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044-eu · 5 years ago

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Typical recipes of Tuscany, a land full of flavors

Tuscany can be called the most flavour-rich land. It ranges from the products of its mountains, mushrooms and chestnuts, to the cultivation of its plains, which are many, to the meat farms, to the valuable fish of its sea. Of some recipes, among the best known in the world, I have already written in the articles on the specialties of Florence and Pistoia, so if you are looking for the ribollita, the famous Florentine steak, or on the panzanella (of which there is a whole article with its variants) or lamprey and other Florentine specialties, found in other items. Here we will now put the typical recipes of other cities of Tuscany. Livorno with his cacciucco Meadow with its cantucci with almonds Arezzo with SCOTTIGLIA Siena with her panforte and tomato gruel, and many more. Let's not forget bread, which is an excellence of Tuscan cuisine, bread without salt or slob. Let's start with appetizers that in Tuscany are normally cuttings of sliced meats, cheeses and croutons. The king of croutons is the black one with livers and croutons with fresh tomatoes and basil. One of the most famous croutons cooked in Tuscany is the one that concerns the lard of Colonnata, which is cut into thin slices and put on toasted bread croutons still warm. Let's now move on to the first dishes with the specialty of Siena, the tomato gruel

Tomato jelly

Necessary for tomato gruel 400 grams of stale Tuscan bread 800 grams of ripe tomatoes 4 cloves garlic 8 basil leaves 1.5 litres of vegetable stock or water olive oil, salt, pepper, chilli, grated cheese as much as you need Preparation of tomato gruel First prepare the bread. Cut into slices and put to toast for a few minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven, rub the bread with garlic. In a clay pan with a little oil, fry the remaining garlic, combine the ripe tomatoes deprived of the skin and seeds and cut into pieces and finally the bread toasted. At this point add the vegetable stock or water and cook with the lid until the liquid is almost completely consumed. Meanwhile, every now and then with a whisk turn the bread with the tomato so that the bread is reduced to a gruel. At the end of cooking, season with the chopped basil, chilli powder and plenty of grated cheese. It serves both hot and cold.

MALFACTS

Necessary for MALFACTS 600 grams of spinach already cooked and squeezed 2 eggs 600 grams of fresh ricotta flour, salt, pepper, grated cheese, olive oil and nutmeg as much as you need Preparation of MALFACTS First, cook the spinach in a frying pan for a few minutes. Just cold chop them very finely. In a bowl put the chopped spinach, ricotta and mix the two ingredients well. Now add the 2 beaten eggs and incorporate them into the ricotta and spinach. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. With the flour and the spinach mixture form balls, making sure that the flour adheres very well from all sides. This is to prevent MALFACTS from opening during cooking. Waiting to cook them put them in a baking pan spaced apart from each other. Just ready all, cook them in plenty of salted water for a few minutes. Season with butter and sage and grated cheese.

Pappardelle with wild boar sauce

Necessary for the preparation of pappardelle with wild boar sauce 400 grams of egg pappardelle 500 grams of ground wild boar pulp a glass of red wine 400 grams of tomato purée 1 onion 1 carrot 1 rib of celery 1 sprig of rosemary a few bay leaves salt, pepper and olive oil just enough. Preparing pappardelle with wild boar sauce In a large saucepan fry the carrot, onion and celery finely chopped in a little olive oil. Also add a couple of bay leaves and chopped rosemary leaves. Put the red wine now and let it evaporate. Add the tomato purée and cook for about 2 hours over a very low heat with the lid. At the end of cooking, adjust the salt and pepper and the wild boar sauce is ready. Cook the al dente pappardelle in plenty of salted water and season with wild boar meat sauce. Sprinkle with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese and serve warm. Now let's move on to the second with the typical recipe of Livorno, the cacciucco with Livorno.

The Cacciucco in Livorno

Necessary for the Cacciucco in Livorno 2 kilograms of mixed fish (octopus, totans, cuttlefish, redfish, mullet, eel, chickens) and anyway what you find fresh 2 cloves garlic 800 grams of chopped tomatoes 8 slices of stale homemade bread a few sage leaves 40 grams of olive oil chilli, salt and pepper just enough Preparation of the Cacciucco to the Livornese In a large terracotta pan fry 1 clove of garlic chopped in olive oil, add the chopped sage leaves and the tomato pulp. Add 2 cups of hot water and after adjusting the salt, pepper and chilli cook the sauce very slowly for about an hour, adding a little water if it tends to dry too much. At this point put the fish clean and cut into pieces in the pan and with the lid let it simmer for about 2 hours. When cooked, it is served very hot on slices of toasted bread. The bread is rubbed with garlic and a little olive oil.

The Rotisserie

The rotisserie, are called in Tuscany the pork cutlets cooked on the grill. A very tasty and appropriate dish for a dinner with friends. The ingredients are just, the rotisserie, which is cooked in a whole piece, dividing the cutlets only once cooked, pepper salt and a nice grill. The rotisserie before putting it on the grill is sprinkled with salt and pepper on both sides, massaging the meat with your hands to make it stick better. Once cooked, they are immediately eaten very hot. Of course, in a self-respecting barbecue in Tuscany there are not only pork cutlets, pork and veal steaks, sausages and skewers of both pork and veal or chicken. Consider that the cutlets are the ones that need a longer cooking, of an average of 40 minutes, so it is the first meat that is put on the grill.

The SCOTTIGLIA

ScottIGLIA is a mixture of various meats, so chicken, veal, pork, pigeon, rabbit, turkey etc. Necessary for SCOTTIGLIA 800 grams of mixed meat in small pieces 1 onion 1 carrot 1 rib of celery 1 glass of red wine 1 garlic clove 600 grams of chopped tomatoes 1 cup meat stock 1 bunch parsley 3 basil leaves 8 slices of toasted stale bread. olive oil, chilli powder, salt, pepper just enough Preparation of SCOTTIGLIA Chop the carrot, onion, celery and garlic clove very finely. In a pan, possibly of terracotta with a little olive oil, fry the smells. As soon as they are golden put the meat in pieces and brown them briefly on all sides. Put the red wine now and let it evaporate completely. Now put the peeled tomatoes into small pieces and with the lid cook for about an hour, adding a little meat broth if the sauce tends to dry out too much. Now toast the slices of bread and put two slices for each dish. Pour the hot SCOTTIGLIA into the dishes and after two or three minutes serve on the table. This time to allow the meat to soak the bread well. Let's move on to the cakes.

Meadow Cantucci

Necessary for Prato cantucci 300 grams of flour 1 teaspoon sweet ammonia 160 grams of sugar 140 grams of almonds 2 eggs the peel of a grated lemon the grated peel of an orange a pinch of salt Preparation of Prato cantucci Mix the eggs with the sugar, then add the orange peel and lemon peel. Continue by slowly incorporating the flour and ammonia for sweets and work with your hands to obtain a homogeneous dough. At this point put the whole almonds in the dough and work again to mix everything well. Divide the dough into two parts and give it the shape of a little filth. In a baking tin put the wires and in the oven already hot at 180 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut the loaves into many slices with the maximum thickness of one and a half centimeters. Try to cut the slices diagonally. Put the biscuits back in the oven at 150 degrees for another 20 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking. Allow to cool. They stay for several days and are yummy even cold, soaked, as Tuscan tradition wants in the wine.

