comfortable local residence in the heart of Sukhumvit.  Classes are small and personal, and you instructor will patiently guide you through the preparation of sauces, sticky rice and various curry pastes.  You’ll sit cross-legged on the floor on woven straw mats to make your own coconut milk — so essential to Thai cooking — in the painstaking traditional way.  Then it’s off to your own cooking station, where you’ll combine your ingredients in a sizzling wok just as Thais have done for centuries.  When your meal is complete, you’ll sit down to an amazing feast with your new Thai friends and fellow classmates.

Before you leave, you’ll receive a recipe booklet containing basic Thai cooking knowledge and recipes of the meals prepared in your class.  (Those completing two or more classes get a spiffy Certificate of Achievement.)  And of course, your friends back home will love your newly acquired skills…I can just hear the conversations now:

“Oh my god, this Thai fried pork is amazing!”

“You think?  I learned to make it at a cooking school in Bangkok.”

“Really?  Wow, I hate you!”

The Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy offers a total of seven classes (five standard menus plus two BEST OF THAILAND repertoires), and teach a total of 25 Thai dishes. You can select the day and the meals for your adventure as follows (vegetarians should feel free to omit the meat in any of these flavorful favorites):

Course 1 (Monday AM and Wednesday PM)-
Panang curry paste (prepare)
Panang curry chicken
Hot & sour prawn soup (Tom Yum Goong)
Sweet & sour vegetables with chicken
Bananas in sweet coconut milk

Course 2 (Monday PM)-
Green curry paste (prepare)
Green curry chicken
Chicken in coconut milk (Tom Kha Gai)
Stir fried chicken with cashews
Mango with coconut sticky rice

Course 3 (Tuesday AM & Friday PM)-
Yellow curry paste (prepare)
Yellow curry chicken
Thai-style fried rice noodles (Pad Thai)
Stir fried chicken with basil
Steamed banana pastry

Course 4 (Tuesday PM & Friday AM)-
Red curry paste (prepare)
Red curry with chicken
Thai fried rice
Chicken satay with peanut sauce
Coconut milk custard

Course 5 (Wednesday AM)-
Massaman curry paste (prepare)
Massaman curry with chicken
Fried spring rolls
Thai fried corn & pork patties
Coconut & pandanus leaf jelly

BEST OF THAILAND SERIES:

Course 6 (Thursday AM & Saturday PM)-
Green curry paste (prepare)(Nam Prik Gaeng Kheao Wan)
Green curry with chicken and eggplant (Gaeng Kheao Wan Gai)
Thai-style fried rice noodles (Pad Thai)
Hot & sour prawn soup (Tom Yum Goong)
Coconut milk custard (Ka Nom Tuai)

Course 7 (Thursday PM & Saturday AM)–
Panang curry paste (Nam Prik Gaeng Panang)
Panang chicken (Gaeng Panang Gai)
Chicken in coconut milk (Tom Kha Gai)
Stir fried chicken with basil (Gai Pad Kra Pao)
Mango with coconut sticky rice (Khao Neaw Moon)

For those seeking a more intense cooking and cultural experience, the Academy offers chef’s courses ranging in length from 2 to 20 days, and even provides full-immersion homestay opportunities to aspiring Thai chefs and other serious foodies.

For more information on this amazing adventure, contact me at ShawnaBohnVoyage@gmail.com

(Photos courtesy of Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy)

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1.  Small Plates

I’m not talking tapas, folks.  I mean exchanging the plates you currently have in your cabinet for ones that are smaller in diameter.  I got the idea from a friend of mine who bought an old 1930′s farmhouse with the original kitchen fixtures still intact.  When he moved in and tried to unpack his dinner plates, he was bemused to find that they didn’t fit inside the cabinets.  At all.  Seems our dinnerware has grown over the years right with our portion sizes and, ergo, our butts.  

