What could be more appealing than eating chocolate at an elegant Italian villa? Perhaps knowing that the delicious morsels you’re tasting are fruits of you own labor. A few steps up an ancient stone walk from the seaside resort town of Positano is Villa Azzura, a charming private residence, and the home base of COOKING CHOCOLATE, a hands-on workshop devoted to our favorite flavor. Built in 1700, Villa Azzura is rich with history, yet filled with modern amenities such as marble bathtubs, central air, floor-to-ceiling windows, and above all, a spacious country-style kitchen complete with a wood-burning bread and pizza oven. During the eight-day course you’ll learn how to make desserts such as Melanzane al Cioccolato, Palline al Cocco, Capri Cake, chocolate biscotti and double chocolate gelato. Also included are excursions to Capri, Ravello, Amalfi, a "Dolce & Vini" wine tasting, and a tasting of ice cream made by a famous artisan.

A lemon’s a lemon, right? Yellow, a bit nobbly, and not something you want to squirt near your eyes. Wrong. After a week in Positano, in the bosom of Campania lemon country,my wrists are slapped. I now know different.

To think, I once assumed lemons were just the colourful half of the ‘ice ‘n’ slice’ that made for a perfect gin and tonic…

A lemon’s a lemon, right? Yellow, a bit nobbly, and not something you want to squirt near your eyes.

But after a week in Positano, in the bosom of Campania lemon country, and in the company of what must be some of the most passionate citri-culturists on the planet, my wrists are slapped. I now know different.

The Amalfi lemon, or Sfusato Amalfitan – officially recognized as unique by the PGI, or Protected Geographic Indication, in 2001 – is no mere lemon, it’s a delicious, medicinal, landscape-making marvel.

Identified by its prominent “nipple” end, pale yellow colour, high number of oil glands, and virtual lack of seeds and weighing at least 100 grams, it is the first choice for an authentic limoncello (lemon liquer).

It also cures hiccups, dandruff and halitosis. It gets rid of cabbage smells in the kitchen, and makes your shoes shiny if you wipe it over before the polish. Its value is both passionate and prosaic, being both a symbol of fidelity in love, and also a nifty way to stop the shells from cracking if popped in the water when you’re boiling eggs.

I was only ten minutes out of Naples airport, heading to Positano for a few days of lemon cookery instruction when I got my first lemon lesson…

Oh yes, then there’s the dramatic scenery of The Divine Coast, so beautiful it was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. That’s partly due to the Amalfi lemon’s scurvy-beating high Vitamin C content.

When the Royal Navy made lemon juice consumption mandatory for its sailors in 1795, Amalfi lemon cultivation hit boom time.

Grabbing their machetes and spades, 17th century farmers hacked out the hillside piazzatta, or lemon terraces we see today, clinging like verdant steps along the once harsh, impenetrable strip of cliffs from Sorrento to Salerno.

Before that, there was nothing but the crash of waves and rocky scrub.

But by the end of the 1800s this stretch of sea-facing land south of Naples had definitively become the world-renowned coast of lemons – and almost by accident, a photographer’s dream and fashionable tourist magnet, attracting visitors and residents as diverse as Danny de Vito, John Steinbeck, Gore Vidal, Bob Geldof, Sophia Loren and Sting, and the birth of luxury hotels like the stylish Le Sirenuse at Positano, where the Rolling Stones, U2, and Ingrid Bergman have lain their heads.

The lemon is at the heart of everything Amalfitan, from decorating the cheerful marker signs along cliff-clinging State Road 163, to influencing cookery, curing gout and inspiring the ceramics industry of picturesque Vietri sul Mare. As a cure-all and basis for Amalfitan cuisine, the lemon should be treated with gentleness and respect, I soon learned.

The women who picked them at the turn of the century, lugging 60kg baskets of sfusato on their shoulders up and down the precipitous steps between the terraces, had to clip their nails and wear cotton gloves to avoid damaging the precious merchandise.