Siena's Panforte

A typical dessert of the Christmas period, together with the curlers also these from Siena. Necessary for the Siena panforte 150 grams of flour 350 grams of chopped candied fruit 350 grams of sugar 120 grams of honey 400 grams of unpeeled almonds 50 grams of chopped orange zest grams 7 of cinnamon powder 3 cloves a pinch of nutmeg 5 grams of pepper 40 grams of host Preparation of Siena's panforte Melt the sugar in a little water, just dissolved remove from the heat and add the candied and orange zest, stir and place on the heat to bring it to a boil, just to boil remove from the heat. At this point combine the other ingredients, namely flour, honey, almonds and spices until you get a homogeneous and firm dough. Now form a puff pastry no more than an inch and a half high. If it were too big to divide it in two and prepare two panforti. Place this pastry in a cake tin lined with baking paper and lined with hate and place in the oven at 170 degrees for about 25 minutes. Freshly cooked, dust the surface with icing sugar.

The Ricciarelli

Necessary for curlers 40 grams of flour 250 grams of sugar 350 grams of almonds 15 grams of vanilla sugar 20 grams of chopped candied orange a snow-mounted egg white syrup: 40 grams of icing sugar and water just enough for the compound 40 grams of flour 20 grams of sugar 40 grams of vanilla sugar wings (optional) icing sugar Preparation of Siena curls Finely chop the almonds and add them to the sugar, orange zest and a little flour. Apart from dissolve the sugar in a little water to turn it into a syrup. In a bowl heat the almond paste, combine the sugar syrup and flour. At this point cover the bowl with a cloth and let the mixture rest for at least 12 hours. After this time, pick up the dough and pour the snow-mounted egg white and vanilla sugar into it. With the dough form a ball and with a rolling pin roll out the dough about 1 centimeter thick. At this point to give the shape to the curler it takes a metal mold of that shape. With this mold make many curlers that should be placed in a baking tray covered with baking paper. Sprinkle with icing sugar and place in the oven already hot at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. Serve cold. Read the full article

#arezzo #cantucci #cook #English #italy #kitchen #livorno #prato #recipes #siena #tuscany

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delfinamaggiousa · 5 years ago

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Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing

When you think of Chile, you might dream of an asado with a seasoned cook barbecuing meat over a rustic wood-fired grill. Guests are catching up, helping prepare the feast, patiently waiting for the asadero to pass around perfectly charred steaks — and drinking wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, in particular.

“In Chile there’s always Cab at any asado,” confirms Fernanda Tapia, chef and co-owner of Chilean-American restaurant Comedor in Newton Center, Mass. Steak and Cabernet is a classic pairing, but it’s an enduring one with good reason. These days, more and more sommeliers in top restaurants are calling for Chilean Cab when faced with big cuts of meat.

Cabernet Sauvignon now accounts for close to a third of all vineyard plantings in Chile, and the country is now the fifth-largest exporter (and the seventh-largest producer) of wines in the world. The best part: Despite the growing prestige of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, you can still get a stellar bottle from producers like Los Vascos, Miguel Torres, Montes, Casa Silva, or Aquitania for less than $20 — which will definitely help offset that dry-aged ribeye.

Sommeliers find intriguing variations in the palate and nose of Chilean Cab depending on where the grapes are grown, a result of Chile’s extremely diverse geography and climate. While Maipo Valley, a.k.a. the “Bordeaux of South America,” is the most famous of Chile’s Cabernet Sauvignon-growing regions, excellent Cab is also found in the valleys of Cachapoal, Colchagua, and Aconcagua.

Here, sommeliers well versed in the art of pairing wine with steaks explain why they’re reaching for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon:

“You can find a Chilean Cab that brings to the table the power of Napa Valley with the structure of a Cabernet grown in Bordeaux or Tuscany. This best-of-both-worlds scenario allows one to navigate a variety of steak cuts. In Aconcagua, the Cabs tend to lean more towards the red-fruit profile side of Cabernet’s spectrum over the black, with more pronounced acidity and rustic tannins. The Cabernet Sauvignons from this area also have a tendency to highlight the savory aspects of Cab, i.e., dried herbal notes. Moving into the Maipo, you have denser structure and concentration of flavor. The fruit profile gravitates more towards black fruit and the wines tend to showcase a full-bodied punch of flavor combined with spices. Lastly, as you move into Cachapoal and Colchagua, these Cabernet Sauvignons have elements of both Aconcagua and Maipo, full-bodied and dense, but showcasing some more acidity and the savory notes one might find in Bordeaux or Tuscany. – Hai Tran, Sommelier, Barclay Prime (Philadelphia, PA)

“With Chilean Cab, the fruit spectrum lends more toward juicy blue fruits and less of the cherry red that you’ll find in other parts of the world. The tannins are ripe and silky, making the texture softer and highly pleasurable when paired with the right kind of food.” – Ryan Arnold, Wine Director, McGuire Moorman Hospitality (Austin, TX)

“Chilean Cabernet has a lot of body; nice acidity, which is particularly important with heavy foods like steak; big tannins, and lots of ripe berry flavors. Some Chilean producers age in American oak, which gives the wine hints of vanilla and tobacco.” – Fernanda Tapia, Chef and Co-owner, Comedor (Newton Centre, MA)

“The quality and depth of flavor of Chilean Cab is continuously improving. Do not discount early vintages. These wines age amazingly.” – Ellen Curtis, GM and Sommelier, CUT (Beverly Hills, CA)

“The high acidity of Chilean Cab is thanks to the cool ocean breezes being pulled inland by the formidable Andes mountains. Acidity is the most important component in wine, because acidity cuts through richness (a.k.a. fat), making it extremely steak- friendly.” – Brad Dixon, Senior Sommelier, Bern’s Steak House (Tampa, FL)

“Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is more mineral-driven than other growing regions and complements both the flavor of the steak and grilling techniques. In terms of body, Chilean Cabernet isn’t quite as voluptuous as, say, South Australian or Californian Cabernets can be. Chilean Cabs are almost lost between the New and Old World styles. It has a very unique place that’s perhaps more restaurant-applicable than other New World regions featuring the grape.” – Richard Hanauer, Wine and Beverage Director, RPM Restaurants (Chicago, IL)

“Many steak preparations — especially in South American cuisines — are served alongside piquant herbal sauces. Chilean Cabernet acts as a perfect foil as it has a distinctive green quality, typically likened to serrano or bell pepper, which perfectly matches the flavors that are commonly found in these steak preparations.” – Jeremy Shanker, Lead Sommelier, Michael Mina (San Francisco, CA)

This article is sponsored by Wines of Chile. Taste the Unexpected.

The article Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/steak-and-chilean-cab-a-perfect-pairing/

source https://vinology1.wordpress.com/2020/01/15/steak-and-chilean-cab-a-perfect-pairing/

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italianistasty · 7 years ago

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Have you ever heard of fiorentina steak? It's a steak made from a Tuscany cow breed named "chianina". It's almost four fingers thick and it needs extra maturation to make it tender and delicious! It's meant to be cooked on a barbecue, you'll have to cook it 5 minutes on each side and 7 minutes on the bone side. The core part of the steak will be red, very rare if not entirely crude core. It tastes like heaven, nothing more to add! I wish you all a tasty weekend! Per il commento in italiano non mi dilungherò nella descrizione di una nostra specialità! Questo per me rappresenta un raro piacere, era più o meno da un anno che non mangiavo un taglio così buono, ne è valsa completamente la pena! Vi auguro a tutti un gustoso week-end! #food #foodporn #deliciousfood #italianfood #italy #roma #rome #italianistasty #ristorante #restaurant #cibo #meatlover #carne #bistecca #steak #gourmet #foodie #italianevenings #hungry #foodforthought #foodtruck #foodgasm #chef #wine #cena #instafood #foodstagram #deliciousfood #foodheaven #tourism (presso Sora, Italy)

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grillpartszone-blog · 7 years ago

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BBQ Grill Parts, Barbecue Replacement Grill Parts for Tuscany Grills

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wineanddinosaur · 5 years ago

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Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing

Here, sommeliers well versed in the art of pairing wine with steaks explain why they’re reaching for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon:

“The quality and depth of flavor of Chilean Cab is continuously improving. Do not discount early vintages. These wines age amazingly.” – Ellen Curtis, GM and Sommelier, CUT (Beverly Hills, CA)

This article is sponsored by Wines of Chile. Taste the Unexpected.