So last year I packed up all my big round dinner platters, and replaced them with small, sexy rectangular plates that measure four inches by seven — not much bigger than a saucer.   Smaller pates force me to serve myself less; thus I eat less.  This works especially well at big family feasts when the temptation to pile it on can be overwhelming.  Using a small plate ensures I just have “a bite” of everything.

But don’t stop with plates.  Change your bowls, even your spoons.  Eating a scoop of really good ice cream with a baby spoon encourages you to savor it slowly and be satisfied long before your bowl is empty.

2.  Chew While You Cook

I’m the chief cook and bottle washer in my house, and I’ve got a bad habit of “tasting” my food as I prepare it.  A bite here, a slurp there, and before I know it I’ve already eaten an entire meal before I even sit down to dinner.   I’ve learned to combat this problem by chewing gum — preferably something strong and minty – while I cook.   Other people nibble on fresh veggies while they cook, or sip seltzer water or skim milk.  The point is to direct your taste buds away from the food you’re cooking until it’s actually time to eat.  Then sit down, relax and enjoy.

3.  Eat at the Table “Like Normal People” (as my mother used to say….)

When dinner is ready, put a reasonable amount of food on your (small) plate, then leave the kitchen.  Sit at a table — not on the couch in front of the tv, not cross-legged on your bed with your laptop — but a real table, preferably in a real dining room.   Put on some music.  Light some candles, even if it’s only Tuesday night and you live alone.  Make dinner an event.

Leave any leftover food in the kitchen, away from you — do NOT bring serving bowls or platters of food to the table, or you might be tempted to pick and graze long after your own plate is empty.   When dinner is over, cover and store your leftovers as quickly as possible.   Out of sight, out of mind.  And out of mouth.

4.  Go Slow

Embrace the Slow Foods movement, and I guarantee you’ll drop noticeable weight, and fast.  This means rejecting processed, pre-packaged foods in favor of fresh, whole fruits, vegetables and proteins that you prepare yourself into wonderful meals.  Not only will your food be incredibly more satisfying, but you’ll be kicking harmful salt, fat and preservatives to the curb.  Win-win. 

Case in point:  my family recently put in a request for apple pie.  So instead of buying a frozen, pre-made pie (or worse yet, some Hostess snack abomination)  I pulled out the flour and the granny smith apples and the rolling pin and got to work.  Two hours of peeling, slicing, rolling and crimping later, I had a gorgeous deep-dish apple pie that would have won a blue ribbon at any county fair.  Not only had I sweated and burned off hundreds of calories just making my masterpiece, but I was surprised to find that I only wanted one small taste.  Seems the making of the pie become more important than the eating of the pie.  Just goes to prove that if you have to make it yourself every time you want it, chances are you’ll eat a lot less pie.

5.  Spoil Yourself Rotten

This tip really goes along with Tip #4.  Sometimes we food lovers overeat because simply we crave the momentary excitement food gives us.  We eat because we feel we “need” something.  When we try to satisfy that need with cheap, crappy food, we’re often left with a still-empty spot in our souls while our stomachs are full to bursting. 

Instead, indulge yourself with the foods you really love.  Spend a few extra pennies on that gorgeous imported salame, those fragrant organic peaches, that golden raw honey at the Farmer’s Market.  Try something new and exotic and lovely.  The point is not to limit the foods you eat, but to expand them.  Fill that ever-hungry hole inside your soul by buying top quality, not bulk quantity.  Savor and enjoy every memorable meal, and the pounds will melt right off. 

Good luck, and happy eating!

Image via Wikipedia

This year I finally got to use my crock pot.  It’s a nice, big stainless steel/ceramic model that had been tucked away for years in a forgotten cabinet in my pantry.  It’s not that I didn’t want to use my crock pot, but Ham had been deeply scarred by the half-aborted gruel and mushy beans thrust upon him by a long-ago girlfriend’s slow cooker, and it took almost eight years of coaxing before I could convince him that I could actually rock the crock pot.