“You should squeeze it like you are squeezing a nice girl,” I was ticked-off by Mamma Agata during a lemon cookery class in her kitchen at Ravello, when I ham-fistedly squished half a limone without the reverence due to such a citrus gem.

The embodiment of a twinkly-eyed, ample Italian mamma, Signora Agata is something of a culinary legend on the Amalfi coast, having cooked for celebrity visitors like Humphrey Bogart (a “sweet, quiet person” who liked fried anchovies – and lots of whisky), Jackie Kennedy (very elegant, liked mozzarella and tomato salad) and Fred Astaire.

Fred’s favourites? He would only eat the decoration around the plate, not the food, Mamma Agata told us, with a sad shake of the head.

“Pff. He was like this!” she exclaimed, holding up her little finger.

When fresh, the Amalfi lemon is one of the less sharp, tastiest lemons in the world, partly due to the mineral rich volcanic soil it grows in, thanks to Vesuvius.

As she rattled through recipe after recipe, chopping, stirring and whisking, she explained that lemon juice should nearly always be added at the last minute. Too much cooking and it would become bitter.

But when fresh, the Amalfi lemon is one of the less sharp, tastiest lemons in the world, partly due to the mineral rich volcanic soil it grows in, thanks to Vesuvius.

And it’s not just fondly biased Amalfitans which believe it: studies at the Universities of Salerno and Reggio Calabria have shown that it contains twice the amount of flavour-giving oxygenated compounds in its rind than other lemons.

The researchers concluded that “it is possible to affirm that the extract from Amalfi Coast lemons has a remarkably superior flavouring power”

Its other supposed prowess, this time as a slimming aid, was demonstrated the next day, when pencil-slim chef Tanina Vanacore took charge in the pretty kitchen of the 17 th century Villa Giovannina in Positano.

“I have drunk lemon juice every day, all my life,” she said, tying a lemon-emblazoned apron around her hand-span waist. “It’s the power of the lemon.” Though it could also be something to do with the fact that her preferred style of new Campania cuisine is lighter, less oily and more reliant on fresh flavour than the oleoso, fatty tendencies of traditional cooking.

As part of her training, the vivacious Tanina, a chef at the legendary Palazzo Murat hotel in Positano, which once belonged to Napoleon’s brother-in-law, wrote a thesis on lemons. She discovered that there were 47 different types in the world.

“But the Amalfi lemon is finest because the flavour and acidity is so balanced, so it is excellent to marinate fish, like this insalata de sepia,” she said, deftly slicing some tiny local squid which had been cooked till tender in boiling water.

Sprinkled with a mix of lemon juice and salt, it was left to “cook” for 30 minutes, and the resulting melt-in-the-mouth texture was unrecognisable from the off-putting rubber-band chewiness so often associated with Mediterranean calamari.

Another popular citrus ingredient on the Amalfi coast is the cedro, which looks like a huge mutant lemon, but is in fact a whole separate species. It has more pith than flesh, but the pith has none of the bitterness of the traditional lemon. Mixed with fennel, orange and a tangy lemon dressing, slices of cedro add to a refreshing, palate-cleansing salad, which Amalfitans eat in place of a sorbet between courses.

To work off those courses, and endeavour to gain a figure like Tanina’s, you could always visit one of the area’s 1556 limoneti, or lemon groves, and trudge the steps linking the vertiginous terraces.

One of the prettiest limoneti has to be the 1½ hectares owned by the Landi family on the Canna Verde hillside at Maiori.

Grandfather Bonaventure Landi, who we found sitting in the sunshine by his chickens, can still manage some of the 380 steps linking the 13 terraces, despite nudging his 93rd birthday. A living example of the benefit of regular lemon consumption he announced, with such veneration you’d think he was declaring the power of prayer. lemon

One of the tastiest ways to take in a healthy dose, is with a glass of limoncello, the traditional lemon liqueur made from infusing lemon rind in alcohol before sweetening with a sugar syrup.