The article Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/steak-and-chilean-cab-a-perfect-pairing/

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isaiahrippinus · 5 years ago

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Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing

Here, sommeliers well versed in the art of pairing wine with steaks explain why they’re reaching for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon:

“The quality and depth of flavor of Chilean Cab is continuously improving. Do not discount early vintages. These wines age amazingly.” – Ellen Curtis, GM and Sommelier, CUT (Beverly Hills, CA)

This article is sponsored by Wines of Chile. Taste the Unexpected.

The article Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/steak-and-chilean-cab-a-perfect-pairing/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/190273143009

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johnboothus · 5 years ago

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Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing

Here, sommeliers well versed in the art of pairing wine with steaks explain why they’re reaching for Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon:

“The quality and depth of flavor of Chilean Cab is continuously improving. Do not discount early vintages. These wines age amazingly.” – Ellen Curtis, GM and Sommelier, CUT (Beverly Hills, CA)

This article is sponsored by Wines of Chile. Taste the Unexpected.

The article Steak and Chilean Cab: A Perfect Pairing appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/steak-and-chilean-cab-a-perfect-pairing/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/steak-and-chilean-cab-a-perfect-pairing

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wikitopx · 5 years ago

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If you've visited Springfield, don't miss the opportunity to visit some of the best restaurants here. And below Top 10 best restaurants in springfield mo.

1. The Argentina Steakhouse

As a rule, South America is the place to eat steak and beef. So it's no surprise that The Argentina Steakhouse is one of the best places to get steaks in Springfield. Main dishes include stir-fried pork tenderloin with Danish blue cheese and bourbon sauce, as well as a variety of steaks. An Argentinian specialty is chimichurri, a mixture of salty herbs, tomatoes and vinegar; It's a traditional sauce served with grilled red meat, so be sure to order if given the chance. The menu also displays a selection of great snacks, making the meal start brilliantly or tapas-style.

2. Neighborhood Pizza Café

The Pizza Pizza Café is a unique, independent and fun pizza restaurant that characterizes the Springfield restaurant scene. Operated by a small and friendly team, at an appropriate intimate location, Pizza Café Quarter offers top quality thin and crunchy pizzas, as well as other deep pans. Guests can expect all of their favorite toppings, though a few are explained slightly differently.

3. Millie’s Café

Millieout Century Café advertises itself as Springfield's normal city cafe, bringing a sense of the big city that differentiates this part of Missouri. The cafe has a capacity of 275 people, and allows them to experience a common culinary experience that attracts food and dishes from around the world. The kitchen also sits in the middle of the dining room, which gives diners the opportunity to watch as their food is prepared. The dish includes nachos with an Italian twist, featuring spicy sausages and mozzarella instead of chili, and ribs (or grilled chicken) for those who are especially hungry.

4. Haruno

A great sushi and barbecue location, Haruno is located in the heart of Springfield. The restaurant was originally opened in 1999 and has a luxurious sushi bar that can accommodate six or seven people. Guests can watch as chefs prepare sushi to order and can even get inspiration for their own dishes. Haruno also has beef sashimi, squid tempura and gyoza duck on its menu.

5. The Aviary Café and Creperie

Aviary Café is based on its menu based on inspiration from music and art, and uses both to provide warm, healthy meals for its guests. The ethics of Aviary Café is built around sharing and eating in a shared environment. Crepes include shrimp and vegetables. There are also other options, but they are limited; This place is really for pancake enthusiasts only.

6. Avanzare

A fine dining restaurant in the heart of Springfield, Avanzare specializes in elegant Italian cuisine, served in a charming and sophisticated environment. Running for over a decade, Avanzare specializes in food from the Italian region of Tuscany. For luxurious steaks, the best option is bistecca rosemarino, which sees thick sliced steak served with gorgonzola cheese sauce and mashed potatoes. The menu also has some great seafood and vegetable dishes for those who eat less meat.

7. Ocean Zen Pacific Rim

Ocean Zen has fusion Asian dishes prepared to the highest standards. With food focused on the Pacific Rim area, Ocean Zen is the brainchild of the two brothers who have worked together for the past 10 years. The food is beautifully prepared and luxurious, but also a bit expensive. Mongolian lamb chops; Crispy orange chicken and grilled sirloin are just some of the great main dishes on offer. Appetizers include seven seasoned squid spiced, as well as crab wonton and Mongolian BBQ ribs.

8. Bambino’s Café

A combination of bakery and restaurant, Bambino, Café Café was previously voted the best Italian restaurant in the whole of Springfield. Running from the old location of a local convenience store, Bambino, offers a soothing space for guests to relax and enjoy a meal at a slow pace, as usual in Italy. The menu has many great Italian dishes, like grilled ravioli or bruschetta to get started. Main dishes include balsamic enamel chicken with grilled vegetables, or Maryland crab cakes with angel noodles.

9. Metropolitan Farmer

Metropolitan Farmer is a restaurant that does its best to bring the country's living principles to the city center. Farmers support the purpose of buying locally available products that are easy to source and protect the community. The team at Metropolitan Farmer wakes up specialties on their three menus for guests to enjoy anytime. Dinner menu includes grilled pork ribs with juniper berries, baked apples and Brussels sprouts. On the other hand, brunch includes classics like minced duck eggs, or even steaks and eggs.

10. Big Whiskey’s American Bar & Grill

Locally, the family that runs Big Whiskey from the American Bar & Grill has been serving food for just over 30 years; Expect good, simple food in bulk. Start with wings, fried pickles, and even chips filled with cheese and bacon. The main dishes count steaks, burgers and salted salmon fillets, topped with a variety of sauces and sides. The desserts offered are also super rich, with a fried cheesecake topping an already calorific meal.

These restaurants are in the top 10 best restaurants Springfield, Missouri. We hope that the above article did not let you down.

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-best-restaurants-in-springfield-missouri-701338.html

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tripstations · 5 years ago

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Secret Europe escapes: where locals go on holiday | Travel

Portugal: Ribatejo

Silvia Bastos, 46, from Lisbon

Every year we spend two weeks in our house in Ribatejo province, in a village called Moreiras Grandes, 12km south-west of the town of Tomar, central Portugal. The house belonged to my great-grandmother and I went there every summer as a child. Now I want my own children, aged 12 and nine, to have a connection to the land. We plant trees, pick grapes from our vines. They have a freedom there that they don’t have in the city.

Very few foreign visitors make it here and most Portuguese prefer to go to the beach, so it is very quiet. It’s much greener than the Alentejo, to the south – people sometimes call Ribatejo the Tuscany of Portugal – and it’s also cooler than the south. The nights are usually fresh. When we bring friends here they can’t believe how beautiful it is.

Silvia Bastos and family on holiday

One of the best things to do is spend the day by the Zêzere River or Castelo do Bode, a 66km-long lake formed in the 1950s when the river was dammed. In the past few years the lake has become more geared up for tourism and now there are places offering water sports, such as wake boarding at Lago Azul in the town of Ferreria do Zêzere.

An unexpected attraction is the famed dinosaur footprints at Pedreira do Galinha, 20km west of Tomar, discovered in 1994.

Tomar itself is beautiful, with one of the best monuments in the country – the vast, Unesco-listed Convent of Christ, originally a 12th-century Templar stronghold. It’s surrounded by castle walls and its various cloisters were built over several centuries, in different architectural styles.

We usually eat at home because we have planted so many fruit trees and plants, as well as vines, and it’s great to eat – and drink – what we grow, but in Tomar there’s a fun medieval-themed restaurant, Taverna Antiqua, that serves traditional dishes, like boar with wild berries. Grelha do Zêzere in Ferreria do Zêzere is also great – it serves regional cuisine, especially grilled meat.

