From the moment I stepped onto the ferry at Lavrio Port, just outside of Athens, for the hour-long ride to the island of Kea, my heart was racing. I’ve been to Greece a few times before (for my honeymoon, nonetheless!) and knew that my guests and I were in for an over-the-top adventure. We were about to meet up with my dear friend and acclaimed food historian and author, Aglaia Kremezi as well as her husband and our expert guide, Costas, to cook, taste and explore one of the lesser travelled Cycladic islands of Greece.
The first night’s dinner was a total feast. I can still taste the tender, slightly charred octopus, smoked cheese and tomato bread. Between the food, the outstanding Greek wines and enjoying all of it outdoors with lovely people, this was a great start to our journey!
Over the course of the next several days, we cooked together making tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant stuffed with rice and herbs, grilled local sea bass wrapped in fig leaves and wood-fire roasted goat flavored with herbs collected in the garden. Then we mastered Greek breads, hand-made phyllo dough and marinated green and black olives from Aglaia’s and Costas’ olive trees.
After a couple of days in the kitchen, we were all ready to stretch our legs and see some historic sites. Some of the group walked to a beautiful old Monastery, where guests were given a special blessing and glass of the local favorite liqueur called Mastiha. The rest of us took what Costas called a “more challenging” route down an ancient trail where we discovered a gorgeous beach and the ruins of Carthaia including the Temple of Athena and Apollo. I’ll tell you that the climb back up the hill definitely lived up to Costas’ description. A cooking class in Greece wouldn’t be complete without a lesson on how to make moussaka! Simply splendid.
Then I was off to meet another fabulous group and explore the Veneto, one of my favorite regions in Italy. We gathered together in the villa for a welcome cocktail and dinner and then we went non-stop for the next several days. Since this region is renowned for rice, we kicked things off with a tour of my friend Gabriele Ferron’s riseria or rice farm, followed by a risotto-making contest! It was all in good fun as everyone chipped in to create the first of many great meals with dishes like risotto with amarone, the infamous red wine of the region, ravioli with ricotta and mint and one of my favorite desserts, an Italian Almond Crumb Cookie. Oh, and the wine? We didn’t need to travel far to get to the vineyards. Our villa is smack-dab in the middle! We drank Masi wines from the vineyard all week! We even had time to visit the village of Sirmione on Lake Garda and my favorite on earth, - Venice!!
If I could have packed you up into my suitcase, I would have! This has been a great month and I’m already plotting my next getaways!
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Hope that you’ll join me for a Culinary Journey sometime soon.
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