And rock it I have:  slow-simmered chilli, real home-made split pea soup, chicken and dumplings, even humble beans and hamhocks have delighted my hungry family this winter and turned even Ham into a believer.  Not only is my crock pot hugely convenient – the “set it and forget it” ease of having dinner ready when I walk in the door is a wonderful timesaver –  but slow cooker food preparation is the very definition of “slow foods,” allowing me to experiment with healthy, inexpensive ingredients like dry peas and legumes rather than salted, canned and processed stuff.  Win-win.

Here is one of my very favorite crock pot recipes, for spicy, savory “carnitas” (Mexican pork tacos).  The smell from this as it cooks is absolutely maddening, and I think even Rick Bayless would be wowed at the flavor. 

Enjoy:

One three-to-four pound pork shoulder roast

Four cups broth (chicken, beef or vegetable)

One large onion, coarsely chopped

Three to four cloves garlic, finely chopped

Small bunch of Cilantro, whole sprigs

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

Scant teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the pork roast in the crock pot, pour broth around it and add all the other ingredients.  Cook on “Low” for eight to ten hours or on “High” for five to six hours, until pork is fork-tender.  Serve with corn or flour tortillas, limes, fresh cilantro and diced onions.  Freeze and save the leftover broth for future soups or stews.

What’s your favorite crock pot recipe?  Email it to me at ShawnaBohnVoyage@gmail.com and I’ll publish it here.

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The Big Rock Candy Mountain

One evening as the sun went down,

And the jungle fires were burning,

Down the track came a hobo hiking,

And he said, “Boys, I’m not turning!

I’m headed for a land that’s far away,

Beside the crystal fountains.

So come with me, we’ll go and see

The Big Rock Candy Mountains.”

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,

There’s a land that’s fair and bright,

Where the handouts grow on bushes,

And you sleep out every night.

Where the boxcars all are empty,

And the sun shines every day.

And the birds and the bees, and the cigarette trees,

The lemonade springs where the bluebird sings,

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,

All the cops have wooden legs.

And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth,

And the lens lay soft-boiled eggs.

The farmers’ trees are full of fruit,

 And the barns are full of hay.

Oh, I’m bound to go where there ain’t no snow,

Where the rain don’t fall  and the winds don’t blow,

 In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,

 You never change your socks.

 And the little streams of alcohol

Come trickling down the rocks.

 The brakemen have to tip their hats,

 And the railway bulls are blind.

 There’s a lake of stew, and of whiskey too,

 You can paddle all around it in a big canoe,

 In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

 In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,

The jails are made of tin.

And you can walk right out again,

 As soon as you are in.

There ain’t no short-handled shovels,

No axes, saws nor picks.

 I’m bound to stay where you sleep all day,

Where they hung the jerk that invented work,

 In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

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Image via Wikipedia

The new AAA Diamond Ratings came out on January 20, 2012 and once again, Chicago rests comfortably “on top of the heap” as a culinary destination, with five powerful Windy City restaurants holding fast to their coveted Five Diamond ratings.   (Not even New York City has more Five Diamond Restaurants.)  Chicago’s top winners in the ratings wars are:

• Alinea
• Tru
• Arun’s
• Charlie Trotter‘s
• Everest

In addition, up-and-comers NAHA and Blackbird earned some congrats for their crews by joining the Four Diamond rankings for the first time ever this year, according to the annual list published by the 53-million member American Automobile Association.  AAA’s inspectors conduct on-site evaluations at  more than 59,000 approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants each year, of which only three tenths of one percent earn the highest award of Five Diamonds.

But, accolades aside, what do these ratings really mean?  Does anyone pay attention to them?    

“Oh, they’re a very big deal,” says one industry insider, whose venue retained its Four Diamond rating yet again this year.   “Sometimes we know an inspector is coming ahead of time, sometimes we don’t.  We always strive for perfection, but if we think we’re being evaluated we’ll go that extra, extra mile to make a good impression.  How we perform at that evaluation will directly impact our bottom line, so yes, we’ll have meetings about it.  This is, after all, a business.”‘  Makes sense; the more “Diamonds” a restaurant earns, the more real diamonds its investors can buy.