Look for an opaque colour, at least 32 percent alcohol and a thin layer of oil on top, when buying a bottle.

“The Amalfi lemon is the true lemon to use because the skin is pure with no chemicals, and the rind has lots of oil and flavour,” explained Bonaventura’s son, Gino, as he checked some of his 1000 lemon trees.

Each tree produces around 300-600 lemons, or 50 kilos a year, over three harvests, adding to the 16,000 tons of lemons produced annually on the official Amalfi lemon coast, a sea-hugging ribbon of some of the most scenic, tourist villages in Italy: Atrani, Amalfi, Cetara, Conca, Dei Marini, Furore, Maiori, Minori, Positano, Praino, Ravello, Scala, Tramonti and Vietre Sul Mare.

The Limone Costa d’Amalfi even now has its own official cheer-group, the CO.VA.L, to promote it.

Unofficial fans, like Praiano limoncello maker Rosa Esposito, whose family has been working with lemons for generations, sum it up like this: “Il limone succa della vita” – lemons are the juice of life.

And awfully good in a gin and tonic!

By Corinne Tyler

Two guest houses located on the spectacular Amalfi Coast, one a provincial home in Positano, the other a palazzo in Sorrento, offer their patrons cooking lessons, if desired, or simply memorable cuisine to enjoy and outstanding accommodations from which to explore this splendid region of Italy.

Along the southwestern coast of Italy in the region called Campania, south of Naples, lies the Amalfi Coast, a stretch of mountainous coastline named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The coastal highway that traverses the Amalfi Coast begins below the city of Naples and winds its way along the coast to Salerno, passing through Sorrento and Positano along the way. The highway is situated high upon cliffs of limestone that drop off into the Tyrrhenian Sea below. Terraces of lemon and orange, olive, Bougainvillea, and Palm trees along with Mediterranean bush cling tightly to the cliffs and mountains, ravines and gorges.

Although tourism has replaced fishing as the primary source of income for many towns along the coast, the way of life for many residents is still steeped in simplicity, food and family and a connection with food and the earth. The rich volcanic soil in the region provides a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Olive oil, Mozzarella and wine are made locally and fresh fish is a main ingredient of the local diet. Preparation of the cuisine is largely a reflection of the lifestyle and surrounding landscape, mostly uncomplicated but rich in flavor and pleasing to the eye and palate.

Cooking Vacations, based in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States and Positano, Italy, has made it possible for travelers, casual and serious cooks alike, to learn the recipes, tips and tricks of Italian cuisine under the tutelage of experienced local chefs via the many cooking vacation programs that they offer throughout Italy. Programs are offered in Sicily, Puglia, Umbria, Luguria to Tuscany, Rome, and Campania to name a few.

Amalfi Coast Lemon Lifestyles in Positano and Luxury Lifestyles at the Palazzo in Sorrento are two of eight different packages offered by Cooking Vacations in the Campania region. The venue for each program is a private residence with limited accommodations providing an intimate atmosphere for guests. Each program offers cooking classes featuring Neapolitan cuisine, excursions, an opportunity to sightsee, shop or just relax and soak up the atmosphere in two very different and historic settings.

Positano

The resort town of Positano, formerly a fishing village, is on the south side of the Sorrento Peninsula in the Gulf of Salerno. Its windy streets are filled with cafés and restaurants and stores selling ceramics and resort wear. Most buildings are made from tufa stone and built into the mountainside, many with cupolas and terra-cotta roofs, patios, arched doorways and terraced gardens.

Amalfi Coast Lemon Lifestyles™

Villa Azzura, located on the northern end of Positano, is a 350-year-old residence that has been in the family of its owner, Marco, for three generations. Marco spent his childhood in the house, which is named for his mother and grandmother. When Marco inherited the house he worked diligently to maintain the authentic Moorish style that is characteristic of the architecture in Positano and along the Amalfi Coast.

