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Culinary Tours

Exquisite French Pastry & the Top Chefs Who Create It

Exquisite French pastry in Paris; photo by Zhu.

A party without cake is just a meeting. ~ Julia Child

When you mention France, most people think of Paris, the capital city. This is both a blessing and a curse.

A curse because the portion of France located outside of the capital city is gorgeous, too. It has delicious nooks and crannies worth exploring but few people think to look.

And a blessing because …

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Filed Under: Culinary Tours, Dishes, Inspiration, Sweets Tagged With: food and travel quotes, French hot chocolate, Julia Child, macaron, Paris-Brest, Pierre Hermé, Sébastien Gaudard, Sebastien Rouxel, viennoiserie

Superstars of Northern Italian Cuisine: A Regional Tour

 

Risotto alla milanese, this one decorated with red saffron threads, is one of the most colorful superstars of Northern Italian cuisine; image is "Italian saffron risotto" by kuvona.

Italian food really reflects the people. It reflects like a prism that fragments into regions. ~ Lidia Bastianich

If you’ve grown up believing fabulous plates of pasta, pizza, and bread were the greatest pleasures Italian cooking had to offer, hold on to your hats, dear foodie explorer, there’s MORE.

The foods of Naples and other cities in Southern Italy, from where the majority of Italian families in the U.S. hail, are just the tip of the iceberg….

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Filed Under: Culinary Tours, Destinations, Dishes, Inspiration, Savories Tagged With: canederli, fonduta, Italian food, Northern Italy, pesto, ragù, regional cuisine, risotto alla milanese, speck

Japan Travel Notes from the World’s Top Chefs

Table setting for Japanese food with copper-rimmed white dinner plate and hashi (chopsticks) atop a maki placemat.

An adventure with Japanese food not only has the power to influence your individual cooking style but, more than that, …

What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents. ~ Michael Chiarello

Have you ever noticed how the familiar taste or aroma of certain foods can transport us to the places we first experienced them? 

It’s like what happens whenever I bring fresh corn tortillas home from the store. I always sniff them ~ can’t resist it and don’t want to ~ and as soon as I catch that hint of lime…

… I’m back in central Mexico, a high school student having a meal with her homestay family.

Maybe it’s the same with you.…

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Filed Under: Asia, Culinary Tours, Destinations, Dishes, Inspiration, Popular, Savories Tagged With: David Chang, Elizabeth Andoh, food and travel quotes, Japanese food, kaiseki, Michael Chiarello, Momofuku, Noma, ramen, René Redzepi, somen

Unexpected Paris: Gardens, Art, & Tasty Edibles Galore

Palais-Royal garden with one of its avian residents. one of the fun finds in unexpected Paris.

Nearly all the best things . . . have been unexpected, unplanned by me. ~ Carl Sandburg

The last gold rush began in 1896 when George Cormack went fishing for salmon but found gold nuggets instead. Or so the story goes.

Just like that prospector, you often come upon some of the best things when you’re looking for something else, especially while traveling.

Here are a few “gold nuggets” I stumbled upon in unexpected Paris you might like to find “on purpose:”

…

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Filed Under: Culinary Tours, Destinations, Europe, Inspiration, Travelogues Tagged With: Fontainebleau, Francart, French food, Monet, Paris travel, quiche lorraine, Renoir, Rueil-Malmaison

5 (+1) Northern California Places & Plates for Your Road Trip

Golden Gate Bridge (viewed from Marin Headlands), one of several Northern California places you'll want to photograph again and again.

“Such was life in the Golden Gate: Gold dusted all we drank and ate…” — Robert Frost

QUESTION: Is or isn’t California in the Southwest?

ANSWER: Yes.

Depends on who you talk to. According to the map alone, California is in the southwest.

Yet when you consider the characteristics California shares with states undeniably southwest such as Arizona and New Mexico ~ warm and dry climate, relatively sparse population ~ only the southeastern portion of the state qualifies.

Nevertheless, your Western road-trip could take you through Northern California, so YOU’VE GOT TO KNOW about the terrific food waiting for you there. …

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Filed Under: Culinary Tours, Destinations, North America, Travelogues Tagged With: California restaurants, gluten-free, Northern California, road tripping, travel tips

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Hello!

~~~~~I'm Melodie, a destination-inspired storyteller and good food adventurer. Traveling, to experience the wonder of other cultures, has been my lifelong passion. Now, I want to share what I've learned so you, too, can nourish your traveler's heart, explore the world, and eat crazy good food on the regular. It's like this...


She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
    and brings back exotic surprises.
Proverbs 31:14

 

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