But there’s more to it, I think.  In the fiercely competitive world of professional cooking, reputation is everything and perception is reality.  Media-darling dining rooms often come and go at the drop of a rumor, and even the most popular Five Diamond eateries often have a shelf life of less than a decade.  (One exception is The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia; its restaurant has earned a Five Diamond rating for an incredible twenty-three straight years!)   For today’s young gun chefs, earning (and keeping) your Diamonds shows the world that your restaurant has finally arrived, and even better, that it has staying power. 

It also gives your crew something to crow about.  “Three Diamond joints want to have Four Diamonds, and Four Diamond restaurants want Five,” says my source.  “The only thing sadder than not making that next level is to make it one year and then lose it the next.”   Indeed, the more Diamonds at stake, the tougher the inspections. Properties being considered for Five Diamond status must endure multiple evaluations, then a final decision by a panel of experts.   And those in danger of losing their Five Diamond status also undergo several evaluations and a final panel decision to determine if they really no longer deserve the award.

When all is said and done, we at SALUT! want to congratulate the crews of every hotel and restaurant on this year’s  AAA Diamond Rating List (which you can read in its entirety at www.aaa.com/news.)   We think they all sparkle and shine!

That’s what I ask all new members when they join SALUT!, and the answer, nine times out of ten, is Italy.  Although France, Greece, Spain, Asia, India and South America round out the list of favorite foodie destinations, Italy beats them all, hands down.  And the reasons are obvious:  fresh, exciting, rustic food, world-class wine, spectacular scenery, rich culture and art, invigorating shopping and warm, inviting locals all magically blend to make Italy the stuff of culinary dreams.  And now you can make your own Italian dreams come true, with these fascinating “foodie field trips” from Andiamo! Tours.  Andiamo! is the Italian expression for “Let’s go!” and these thoughtful itineraries show why this respected tour company concentrates only on travel to Italy, and why their trips are a favorite among foodies who long to experience Italy for themselves.

Tuscan Culinary and Wine Delights:

The best of Tuscan wine, food and friendship are highlighted in this incredible eight-day journey that includes cooking lessons (with diploma!), wine tastings, cultural sightseeing, and a luxurious stay in a centuries-old castle in Chianti.  Meet the charming local people who make gourmet Italian chocolates, olive oil and cheeses enjoyed around the world.  Explore the breathtaking Tuscan scenery, visit the glorious cathedrals of Siena and soak up the rich culture of the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.  (Eight days, from $2699 pp.)

Cooking School on the Amalfi Coast:

Anthony Bourdain once said that Italy’s Amalfi Coast is “even more beautiful than the dream.”  Spend your sun-filled days cooking with a renowned chef in her private kitchen, then sit down to enjoy what you’ve made at a spectacular meal on a picturesque terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  (Imagine how jealous your friends will be when you get home and cook them a dinner with recipes you just learned in Italy!)   Exciting optional add-ons include sailing lessons, shopping in Positano or Capri, and night-fishing excursions.  (Six days, contact me for current pricing.)

Friuli Gastronomy (Venice, Veneto &  Trieste):

A culturally rich and fascinating experience for more advanced foodies, this journey through Italy’s mountainous northern region follows the ancient wine roads of Veneto all the way to Slovenia, stopping along the way to savor the wares of dairy farms, wineries, grappa distilleries, butchers and an enchanting “Agriturismo” among the vineyards of Collio.  Relax in the sunny Prosecco hills, explore the charming medieval town of Cividale del Friuli, and roam the ancient Roman archaeological site of Aquileia, before arriving in Trieste, Slovenia to wander the colorful markets and dine on intriguing “Karst” cuisine.  (Nine days, contact me for current pricing.)

Hungry for one of these adventures in Italy?   Email me at ShawnaBohnVoyage@gmail.com, and I’ll send you a beautiful PDF brochure from Andiamo! Tours that’ll REALLY whet your appetite!