Tomar and the river are jewels of Portugal, yet few people explore them.

• Stay at Quinta da Anunciada (doubles €65-90), a historic country house with pool, 2km from Tomar Interview by Isabel Choat

Czech Republic: Orlické mountains

Ondřej Vach, 36, from Prague

Jana and daughter near Pastivny Dam

I spent my childhood holidays at my grandfather’s cottage in the Orlické mountains, and though I have always lived in Prague, it’s the place I consider my true home.

The region, about a two-hour drive east of the capital, is attractive yet very humble, full of forests, cycle paths and nature reserves – and completely under the radar. There are no big hotels or expensive restaurants; it’s a peripheral tourist area where Czechs walk or have fun in the wild river – and that’s why I like it.

I have been returning there with my wife, Jana, since I met her in 2012, and now that we have two small daughters – Janička, aged three, and Klárka, three months – we head there for our family holiday each summer.

The iconic symbol of Orlické is undoubtedly Masaryk’s Chalet (Masarykova chata na Šerlicku), a three-storey green cottage built in the mid-1920s in honour of the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. During the second world war it was seized and used as a place of recovery for injured Nazi pilots, then the communists occupied it until after the revolution in 1989. It’s a fascinating site to walk to, with peaceful, unspoiled nature all around – and you can stay in lodge-style rooms for a good price, too (€14pp with breakfast).

Pastviny Dam. Photograph: Alamy

The Pastviny Dam (Vodní nádrž Pastviny), on the Divoká Orlice river, is another great place to visit, especially with kids. It’s 6km long, and is the last stone-made dam in the Czech Republic. It’s incredibly beautiful. My grandpa’s cottage was in this valley, it’s where I learned to swim. You can hire rowing or pedal boats, or just splash around in the clear water.

A good base for exploring the region, and where we usually stay, is Žamberk, known as the gateway to the Orlické mountains. It’s a modest but pretty town with a rural atmosphere.

There are two great restaurants – Imrvere, a very typical Czech restaurant, which does excellent roast duck with dumplings, and Kanec, which is also the local brewery pub. The name means wild boar, and I often head there for their strong, unfiltered lager and a plate of utopenec (pickled sausage).

Oh, and do you know the British band Reef? Singer Gary Stringer and bassist Jack Bessant played at Žamberk’s JamRock festival a few years ago and were so impressed by the area they wrote a song called Road to Žamberk – then came back and played the festival for free the following year! Interview by Mark Pickering

Denmark: Helgenæs peninsula, Jutland

Esben Thorup, 37, from Copenhagen

Old houses on a cobbled street in Ebeltoft. Photograph: Alamy

Like many Danes, my grandfather bought a plot of land in the 1950s to build a summerhouse on. The Helgenæs peninsula is pretty rural – it’s known locally as the “snot drip” of Jutland (there’s a bump on the east coast that looks a little like a nose). It’s so off the beaten track that most Danes have never even heard of it. There are lots of fields around and it’s surprisingly hilly for Denmark. Some say it looks a little like Scotland.

The house was built with two tiny bedrooms, one for my grandfather and grandmother and the other for my dad and my uncle to share, as well as a kitchen, a living room and a toilet. That was it – no bath, you just washed in the sea, 100 metres away. Because it’s on the east coast, the water is calm and it’s great for swimming. When I was small my family would spend three weeks here every summer. We swam, ate strawberries and ice-cream and the sun was always shining – at least that’s how I remember it. It isn’t fancy (although we did install an indoor shower in the 1990s) but I love it – my wife and I even got married here.

We drive over from Copenhagen every summer with our three kids – aged one, four and seven – to spend time with my parents, my brothers and their families, and my uncle’s family. My dad built another small house on the same plot to fit everyone in, but there’s usually still someone sleeping on the sofa or the floor.

Esben Thorup and son in Jutland

Not a lot goes on here – but that’s part of the attraction. To get to the house you have to go down an overgrown track, and there’s hardly any phone signal. We spend our time swimming, talking, walking and barbecuing. There are a few local artists – potters and painters mainly – who sell work from their houses. You can go windsurfing and there’s even an annual surf festival. There’s also fishing, kitesurfing and paragliding – the steep slopes leading to the beach give great uplift for catching the wind.

If we’re ever in need of fancier attractions, we go to Ebletoft, an old port town 30 minutes’ drive away with a population of around 7,000 (this is “the big town”). There are a few visitor sites there, such as the glass museum, Glasmuseet Ebeltoft and Fregatten Jylland, which houses the world’s longest wooden ship. It’s also nice to just stroll around Ebeltoft’s old streets; sometimes we’ll get some craft beer from Ebeltoft brewery – they do a nice IPA.

We eat pretty simply when at the summerhouse – we might pick up some salad leaves, new potatoes or fruit grown from the produce stands with honesty boxes dotted along the roads. And there’s a small fishing hut at the top of the peninsula where a fisherman and his son smoke fish and sell great seafood.

I wish I could tell you what it was called and how to get hold of them, but the hut doesn’t even have a name, let alone a website. Just thinking about it brings back fond memories for me. Helgenæs is a special place that’s tightly bound to my family. It feels like “home”.

• Sol Og Strand (sologstrand.com) has a selection of holiday homes in Helgennæs, starting at €302 a week in high season for a wooden cabin sleeping four Interview by Helen Russell

Croatia: Premantura, Istria

Daniel Dragojlović, 35, from Zagreb

Aerial view of Cape Kamenjak. Photograph: Sebastian Rothe/Alamy

At the end of the war in Croatia in 1995, my grandmother bought an old stone house in the village of Premantura, south of Pula. It was a safe area for my twin brother Davor and me to go, because it hadn’t been affected by the war. A cousin of ours had bought a piece of land nearby and said, “Oh, you have to come and see this little town. It’s magical.”

What’s so special about this peninsula, Kamenjak, is that there is untouched nature and untouched beautiful beaches. It’s the only part of Istria that has a proper Mediterranean climate – completely different from anything else.

At the far end of the peninsula are 10 to and 15-metre-high cliffs that you can jump off. There are also caves, a lighthouse and, apparently, dinosaur footprints. When we were kids we found it fascinating. It still feels magical. You take your bike or walk, to find spots where you can be on your own and not see anyone.

Daniel Dragojlovic with twin brother Davor, friend Ivana and her son in Istria

A favourite beach is Velika Kolombarica, whose cliffs are often featured in Croatian tourism ads. Just above it is the Safari Bar, which has a great story. This Croatian guy who used to work in Switzerland decided to live like Robinson Crusoe, so he made this bar out of practically nothing, just materials he found on the peninsula, or in the sea. We walk down to Kolombarica, jump off the cliff, go to a cave, and then go back to the bar for a drink.

We usually cook at home but sometimes we’ll go inland to villages that do truffles and homemade pasta. Istria is the land of truffles. In Banjole, up the coast towards Pula, there’s a restaurant called Batelina where the chef creates dishes using types of fish and seafood that fishermen would normally throw away. It also does amazing pasta and bottarga (cured fish roe).

Most of the accommodation in Premantura is private apartments and villas, but the recently opened Premantura Resort has a pool and doubles from €85-€175 B&B.

We come to Premantura every August with my parents and grandmother, and we still have friends we met here when we were young kids. Some of them live in Zagreb, some in other cities in Europe, but they all have houses in Premantura and now return every year with their own families. So these connections are still going strong. Interview by Mary Novakovich

Hungary: Nyíregyháza-Sóstófürdő

Gréta Klibán, 38, from Budapest

Sóstó Lake, Hungary Photograph: Valentyna Gupalo/Getty Images

Péter and I have been together for 10 years, and for almost all that time we have spent part of our summers in Nyíregyháza-Sóstófürdő, eastern Hungary, a 2½-hour drive from Budapest. It is 60km from Debrecen, where Péter grew up, so the area is especially nostalgic for him. We are fortunate to have a house here, built by Péter’s grandparents, which gives us a deep connection to the land. Though these days, even friends from Luxembourg and Belgium join us here because they love the relaxed vibe.