Asked why he wanted to team up with Cooking Vacations and share his house with visitors, Marco explains that he believes the atmosphere created when people come together to cook, eat and enjoy wine in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere can generate great conversation and sow the seeds for good friendships. This, along with his great appreciation for food, has inspired Marco to open up his house and kitchen. He says that even in a famous place like Positano, it is possible to still find, special and unique situations that are authentic, so he strives to create non-touristy, "authentic" local experiences for his guests. Those also are the objectives of Cooking Vacations, so it seemed like a logical affiliation.

The name for Marco’s program with Cooking Vacations, Amalfi Coast Lemon Lifestyles, was selected to bring to mind the ubiquitous lemon trees that have been cultivated along the coast since the 11th century. Terraces of lemon groves line the mountainsides and there is a lemon tree in most family gardens. The Amalfi lemon is known for its size, juiciness and relatively seedless nature. Marco asks, how can the lemon be excluded if one would like to build an appreciation of Italian dishes of the region? It has become an integral part of the local cuisine. Marco strives to use as much organic produce as possible and buys from local farmers.

To assist him with his venture, he has hired a talented local chef named Rosa to come to the house to lead the cooking classes. Rosa is a professionally schooled chef who also tutored under Tanina Vanacore, a well-known local chef who has trained under some of Europe’s most famous chefs. Marco says that Rosa is blessed with an innate cooking ability and a well-developed sense of taste.

Marco would like his guests to know that original Italian cuisine does not have to be complicated or fussy and he hopes that his guests return home with the confidence to easily reproduce the recipes using the tips and tricks that he and Rosa can provide to make that possible.

There are three cooking lessons per week included in the program, and an extra lesson for an additional charge can be arranged, if desired. The lessons are held in the late afternoon so that guests can eat their creations for dinner the same evening. The cooking classes are very relaxed so that if guests would just prefer to watch or not participate at all, that is their choice.

A Taste of Campania

For a taste of Campania’s lemony cooking, try Tortelli di Carnevale–Carnival Fritters. This recipe makes four servings:

250 ml water (1 cup + 2 tablespoons), salt, 1 grated peel of a lemon, 50 grs (1/4 cup) of butter, 150 grs (1 + 1/3 cups) of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 4 eggs, confectionary sugar, and sunflower oil.

Boil the water in a casserole with lemon, butter and a pinch of salt. Take away from the stove and add the flour; put back on the stove top and keep cooking, always stirring, until the dough comes off the sides of the pan. Take again away from the stove tip and add the sugar, always stirring. When the mixture is lukewarm, blend the eggs and stir rapidly, until there is a smooth dough. Warm plenty of oil in a pan and pour the dough by spoonfuls into the hot oil until golden fried dough floats to the top. Remove and drain on blotting paper; dust with confectionary sugar and serve hot.

Serve with red sparkling sweet wine like a Brachetto D’Acqui or a Vernaccia di Serrapetrona or a Fragolino del Friuli.

Accommodations

The spacious rooms in the villa Azzura have whitewashed walls with high ceilings and are decorated with furniture and collectables that have been in Marco’s family for many years. Other pieces have been carefully selected to maintain the Mediterranean style. Current guest capacity at the villa is four double rooms, each with a western-facing view of the Mediterranean . Popular with couples and single guests, frequent visitors also include groups of ladies looking to escape to sunny southern Italy from their hectic lives and schedules.

The kitchen is situated on the lowest level of the house next to a sitting room. Both rooms open up onto a terrace with a western view that, in the summer months, has a potted vegetable garden, table and many places to sit and relax. A lemon tree with craggily branches hangs over the table like a yellow rooftop. Marco’s two dogs, Cookie and Jack make the back terrace their home.

