Sardinia–Cookout, Island Style

Eating in Sardinia, Italy can give you the impression you weren’t on an island off the coast of that most succulent of countries but at a luau in Hawai’i. Typical dishes are what you’d expect from an untamed area where the natives are fiercely proud of their traditions and tend to feature uncomplicated dishes using similarly simple techniques. What makes the cuisine of Sardinia uncommon are the ingredients unique to the island and the combination of meat and seafood together.

Rock lobster, scampi, sardines–which get their name from the island–figure prominently to no one’s surprise, but this was not always the case. It is only recently that seafood began to be so important to the natives of the island who avoided the coasts, once popular with pirates and warring governments. For a real Sardinian experience you’ll feel right at home–it’s cookout time!

When was the last time you got a chance to enjoy spit roasted wild boar? I’m sorry but most of us simply can’t get a whole wild boar, and if we could I doubt many would have the resources to slow roast it, suspended over a pit of flame by a stake. This glorious and often liquor enhanced spectacle is only exalted by the native spices and herbs alternately steamed over the coals and rubbed over the meat until you’re presented with a meat so flavorful and intense you’ll never forget it just recently had tusks worthy of an eclectic millionaire’s trophy wall.

Spanish Cuisine–Explore with your Tongue

Looking for an excuse to stay in Spain a while? Do you really need one? If the traditional lifestyle, warm local hospitality and gorgeous countryside weren’t reason enough, I’ll offer you another: local food you can take home with you. Following the principles of the slow travel movement invites you to become part of Spain.

No, I’m not suggesting that you fly to Spain, collect suitcases full of paella and pescaito frito to smell up the plane home. Forget trying to explain the rice and olive oil seeping out of your carry-on to the customs official. I’m suggesting slow food. I am suggesting taking a shopping cart to the carniceria for meat, the panaderia for for bread, bringing the ingredients back to your rented villa for a cooking class. You can find a private instructor in the closest city or make friends with a local–not hard to do!–who can show you what you need to know.

Slow food is cooking with fresh ingredients, making everything yourself and enjoying the fruits of your labors. Besides the obvious advantages of experimenting with flavor learning a new art, slow food means knowing exactly what goes into your food. Every ingredient passes your scrutiny. But the real advantage of slow food, of making your microwave jealous and cutting out fast food fat is being part of your life process. You are there for the cooking, the serving and the eating. You are freed from being reliant on others to determine your menu and feel connected to every bite that you can take pride in having created.

Take time to enjoy and learn the different regional cuisine of Spain. Each region offers a different theme as well as variations on country-wide favorites. From the Jabugo ham and fish specialties of Andalusia, to the indescribable olla podrida of Extremadura, Spain is the perfect place to begin your slow food journey.

Wine Tasting In Paris

Sampling the wines of the various regions of France is no new idea for a vacation, but a well kept secret is that you don’t have to go to each of those regions to experience their wines. Paris has wine from each region available all in one city and often all under one roof.

Wines from every region can often be tasted during a tasting organized by a company or restaurant. The great benefit of one of these samplings is their impartial nature: an experienced sommelier will provide an overview of each wine and guide the experience, then elucidate on what to search for in each glass. There are offers of all sizes to match any expertise, budget and personality. No one should miss out on wine tasting when they visit Paris.

One novel idea is to invite a sommelier to your own apartment. If you’re traveling with friends, renting a residence in Paris is actually less expensive than booking a hotel and it’s definitely much more liberating and intimate. For the serious and dedicated oenophiles, the ultimate experience is having an expert sommelier bring his pick-of-the-litter of fine French wines to your private rental. Besides having the experience all to yourselves, already being home will minimize how far you have to stumble, should you allow yourself to become over served.

Penne Vodka Straight From Italy

If you’re Italian, I apologize, I know this isn’t the way you make your penne vodka. Penne vodka is one of those incredibly popular dishes that no Italian restaurant, or Italian family, does exactly the same. If they find out they are making it the same they’ll be quite sure to change it up next time. My own aunts once realized they had both made the same penne vodka for a family function, glared at each other and wouldn’t talk for months. They both changed their recipes the same way, unfortunately, so the next family party was no better. They are expected to resume friendship sometime in the 22nd century.

Below you’ll find a recipe for an absolutely delicious version of penne vodka that, I will contend and any Italian you meet will deny, is as good as any you’ll find outside of an Italian villa. Remember, though, you need to customize it slightly or you’ll end up in a feud with any Italian cook you feed it to.

It may sound cliche, but for the best Italian food you have to head to Italy. Rent a villa (cheaper than a hotel if you bring the family!) and really get to enjoy Italian hospitality. Once you’re there you’ll get plenty of advice on exactly why your–and everyone else in the world’s–penne vodka recipe is absolutely wrong.

Ingredients

* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 tbsp garlic-infused oil (I just used olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic)
* Salt
* 1 can chopped tomatoes
* 1 tbsp double cream
* penne rigate or other short, preferably ridged, pasta
* 65 ml vodka
* 2 tbsp unsalted butter
* Parmesan for grating over at the table
Method

1. If you are cooking this just before you eat, put the water on to boil before you start the sauce. You will need a big pan, enough to take the pasta and its sauce later.

2. Finely chop the onion, either by hand or in a processor. In a large pan, heat the garlic oil and add the finely chopped onion and a good sprinkling of salt. Cook the onion fairly gently for about 15 minutes without letting it catch and burn, which just means giving it a stir every now and again. It should be very soft and just beginning to caramelize.

3. Tip in the can of chopped tomatoes and continue cooking over a gentle heat, simmering for another 15-20 minutes. If you’re cooking this in advance, stop here.

4. Reheat the almost finished tomatoes (or just continue as you were if you’re making this recipe in one go), stir in the double cream and take the pan off the heat. When the water for the pasta comes to the boil add a good measure of salt and tip in the penne. Set a timer for 3-4 minutes less than the packet instructions for cooking it, as you want to make sure it’s cooked al dente and will need to start tasting early.

5. Drain the cooked pasta, tip it back in the pan and pour over the vodka, add the butter and some more salt. Turn the penne in the vodka and melting butter and then tip it into the tomato sauce unless it is easier to pour the tomato sauce over the pasta: it depends on the sizes of the pans you are using.

6. Toss the pasta in the sauce until it is evenly coated and turn out into a large, warmed bowl. Put it on the table along with a block of parmesan cheese and a grater.