The centrepiece is Sóstó Lake, which is surrounded by an oak forest for nice long walks. People come to bathe and run around the track. We like to take a paddle boat out on the water.

Gréta Klibán and family in Nyíregyháza-Sóstófürdő

Our six-year-old daughter and four-year-old son are fans of the Aquarius Experience and Park Bath, which has a wave pool, slides and thermal waters. They also like the massive Nyíregyháza Zoo, where they always head to the Oceanarium first.

Tourism has really started to blossom here in recent years, and now there are lovely homes to rent and charming hotels to stay in, like Aventinus (doubles from £58). The upscale Hunguest Hotel Sóstó is opening this summer, and we are excited about checking it out. A bridge will connect it directly to Aquarius.

Every day, the kids crave ice-cream, usually from the atmospheric Omnia gelateria at the bottom of an old water tower. We sometimes eat at Colorado Steakhouse, which has a kitsch American wild west feel, with lots of wood.

For something lighter than steak and pulled pork, we’ll eat alfresco at Italian restaurant La Terrazza, which has magical views of the lake. Afterwards, if we are lucky, there will be live music at Krúdy Vigadó. This beautiful terrace is where everybody comes together to chat, drink, and savour summer evenings. Interview by Alia Akkam

Spain: Guimerà, Catalonia

Elisa Minguella, 43, from Barcelona

Ruined Vallsanta Convent, near Guimerà. Photograph: Lux Populi/Getty Images

Every August, I go with my husband and two daughters to Guimerà, a tiny medieval village on a hillside in a quiet, rural part of Catalonia. It’s only 130km west of Barcelona but it feels a world away from the city and the crowded beach resorts.

I’ve been coming to Guimerà for as long as I can remember. My great-grandfather was the mayor there, and my father was born in the house where we stay each summer. In the winter only a couple of hundred people live there but in the summer it’s full of families, almost all of them with a connection to the village going back generations.

Elisa Minguella and family. Photograph: Annette Pacey

When I was a child, I would spend the entire school summer holidays in Guimerà with my brothers and my grandmother. I had complete freedom to stay out all day with my friends, and I encourage my girls to do the same now. They love the novelty of going to the bakery on their own to buy bread.

In August, my whole family gathers in the village: my parents, my two brothers, uncles and my cousins with their families. It can get pretty crowded in the house, Cal Belleta. Every house in the village has a name and that’s how we know which extended family people belong to. People ask: “De quina casa ets?” (Which house are you from?)

There aren’t any hotels in Guimerà but it’s possible to rent a large house for far less than it would cost in more touristy places. Cal Caig (sleeps 11, on airbnb.com) for €120 a night; and Ca l’Anxica (sleeps 12) with a private pool is €1,650 a night or €590 for a weekend.

The best way to discover the local countryside is on foot via one of the many walking trails. My favourite goes along the river Corb, passing the ruins of Convent de Vallsanta. There are also many places in the area to enjoy traditional Catalan food – we go to Cal Feliuet in nearby Belltall, where we always order snails.

The day out we love the most is at the medieval market of Guimerà, which is held on the second weekend of August (10-11 Aug 2019). Everyone from the village dresses up in medieval costumes and each street is dedicated to a traditional trade, such as glassmaking. At night we put on a play based on a story from the history of the village, followed by fireworks from the tower. For me, the best part of the event is the way everybody comes together to make it happen. It’s that sense of community that will keep us coming back to Guimerà. Interview by Annette Pacey

Italy: Capo Circeo, Lazio

Federica Cannone, 42, from Rome

Stabilimento Saporetti, near San Felice Circeo

My father has a house in Borgo Montenero, a small village 100km south of Rome in a pine wood surrounded by fields of watermelons and strawberries. The place is super quiet but there’s a farmers’ market every weekend, an excellent little pizzeria called La Pizza in Piazza, and a grocery store and post office.

The charming coastal town of San Felice Circeo is 10 minutes’ drive away, home to Spiaggia Capo Circeo beach, a sandy strip of stabilimenti balneari (quintessentially Italian beach clubs with rows of sunbeds and umbrellas). It gets fully booked in August, often by families who have been going for generations, so my husband and I go round the headland to Saporetti beach, right by Monte Circeo. Its restaurant, Ristorante Saporetti, is on the beach: I always go for the salad niçoise and, in the evening, fantastic (if a tad pricey) fish dishes. We like coming here because we know pretty much everyone now, from other families to the lifeguard, Carmelo, who’s been there for decades, and the owners of the stabilimento.

Federerica’s children, Giulia and Francesco, at Cape Circeo

The area is relatively unknown to foreign visitors, who tend to head further south to the Amalfi coast or stay much closer to Rome, in Ostia. It’s a shame: Circeo is super-easy to get to (you can be here in just over 1½ hours from Rome) and it really has some beautiful beaches and pristine water – the area has been awarded a blue flag for the past three years.

There are plenty of places to stay: lots of agriturismi or B&Bs. One of my favourites is Podere Bedin (doubles €75-110); the owners are friendly and the restaurant uses local products.

The area is part of Circeo national park, which runs along the coast of Lazio, spanning forests, marshes, sand dunes, Lake Paola, the island of Zannone and stunning sand dunes. The Istituto Pangea Onlus offers trails and trekking excursions as part of its eco-educational programme, and there’s also cave diving, lots of cycling routes, and kayaking. Water Life, a company owned by local B&B Proprietá Scalfati, (doubles from €140) is our go-to for kayaking trips. You can also get to Ponza, the largest island in the Pontine archipelago, in just an hour from the port of San Felice Circeo (boats depart everyday at around 10am).

Circeo’s food and drink are also a big draw. We always go to Cantina Sant’Andrea, not far from Borgo Montenero, where you can fill your own wine bottle straight from huge casks. Aperitivos are cheap and well-done pretty much anywhere you go. We usually go to Saporetti’s St Bar for an aperol spritz at sunset, and we really like Tiki and La Terrazza, too – both in the old town of San Felice Circeo.

If we aren’t eating at home, we tend to go to Il Grottino, which has branches in the old town and the port. It’s the nicest trattoria, and their linguine all’astice – with white wine, parsley, tomatoes, garlic and astice (small lobster) – is phenomenal. Locanda degli Artisti is quite popular too, and more experimental – they do things like ravioli cacio e pepe with black truffle and seafood; prawn tartare with pine nuts and orange reduction; and scallops on a mousse of mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. And Ristorante Antico Molino, by our house, specialises in buffalo meat and mozzarella. Interview by Marianna Cerini

The Netherlands: South Limburg

Majella van der Horst, 44, from Haarlem

Restaurants in the old town of Valkenburg aan de Geul. Photograph: Chris Mueller/Getty Images

Whenever we ask our children (aged 11, seven and six) where they want to go on holiday, they always say, “We want to go to Oma’s campsite,” meaning Camping ’t Geuldal, a friendly campsite surrounded by fields and woods in hilly South Limburg, where their grandmother spends six months of the year in her caravan, and where my husband holidayed as a child in the 1960s. We live in Haarlem, near Amsterdam, and compared with the city, the beautiful Geuldal region is quiet and green. You can swim in the Geul River, cycle and take long walks.