Amalfi Coast Lemon Lifestyles™ Package

Marco doesn’t want his guests to feel that they are tied to a schedule, so he is available to organize excursions, trips or anything that guests would like to do. Because he has lived in Positano for such a long time, he has many local connections that make this possible. Marco would like for guests to feel at home in his house so guests are usually given a key to the house so they can come and go as they please.

Amalfi Coast Lemon Lifestyles offers a seven-night, eight-day package that includes a welcome dinner, daily breakfast, three cooking lessons, a selection of two food-related excursions from a choice of such places as: the Limoncella Factory (all year), Olive Oil Factory (October November and March, April), working farm, with garden and seasonal market (March-November), morning trip to Ravella and Amalfi (including a trip to the Museo de Carta), ceramics factory, Bakery (famous local bakery, nationally recognized).

Other excursions not included in the package include, Walk of the Gods (a hike in the mountains along the Amalfi Coast), Pompeii (a private guide can be arranged), fishing boat (by request only), the Island of Capri.

Sorrento

Sorrento, which sits along the Amalfi Coast on the Sorrento Peninsula has had many inhabitants throughout the centuries, as has the entire coastline. From the Greeks and Etruscans, to the Romans, French, Spanish and Turkish invaders. The emperor Tiberius so loved the Isle of Capri, which is off of the coast of Sorrento, that he ruled the Roman Empire from the island in the late years of his life. In the 1500’s Torquato Tasso, the famous poet, was born in Sorrento, and for centuries the city was well known for its writers, poets and its wood inlay industry. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Sorrento emerged as a popular tourist resort as it still is today.

Luxury Lifestyles at the Palazzo

The Palazzo is located in the heart of Sorrento, close to the main hubs of activity, Tasso Square and the old quarter. The Palazzo has been in Paola and Angela’s family for 150 years and was originally built in the 15th century, as is evident by the stone arches in the entry hall that date from the 1490’s.

Originally, trained to be a lawyer, Paola, who lives in the Palazzo with her family, decided to "follow her passion" and opened the Palazzo up nearly six years ago as a small hotel. Two years after that Paola decided to offer cooking classes. She had noticed that many of her guests would request recipes and wanted to learn to prepare them as well. Paola realized that there was focus in the travel industry on vacations that included cooking, so it was natural that she teamed up with Cooking-Vacations, and the program "Luxury Lifestyles at the Palazzo" was born.

Paola enlisted the help of her sister, Angela, a professionally trained chef, to assist with classes. Both Paola and Angela are well-versed, talented chefs who credit their mother with giving them the knowledge and inspiration for their own skills.

Accommodations

Accommodations at the Palazzo include five double rooms, all located on the first floor. There are two kitchens, one smaller kitchen on the ground floor and a fully equipped, professional kitchen downstairs. There is also a reception hall downstairs for wedding receptions and corporate events. During renovations, it was discovered that the Palazzo sits over 2000-year-old Roman ruins, which are visible through glass panels in the floor. The clientele tends to be mostly couples of all ages, and the Palazzo is an ideal venue for an intimate wedding. Paola plans and hosts quite a few weddings each year.

As Paola says, the Palazzo is "her baby", and she has taken great care in decorating the household with neoclassical antiques and furniture, mostly from the second part of the 18th century. The sitting areas have books, flower arrangements, family photos, antiques and paintings. One sitting area has a dining table as well. Both rooms open up to the garden terrace. Although the ambience is very elegant, it is so friendly and relaxed that it is easy for guests to feel at home immediately.

Paola would like her guests to feel as if they were in their own homes and will do her best to accommodate any trip or undertaking that a guest would like to have arranged. She wants to be open with her guests but also respects their privacy as well. Paola says her goal is for her guests to have the most enjoyable visit possible. She sums it all up this way, "When you do something special for someone, you really feel that you’ve succeeded".

