Thursday, February 28, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

The Secret is in the Fondi with Cooking Vacations in Milan

Join Cooking Vacations in Milan for cooking with our Executive Chef team and a special Chef's Table tasting lunch following. Held every Saturday morning, these classes book up far in advance, so we suggest you book early!




Lend a hand to prepare a six-course menu including meat and fish specialties then take a seat and watch the Chefs work their magic in finishing and presenting each course. The greatest take-home lesson of this class, even if you will never make another Quenelle in your life, is the importance of the bases, fondi in Italian, that include broths, sauces or glazes. Whether it's a monkfish fumetto or a caramelized chicken fondo, these base sauces are what make the foods so delicious in this 5-star kitchen and are easy to make at home.

For more information visit

Executive Chef Cooking ~ 1 Day Class In Milan

 or

www.Cooking-Vacations.com 

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Our Kitchen Is Cooking











It may be cold outside, but our Cooking Vacations Kitchen is cooking up a storm of Italian!  Join us in a food, wine & music adventure in sunny Italy, www.Cooking-Vacations.com

Monday, February 11, 2013

Say I Love You With A Capri Cake

Although there are thousands of way to say I love you, and in Italy probably more, at Cooking-Vacations.com we celebrate San Valentino with our classic Caprese.
The flourless chocolate cake, invented by accident, can also be served with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato.  Try our easy-to-make recipe for your Valentine this February 14!  


Torta Caprese~ Flourless Almond Chocolate Capri Cake  
Serves 8


7 oz. Dark Chocolate, chopped finely 
1 ¾ sticks unsalted Butter 
6 Eggs, separated 
7 oz. Almonds, whole, skin removed
1 cup Sugar 
1 shot glass Whiskey, if desired
1 tsp Baking Powder 
Powdered Sugar, for dusting
  1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Butter and flour a 9 in. cake pan.
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler. Set aside.
  3. Divide the yolks from the whites.
  4. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until they form very stiff peaks. Set aside.
  5. Meanwhile, in a food processor, grind the almonds to a fine flour and add the sugar. With the processor still running add the egg yolks and work into a cream.
  6. Fold the melted chocolate-butter mixture plus the whiskey into the almond-egg cream. Mix well and add the baking powder.
  7. Gently fold in the egg whites, scrapping from the bottom being careful not to deflate the egg whites.
  8. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes until spaghetto (long, thin pasta works as a great toothpick substitute) inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool.
  9. When cooled, run a knife around the sides and gently flip the cake out of the baking pan onto a serving platter. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla gelato, whipped cream or a few Baci ;)…if desired.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

"She has the best of both worlds..."

Started in 2001 and still sharing my love of Italy one visitor at a time. What started as an idea as led to "over 100 personally created programs throughout Italy in its 20 regions.”

Best-selling author, Michele McPhee share the Cooking Vacations story on Bostoniano.info


Learn how it all began!! http://www.bostoniano.info/businessbeat/cooking-vacations-founder-lauren-birmingham-piscitelli/