Majella’s daughter, Febe, tobogganing with dad Ronald

For a fun outing, we go to the town of Valkenburg, which has caves and the ruins of a 12th-century castle. There’s also a chair lift from the valley station, just south of the town centre, up to a summer toboggan centre where you can rocket back down the hill through a metal half-pipe on a sort of sledge on wheels. Our kids love getting a milkshake and a slice of Limburgse vlaai (fruit tart) at Cup & Vino in the town’s historic centre, or having a pizza at La Casa, whose fries are served with the best mayo we’ve tasted (they refuse to share the recipe).

Most of our time, however, is spent on the campsite. We’ve stayed there five years in a row, sometimes for up to six weeks, first in a rented chalet and now in our own caravan. All our stuff is there, so I just pack some clothes and off we go. The kids can be totally free and play outside all day or take part in on-site activities such as ball games, a mini-disco or caring for animals at the petting zoo. If the children are happy, we can relax too. I read, lie in the sun and work a bit on my laptop. As long as the kids still love it there, we’ll keep on coming.

• Camping ’t Geuldal is 10km from Maastricht; tent or motorhome pitches in high season €17-22 plus €3-4pp. Holiday homes around €600 a week high season, based on four sharing Interview by Deborah Nicholls-Lee

France: Finistère, Brittany

Nicolas Tanguy, 50, from Nice

The Glénan islands, off the coast of Finistère. Photograph: Mathieu Rivrin/Getty Images

I was born in Finistère, the westernmost tip of mainland France, and loved telling people where I came from as it means the fin de terre – the end of the Earth! When I was a teenager I used to go cycling around on my own or meet my friends and we would explore the Odet river, riding past the giant blue and pink hydrangeas and on to Sainte-Marine, a tiny port on the opposite side of the estuary from Bénodet, which has since become a notable yachting centre.

I left the end of the Earth to study and work in Paris, where I met my wife, who is Australian, and we’ve travelled all over the place. Now we live in Nice, south-east France, and for 15 years I never thought about going back to Brittany, but then a few years ago my wife wanted to see where I was brought up. We went back to Sainte-Marine, sat under the giant white parasols of the Café de la Cale on the waterfront and took le bac (the ferryboat) across to Bénodet for an ice-cream at Bankiz. It was just magical, so now we go back regularly.

Nicolas Tanguy and pal on his bike in Brittany

It’s all about the simple pleasures. We always have the blé noir (buckwheat) crêpe: a complète (ham, eggs and cheese) or a caramel au beurre salé from La Misaine. If we want seafood, we have a plate of langoustines – Sainte-Marine is the French capital of langoustines, which locals affectionately call demoiselles (maidens). The day’s catch still comes in at 4pm, heralded by squawking seagulls, so we always go down to see what the côtiers (small fishing boats) have brought in. There’s a tiny, sandy beach there too.

The bilingual French-Breton street signs make it feel very local and distinctive. The stone houses have slate roofs and the ambiance is part-riverbank, part-seaside. Towards the ocean and sand dunes, there are lots of protected natural areas, where very little building is allowed.

On our last trip we put our dog in the bicycle basket and went riding behind the dunes to the places I used to go to as a boy. You can cycle to Île-Tudy on the opposite headland, which has a huge white sand beach. Much further west (you need a car) is La Torche, which is famous for its tulips and for holding the world windsurfing championships (it’s one of the best windsurf spots in France).

Sainte-Marine has a fantastic hotel, the Villa Tri Men (doubles from €97-265 room-only,) so this year, for my birthday – a big one – we ate in the restaurant there, Les Trois Rochers, and next morning took the boat out to the beautiful Glénan islands from Bénodet (adult return €36).

The whole area is perfect for puttering round in a boat. I’m even thinking about taking my boat licence! Interview by Jon Bryant

Germany: Lychen, Uckermark

Bert Schulz, 45, from Berlin

Family boating on an Uckermark lake. Photograph: Alamy

This summer will be the fourth year in a row that our family – my wife Claudia and my two daughters Rosa (nine) and Tilda (seven) – will spend our summer holiday in a beautiful place called Lychen, in the rural Uckermark region. It’s little more than an hour’s journey north of Berlin but feels like a world away. Unlike much of the rest of mostly flat Brandenburg state, it is quite hilly. Getting there from Berlin is very easy – we don’t have a car so we take a train to Fürstenberg (one hour) and then ride our bikes 15km to Lychen.

Bert Schulz and family

Every year we book one of two rental flats in a converted farmhouse called Hof Georgenhoehe (from €52-82 a night for two plus €9-13 each additional peron) a little outside the town.

One apartment used to be pigsty and the other was a stable. The place we rent has two bedrooms, and a terrace looking out over the countryside that is lovely to sit on in the summer.

The place still has a few farm animals (pigs, a couple of old Highland cows, chickens and a small flock of sheep) but these days they are kept as pets. In the morning the first thing the kids do is go and collect eggs from the chickens, then they’ll feed the pigs, visit the farm cats and so on – it is a great way for children from the city to learn more about animals.

We often go for a run in the mornings and there are several lakes nearby to swim in – our favourites are Wurlsee, which is walking distance from the farmhouse, and we can cycle to Grosser Lychensee and Rutenberger See.

In the town of Lychen (population 3,000) there are a couple of decent German restaurants (Gasthof am Stadttor is our favourite) and bars (the Stadtkrug and the Gaststätte zum Dicken) if we don’t feel like cooking.

A bit further away is a very good Japanese-style restaurant called Tenzo Gasthof, run by people who quit Berlin for life in the countryside.

With kids this age, cycling is definitely the best way for us to enjoy the region, but others explore it by canoe or houseboat – the lakes in the area are all linked and you can sail around for weeks at a time. Interview by Kit Macdonald

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missfaithmunich · 8 years ago

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Pregnant through the Tuscany – part IV

415 km later we are back in ‘our’ area and still enjoy our holidays.

The garden of the farm where we stay (see part 1) is a dream and perfect to relax in.

We go almost daily to the beach, just lying in the shadow of our umbrella, swimming, eating and living the Italian sentence “dolce far niente” which means the sweetness of doing nothing.

Beach

Beach Food

On the beach free days we love to visit cities.

Siena is worth several visits as is San Gimignano.

We kept Florence for the way back home and decided to stay one night in Florence and one night in Verona before we are completely back in our day-to-day routine at home.

I have the feeling as if I walk on clouds during these holidays – knowing that I’m responsible now for a tiny human being is lifting my mood to a level I didn’t knew before, is it called bliss, I don’t know. Sure is that it feels so good that I will remember it for the rest of my life!

It is known that women change during pregnancy (obviously) and that the perception (smell, taste) can change.

I have only two things I cannot stand at the moment which are bananas and my husband’s perfume. Both nothing which bothers me too much, besides these everything is just much more intense. The food tastes better, the flowers smell more, life is wonderful.

I soak in everything nice during this summer, I want my baby to smell the summer in Italy, it’s the first holidays we have as a family and he or she is living inside of me. I believe that embryos sense what’s going on around them, even at that early stage.

After the full dose of relaxation we have to start packing for the way back.

For the last evening we decided to say “goodbye” with a barbecue in the wonderful garden (I can’t say it often enough) and once we finished eating it started to rain slightly as if Grosseto was sad too that we gonna leave the next day.

After we said goodbye to Marzena and her family in the morning and promised that we will be back one day with the bambini I’m happy that we will stop twice before leaving Italy and not drive back all the way at once.

Florence, here we come.

The David is “someone” I need to show you – here he is the famous David from Michelangelo:

The ‘Dolce far niente’ is something you can also enjoy in the middle of a city full of tourists and noises, here my yoga practice is diving in as I learn to focus on one thing at a time and this time it’s a wonderful Moroccan peppermint tea.

The city is wonderful and we love to go through without a plan. My husband bought tourism-like a selfie-stick so the crazy parents-to-be have quite an album full of selfies.