Excursions / Pompeii

Cooking Vacations properties can arrange any of a wide choice of excursions at additional cost. Less than one hour away from either Sorrento or Positano and a must for anyone visiting this region of Italy are the famous remains of the Roman city of Pompeii. Buried under as many as 60 feet of burning ash by a violent eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on August 24 of the year AD 70, this important port city of ancient Rome was not re-discovered until the 16th century and, to this day, is still being excavated by archaeologists.

So sudden and violent was the disaster that citizens were struck down in the act of fleeing the devastation raining down on them from heaven. Imprints of their bodies left in the hardening ash are testament to the scope of the volcano’s fury and the speed with which the city was overcome.

Luxurious villas and public baths as well as the more modest apartments, bakeries, and businesses of an important city were buried–and preserved–leaving for posterity an encyclopedia of information about daily life in Roman Italy.

The large city of Pompeii was divided into nine regions, and, at a minimum an entire day is required for the visitor to receive at least a taste of these extensive and fascinating excavations. Either of the Cooking Vacations guesthouses can arrange for guides in English and other languages. Cost for the guides and entrance fees is additional, but having a guide is strongly recommended as so much history is involved in exploring Pompeii.

The tourist season along the Amalfi Coast runs from April until the end of September with July and August being the busiest and hottest months. In the busy season, along with the suntans, the beaches, boating, street festivals and warm summer sun come the traffic jams, crowds and waiting lists to get into restaurants, hotels and attractions. In the off-season, the coolest months are January and February, but all that is needed in the way of cold weather apparel is a sweater and jacket. So, when the long lines and traffic jams have all but vanished, the months from October through June are a good time to relax, enjoy cooking and eating good food and wine. In some ways, these are the best time to slip into the slower rhythm of life along the Amalfi Coast.

© Florida International Magazine
February 2004 Issue

Treat your sweetheart to the world’s greatest Italian take-out. Cooking Vacations Sorrento offers one-of-a-kind immersed cooking classes in the heart of Southern Italy, where you will learn, eat and enjoy la dolce vita while staying in an authentic Tuscan villa. Each class, limited to 10 people, will teach how to make pasta, prepare ingredients and pick fresh herbs from their organic garden, all while taking day trips to the old cobble stoned Sorrento marketplace, the vineyards of Caserta and Avelino and the surrounding cities of Naples, Positano and Capri. $1,500 per person per week for the full five-day course. For more information call 617/247-4112.

Cooking Vacation
Although we don’t all have an Italian nana to pass down treasured family recipes, there’s still a way to learn to cook like an Italian chef. Cooking Vacations offers culinary trips to 12 different regions in Italy, from the hills of Tuscany to the coast of Sicily. You will be taken back a century to experience the culinary offerings of the countryside. Visit the market for fresh organic produce, the fish market at dawn, and the local vineyard for a bottle of vino. Experience the Lemon Lifestyle on the Amalfi Coast featuring an “all lemon menu”, ($2900/pp for 8 days/7 nights). Take the VIP tour of Tuscany and learn the art of making fresh pasta and tiramisu ($2375/pp, 8 days/7 nights). Or venture to Sicily and discover the benefits of incorporating olive oil into your diet ($855/pp, 3 days/2 nights). Now when someone asks, “What’s your signature dish?” you’ll finally have an impressive answer.

By Susan Van Allen

There was no room on the table for any more antipasto, but the waitress at Terrazze Sotto Il Castello kept it coming. I was in Puglia after all, where a typical meal begins with a variety of small plates of local specialties. Tonight’s treats were focaccia, tiny meatballs, fresh mozzarella, stuffed zucchini, hot chunks of mortadella, raw thinly-sliced swordfish, proscuitto, a bowl of fragrant black and green olives, and a basket of taralli. As we poured ourselves glasses of Primitivo wine, I felt grateful for the delicious abundance this region of Italy in the heel of the boot has to offer.

