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After a whirlwind several weeks in Europe, I am back home again in San Francisco. My bed and my pillow are pretty cozy, I must admit. However, that being said, the trip and my culinary tours flew by, and my time in Europe was simply over the top!
My travels began in Burgundy, France, on a weeklong cruise along the Saône River with a fun group on an AmaWaterways river ship. What a beautiful excursion from start to finish. The wine and food were delicious, and it was a treat to demonstrate how to make my Salade Lyonnaise recipe for passengers on the ship. In addition to the fabulous meals, we visited charming and historic villages, wineries, and châteaus. Hats off, and thank you to AmaWaterways for a sensational cruise.
From Burgundy, I flew to Portugal to host a fabulously spirited group from all over the US on a Culinary Tour. I'd reserved a gorgeous private palace in Sintra to call home, and my friend and Portuguese associate, Emily, and I had planned a fun-packed week. We cooked together, making a fantastic fish stew with the fish we got at the fish market in Cascais. It was an easy-to-prepare quintessential Portuguese favorite, the Cataplana. You can find the recipe for my spin on this luscious dish, and the drunken port pears we served as dessert, below.
Portugal flew by, and the next stop was the fabulous island of Crete in Greece to meet another fantastic group for a food and wine adventure. Our accommodations were a phenomenal blend of rustic chic, and to call this place home for the week was beyond belief. Picture an ancient monastery, village, and olive mill lovingly renovated and transformed into a luxurious boutique hotel. For 18 months, I worked with Isabella, a Cretan culinary expert, storyteller, author, and friend, to curate a magical tour. We visited historic and cultural sites and cooked outdoors with the hotel chef. Everyone loved making Greek salad to pile onto Cretan rusks, aka dakos. These earthy, crouton-like treats are made with a mixture of barley flour and olive oil and baked twice. They can be labor intensive, yet you can also find them online.
And, finally, at my last stop, I worked with some of my favorite friends -- Ignacio, Mariangeles, and Angel -- to put together a special tour for a group of enthusiastic, ex-Merchant Marines and their wives. It was their annual weeklong reunion, and Autumn couldn't have been a more beautiful time to visit La Rioja, Spain! We cooked, laughed, sang, danced, ate, and drank our way through this beautiful wine region in Northern Spain. Paella was one of the highlights, but we also grilled lamb chops over burning grape vine cuttings, patatas bravas, and delicious tortilla espagñol with potatoes.
Yes, the food we ate and the wines we drank were delicious, the cooking we did together was a highlight, the wineries we visited were fun and tasty, and the castles and palaces were stunning, but what I love the most is the memories that were made with my old and new friends along the way. Thanks to all for making these past several weeks so incredible! Wish I could take you all in my suitcase, but in the meantime, why not create a virtual culinary tour at home with some of the recipes we made?
Enjoy your meal, or as they say in France, Portugal, Greece and Spain-
Bon appétit !
Bom apetite!
Kalí óreksi!
¡Buen provecho!
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“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller” – Ibn Battuta |
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You can also find me here!
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