What I see now besides the fun we had is the glow everyone was talking about – here I see the first time this pregnancy glow on my face and if men have it as well my husband is one of them. We were as happy as we thought we could be.

Florence is wonderful so I’ll leave you with some impressions for now. The fifth part will follow, I promise!

Pregnant through the Tuscany – part IV Pregnant through the Tuscany – part IV 415 km later we are back in ‘our’ area and still enjoy our holidays.

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thefearlessgastronomist · 8 years ago

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23 FACTS ABOUT YOURS TRULY

1. The Basics: My name is Rachel, 27 years young [when this was posted in 2017], posting from my parent’s home in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, brown hair (though it’s usually dyed a different color), blue eyes, sassy as hell 😏 Also, for reference, I’m of Italian, Irish, German, and Swedish heritage. My last name is super Italian and I eat a lot of pasta.

2. I did not go to culinary school. I did go to college for five and a half years, but not for anything remotely related to culinary arts. My entire thing is: Graphic Communications Management with an emphasis in Layout/Design and minors in Photography and Journalism. At least the writing and photography parts makes sense, right? They’re useful.

3. I would, however, love to go to culinary school. Since late 2016, I have thought really hard about this. We’ll see how that pans out. I have taught myself a lot of things in the kitchen, but I would really like to have that base knowledge that all chefs have – like knife skills, certain techniques, basic food staples, etc.

4. The food I could eat every day for the rest of my life? Lasagna. How stereotypical Italian of me to say this, but I really love lasagna. Not the homemade kind that involves ricotta, but *gasp* the store bought frozen kind. I do have a lot of favorite foods, mind you. But I could eat a whole pan of Stouffer’s Lasagna with Meat Sauce by myself if given the opportunity. I’ll admit that I ate a lot of the smaller personal-sized ones in college.

5. I watch a lot – and I mean A LOT – of Food Network and Cooking Channel. My usual program of choice is ‘Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives’ (FN/CC), but I also love ‘Dinner at Tiffani’s’ (CC), ‘Chopped’ (FN), ‘Beat Bobby Flay’ (FN/CC), ‘Burgers Brew and ‘Que’’ (CC), ‘Cooks vs. Cons,’ and ‘Bakers vs. Fakers’ (FN). I would love to try the restaurants that Guy Fieri has visited here in Minnesota on Triple D. And I get a lot of hosting ideas from Tiffani.

6. Speaking of Guy Fieri and Food Network, I got to eat at both Guy’s and Giada de Laurentiis’s restaurants when I was in Las Vegas (in September 2016). And I loved every minute of it. I’m bummed I didn’t have a chance to go to any other celebrity chef’s restaurants while I was there. So here’s a short wishlist for next time: Buddy V’s Ristorante (though I did get a dessert from his Carlo’s bakery across the way from the restaurant); Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and/or Bobby’s Burger Palace; Nobu (I must figure out what the Kardashian’s love about it so much); Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans Fish House; Mario Batali’s OTTO Pizzeria; and Wahlburgers.

7. I love White Castle! Whenever I am close to one, I typically demand whoever I am with to stop there. It’s a sickness really, but I love the sliders so much. And the onion chips.

8. I have an obsession with seafood. Including sushi. I’m not exactly sure where this stemmed from – possibly from eating calamari on a boardwalk in Florida during a family vacation years ago – but given the option, I will often opt for seafood in dishes (i.e. shrimp fettuccine alfredo).

9. I am the person that eats strange foods for the sake of trying them. And I usually end up liking it. I am the Andrew Zimmern in my family 😆 I’ll try bizarre foods that make people squirm.

10. I enjoy the smell of garlic and onion.

11. I prefer a more globally-influenced dinner time. Americans notoriously eat dinner early compared to the rest of the world (around 5 or 6pm); other countries are more around 8-to-10pm. I tend to side with those people. Probably because I’m such a night owl.

12. Starbucks is my coffee place of choice. My go-to drink depends on my mood, but I’m currently loving the Sweet Cream Cold Brew ☕️ and the Berry Sangria herbal tea.

13. I’m on a mission . . . a BEER mission. As a Minnesotan, beer drinking is almost a necessity, to go along with our fishing and our bonfires lol. The truth is that I like the idea of beer drinking, but hate the hoppy taste (meaning IPA’s aren’t my favorite). So I’ve set myself on a quest to find brews I actually enjoy drinking; this so far has included Negra Modelo (the one that started this whole thing), some pale ales, lagers, and plenty of hard ciders. Take a look at those I’ve tried HERE. I also like to actively try new wines and cheeses.

14. The key to my heart? Chinese food. More accurately, Chinese buffets. But seriously, even Panda Express or Little Chopstix. Feast on Chinese food with me and I’ll probably love you forever.

15. I am one of those people that pays just as close attention to plate and table presentation as I do cooking the meal itself. It doesn’t always get the appreciation it deserves, but I like to do it anyways. I also like to do the little extra things that make a meal an experience – such as sending someone a mailed invitation, setting up a “design your own name tag” station for drinking glass name tags, or parting gifts (I sent my family home with blackberry jam once). Just to list a few. I like to get crafty and creative.

16. I kind of have food sensitivities. I’m incredibly stubborn, so I refuse to stop eating things, but that’s also because my reactions to certain foods changes daily. Some days it effects me, some days it doesn’t. I just eat the food, deal with it, and move on.

17. While I love all forms of cooking, I especially enjoy grilling. Charred parts and grill lines on foods 🙌 SO GOOD. I may or may not have ruined our glass stovetop with my double-burner-sized grill pan.

18. I hardly ever go (because I can be such a late sleeper), but I love farmer’s markets. I really would love to go to more of them this summer, straw tote bag and all (after I find a good one I like). I’m totally getting into fresh produce and herbs lately, so now more than ever I would like to go.

19. Speaking of farmer’s markets, the last time I was there was to get a bushel of cucumbers – to make my own sweet pickles. It’s something my mom used to do, but a year or two ago, I decided i wanted to give it a try myself. It’s a 14-day soaking and boiling process that makes the house reek of cider vinegar and pickling spices. But they are pretty much the only pickles I like to eat.

20. I refuse to diet. I don’t understand how anyone could ever consciously decide to not eat what they like (especially with all the amazing foods out there!), nor have I ever understood the obsession over being skinny (my only thought about about being skinny is that it’s easier to find clothes to fit you). And funny enough, other than being overweight per the BMI (which I also believe is a crock of shit), my cholesterol and all my numbers are fine. So 😝 .

21. I possibly want to open up my own food establishment someday. But I think I would have the hardest time deciding what kind of place it would be (restaurant, cafe, food truck), what to name it, and what type of foods to serve. Like, it would probably be the most random conglomeration of foods ever.

22. There is a list of foods I use to determine how much I like a restaurant and/or if I would go back. Obviously it depends on the type of restaurant and it’s not the only determining factor, but I always have to try the following if they have it on their menu – fettuccine alfredo, nachos, and club sandwiches. If they have a good version of these, I’d probably eat there again.

23. I recently became a kitchen assistant for a cooking school! It’s a retail store technically, but some of its locations have a space for cooking classes. And sure, it’s a lot of washing dishes, but you also get to do the mise en place (a.k.a. recipe prep, like measuring out or cutting ingredients), as well as assisting the chef and the class participants in the kitchen. Probably one of the best moves I’ve made professionally. And part of the reason why I started this blog!

SIX FOOD THINGS I AM CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH

Cilantro

Making my own sauces rather than using store bought (i.e. barbecue sauce)

Taco-ing foods

Baking, especially breads and soft pretzels

Mexican Street Style Corn on the Cob / Elote (corn brushed with mayonnaise, then sprinkled with chili/cayenne powder and cotija cheese)

Caramelized or sauteed onions

RAPID FIRE ROUND

The hardest dish/meal I’ve ever made was . . . Chicken Tikka Masala; it was so involved. There’s marinading the chicken, caramelizing onions, then simmering the sauce, grilling the meat, then putting it all together and letting it simmer some more.