With eighty miles of coastline providing a bounty of seafood along with fertile land where olive, almond, and fruit trees, vineyards, and vegetable fields flourish in sunshine, Puglia does not lack in its choices of fresh ingredients to bring to its tables. The region’s dishes are more complex than in other parts of southern Italy, as the influences of centuries of invaders (including Arabs, Greeks, Normans, and Spanish) pervade their recipes. Here eggplant and zucchini are seasoned with fresh mint leaves and beef is marinated in cognac.

Conversano, a medieval walled village (population 24,000) situated twenty minutes southeast of Bari, Puglia’s capital, was a perfect place to indulge in culinary treasures. I settled in for a few days at the Corte Altavilla, a beautifully refurbished former castle, located in the historic center of town. My suite featured a comfortable king-size bed and a sitting room with a desk offering internet access along with a dreamy view of the town’s 16th-century cathedral. The charming staff and delicious breakfast buffet added to the experience of making this a sublime home base.

Wandering the curved whitewashed alleys of Conversano, I discovered the daily lively market with stalls overflowing with baskets of chicory and sweet peas, countless varieties of olives glistening in basins, and canvas sacks bursting with dried beans and almonds.

Outside caffes, men in caps and dark suits sat playing cards; on tiny baroque balconies, women hung laundry. The smell of a wood-burning oven drew me into the oldest bakery in town, Panificio Aurora. It was stocked with all kinds of taralli, focaccia, pastries stuffed with grape marmalade, and almond cookies. At a masseria a short drive away, I sampled fresh ricotta and caciocavallo, which along with buratta are among the most prized cheeses of the region.

“People make special trips from Bari to walk through town and eat gelato,” Letizia Velanzano, a member of Assieme, a group that works to promote and maintain Conversano’s cultural and culinary traditions told me. We stopped at one of the village’s many gelaterie, Caffe del Corso. There, chef Nicola Zivoli, an enthusiastic thirty-eight-year-old who has been working as a cook since he was twelve, insisted on starting us off with his specialty lunch crepe—filled with local ham, cheese, and greens. I was stuffed, but couldn’t resist tasting gelato he’d made that morning. I’m glad I didn’t—the hazelnut and vanilla were fantastic.

The chefs I met in Conversano were former home cooks who were now bringing their many years of experience and passions they once lavished on families to dining rooms.

At Pasha, one of the most highly rated restaurants in Puglia, Maria Magista, the mother of owner Antonello, created elegant presentations of Pugliese classics. As jazz played in the background of the sophisticated dining room, I enjoyed a vibrant pea soup and a rich vegetable flan of chicory and fava beans.

Down the road, at Agriturismo Montepaolo, chef/owner Niny Bassi hosts diners in charming country surroundings. The energetic, petite Bassi has masterfully restored a 17th-century farmhouse, retaining the layers of its history. Décor in the dining and guest rooms is accented by furniture, which she has hand painted, along with linens and ceramics made by local craftsmen.

During my three-hour lunch at Montepaolo, Bassi’s talent shined. Using primarily ingredients from their farm, she served up cucina povera in style. Most memorable was focaccia made with grano arso—wheat mixed with ash, which was what the peasants once gathered from the fields after they were burned, and is now a subtly-flavorful delicacy. We finished the meal with a taste of her homemade liqueurs—sweet almond, limoncello, and bay leaf—which along with a selection of fruit marmalades are offered for sale to guests at the agriturismo.

It was a gorgeous afternoon and after lunch, we walked around the property with her son, Nicholas, tasting cherries from the ripe trees. He handed me a green almond that tasted bitter but good, and then, like magic, pulled up shoots of wild asparagus from the side of the road. They burst with fresh spring flavor in my mouth. This was quintessential Puglia: a place where good tastes can be discovered every step of the way.

For more information about discovering small towns in Italy and cooking classes, visit Cooking Vacations (www.cooking-vacations.com).