When I’m not cooking, you’ll find me . . . Eating 😂 But also reading, watching television/Netflix, spending time with my friends (which almost always involves going out to eat), writing and blogging.

My ultimate destination getaway is . . . Italy! I would love to spend an extended period of time (think like Eat Pray Love-style) in Italy so I could travel to all of the great cities – Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, Naples, Capri; areas like Sicily, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast. 😚👌

My favorite dessert is . . . Strawberry bananas they have at buffets! I also do my own version of it at home, with strawberry sauce and sliced bananas on top of ice cream. Furthermore, I’ve discovered a fabulous strawberry-rhubarb pie from Sam’s Club.

My favorite ice cream flavor . . . Chocolate chip cookie dough. Preferably as a blizzard from Dairy Queen 😉

Cake or pie? . . . Such a blasphemous question since they’re both so good, but I think I’m leaning more towards pie.

My LEAST favorite thing about cooking is . . . Deciding what recipe to pursue with certain limited ingredients I might not always have access to; when I’m cooking for people who have picky palates and don’t like when I put “grass” (spices) on things; when I’m missing one ingredient/one utensil to make a recipe work.

My favorite celebrity chef is . . . Alex Guarnaschelli, Guy Fieri, Michael Symon, Andrew Zimmern, Geoffrey Zakarian (for his ability to cook with wine in hand or the way he takes random espresso breaks mid-cooking), Scott Conant (he’s just reaaaaally nice to look at), Mario Batali (for his ability to wear Crocs and yet be a serious chef), and Gordon Ramsey (’cause he swears like a sailor, just like me). Also, if we’re including celebrities who happen to cook, Tiffani Thiessen.

If I were stranded on a desert island and only had 3 kitchen appliances with me, they would be . . . A fridge/freezer combo? That magically need not require battery nor electricity to function (as with all these items, I suppose). I probably wouldn’t mind be stranded on an island, I’d just want a way to keep my food items (like all the fish I’m sure I’ll catch haha) from spoiling. And it’ll have a fresh water thing built into the door so I don’t die of dehydration. Maybe a blender? I’m thinking island fruit smoothies with my ice from my freezer, and this particular island would have a potential Pirates of the Caribbean-esque hidden underground rum-running loot so I can mix boozy drinks 😉 Plus my island has edible plants, so blender would be useful to make like a pesto. Aaaaand... hmmm... I probably wouldn’t mind a stand mixer with all the attachments. Just in case. I’m sure I’d want it at some point or another.

My favorite Minnesota State Fair food is . . . Not that I could ever really choose, but TOP FIVE THAT I ATE LAST YEAR (2016): Corn dogs (plural), cheese curds, deep fried fruit on a stick with chocolate sauce, deep fried alligator bites, and Luigi fries (cheesy breadsticks).

Last year, I also had some new items worth noting: french toast bites with a berry sauce/whipped cream/Pop Rocks, Grain Belt BLU (Blueberry Lager), lefse with bacon and brown sugar filling, ostrich meatballs with three different sauces (orange, soy, and teriyaki), and Schell’s Beer Red Sangria Lager.

The best restaurant I’ve ever eaten at was . . . is impossible to choose!

However, My top 5 restaurants are . . . Great Moon Buffet, Tucci Bennuch, Piada Italian Street Food, Green Mill (only the ones that still have the Alamo Nachos), and Pizza Hut.

My favorite family recipe is . . . Maybe “mock chow mein.” It’s really more of a beef+pork meat and rice casserole with green pepper, onion, celery, mushroom pieces, and water chestnuts cooked in, alongside some condensed soups and other ingredients for flavor. Not really “chow mein” in the traditional Chinese food sense, but it’s delicious. A 9x13″ pan doesn’t last long at our house.

Also, my maternal grandmother’s potato salad. Unlike so many of the store bought deli ones, her’s isn’t mustard-heavy. And the texture of it is just so much better. I’m not sure how to best explain it, but I have since taken on making it myself.

Funny enough, I really disliked both these dishes when I was younger. Which probably means I need to go back through the family recipes and try some things again with my more advanced palate.

My choice pizza topping is . . . Probably Hawaiian. That’s right, I’m a pineapple-on-pizza believer! I also like plain sausage pizza. But really I just love pizza in general, especially now that I’ve started doing my own homemade dough and gourmet-style toppings (i.e. BBQ chicken with my own homemade barbecue sauce and cilantro; a chicken alfredo with the addition of either sauteed mushrooms or black beans with basil or parsley; a chicken-bacon-ranch rendition I made for my brother). As with so many other foods, my topping choice simply depends on my mood.

My favorite breakfast . . . Either a ham-and-cheese omelette from some “greasy spoon” diner, or french toast. I’ve also started making this sort of “spicy Eggs Benedict” thing on my breakfast sandwich maker that I could (and do) honestly eat all the time for a quick meal. It’s half an English muffin, slice of Canadian bacon, slice of provolone cheese, an egg cooked to a poached consistency (I’ve fallen in love with creamy runny yolks), and topped with sriracha mayo.

I take my coffee . . . With as much stuff to make it not taste so strongly like coffee. If not a specialty drink, then definitely with lots of cream and sugar. Usually some sort of flavoring (like caramel). Typically I go with a latte because that’s the one that’s more frothy milk than coffee. I also really like those “Steamers” from Kwik Trip that probably aren’t even coffee at all.

Soup or salad? . . . Ugh, this should be soup AND salad. All the food! But I’ve gone both ways with this, so it really just depends. I will say I almost always do soup at Olive Garden.

Favorite food movie . . . Eat Pray Love, Ratatouille, Chef, Julie & Julia. I want to talk about these some more, so I’ve a whole post dedicated to this coming up.

Favorite cocktails . . . Mojitos, Captain & Coke, Mimosas, I usually lean towards those fruity mixed drinks at restaurants (I had a really good Mai Tai in Downtown Las Vegas); also recently discovered Moscow Mules and now have a need for copper drinkware.

Favorite sandwich . . . Club sandwiches! But also, I crave “Sherri’s Chicken Sandwich” (a fried coconut chicken sandwich with honey mustard and avocado) from Craft Beer & Kitchen all the time. As well as my own homemade version of the Grilled Chicken Club I had at Pinstripes once – it’s grilled chicken, with bacon strips, a slice of provolone, avocado, and then instead of shallot mayo I make a cranberry mayo, and I use a ciabatta bun that I toast.

Cooking at home or going out for dinner? . . . It’s all about balance! And, once again, my choice really just depends on my mood. I love cooking things myself, but sometimes you just can’t beat getting a meal somewhere else. Especially when you’re looking for that more authentic experience or atmosphere.

Food bucket list . . . This is a fantastic concept. I’m going to use a whole separate post to answer it. Keep your eyes peeled!

Something I’m really proud of . . . Honestly? My ambitions, adventurousness, and fearlessness in the kitchen. And with that, the meals I’ve planned and executed with more effort than normal – so far a St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, Cooking a la Giada, Easter Brunch, Cinco de Mayo Tacos 3 Ways, Mother’s Day Build Your Own Pizza Party. Also, my courage to make a career change in my life by starting a culinary-based job.

One food you could never bring yourself to eat? Funny enough, olives. I don’t mind black olives on a supreme pizza because there are so many other things you don’t even notice them, but plain black or green olives... Just not my thing. I can’t even remember if I’ve officially tried any type of olive on its own or not.

The one food I’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet is . . . My namesake sandwich. The Rachel (or even the Reuben). I just haven’t had the nerve to try it at a restaurant yet.

#about me #about the blogger #facts #facts about me #introduction

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