Taking the same boring vacation to the same spot each year can take the excitement out of traveling. You have already done the cruise thing and the beach thing. It is now time to do something different. It may be just you, or a trip with the whole family or just a friend. It could also be a romantic getaway for you and your loved one. What vacation comes to mind? Cooking vacations can offer just what you need to recharge your batteries, while learning some new culinary delights. You get the opportunity to travel and enjoy what the culinary community has to offer. One website to check out is www.cooking-vacations.com.

Do not expect cooking vacations to be the same thing as attending the best culinary schools in the country. You will not earn a diploma and you will not learn every type of cuisine. Sure, you may take an Italian or French tour but you will not be enrolled in French or Italian cooking schools. You need to think in simpler terms when it comes to what you will learn. You will not come out of the tour as a executive chef, but you will come out with a more appreciative view of preparing food that you love.

Now for what these vacations are and what they mean to you as the vacationer. You can expect several different programs and options when booking one of these vacations. They include: Italian tours, women only tours, Todd English tours, kids programs, corporate tours, couples and French tours.

The website has a listing of each different location that is offered on each particular tour. You may want to visit Southern Italy and feast in the open air kitchens that offer far more than just a scenic view. The one thing in common with all of the programs is that each locale features an organic garden so that you will be cooking seasonal foods and foods indigenous to that particular region.

The website also offers recipes from the different regions, as well as travel tips and much, much more. If you are a fan of Italian and French cooking, then this may be the vacation that you have dreamed of taking. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the regions and to have the chance to cook in the kitchens of such places as rustic farmhouses or luxurious estates.

Owner and creator Lauren Scuncio Birmingham designed the tours with a love of food and travel. You can be part of this experience by booking a vacation at www.cooking-vacations.com. Cooking vacations may be the best opportunity to truly experience a culture of food and festivities. As the website says, “la dolce vita is not just a special vacation it is a way of life.”

BY Divine Caroline

Article Last Updated: May 29th, 2009

I will treasure my visit here in memory as long as I live,” Audrey Hepburn said in Roman Holiday, after escaping her princess duties to have fun in La Citta Eterna. Inspired by Audrey and my immigrant grandmother who instilled in me a love of all things Italian, in 1976 I headed to Rome, checked into a hostel, and had my own magical time. It was a blur of racing through the Forum, standing awestruck in the Sistine Chapel, and tasting my first gelato.

The spell was cast and years later, my frequent visits back to Italy have put me among the ever-growing trend of women lured there. While both sexes enjoy the country’s masterpieces, stunning landscapes, wine, and fabulous food, Italy holds extra appeal for females. There are luxurious spas, shopping to-die-for, and of course handsome men whose flirting styles have been perfected to one of the country’s most entertaining art forms. All that combined with Italy’s slower pace make it a dream destination for women looking for a rejuvenating break from their busy lives.

Lots of single women, girlfriends traveling together, and mother-daughter teams are signing up for Women Only Tours to Italy. Though I’ve always been an independent traveler, I’ve recently jumped on this bandwagon, discovering that group travel has loads of advantages—the expert planners who’ve established relationships with the locals, so I’m taken in as part of la famiglia upon arrival; the long-lasting friendships that I’ve gained by meeting other like-minded gals along the way; the fact that I don’t have to worry about logistical details that are flawlessly taken care of by pros. And in these days of the ever-rising euro, group tours (at least the ones I recommend below) are priced lower than what I’d pay if I was going it solo.

Women’s Travel Club

Whether you want to do All Italy (an eleven-day tour that covers the major cities), explore the Amalfi Coast, or spend Thanksgiving cooking in a Tuscan Villa, this company provides a variety of scheduled tours throughout the year for groups of no more than twenty.

Female-friendly perks include accommodations at four-star boutique hotels that are conveniently located for shopping and a welcoming cocktail party to start the all-gal party flowing.

“We have lots of repeat customers,” says Club president, Allison O’Sullivan. “They’re women who want to give themselves the gift of travel, who want to get to know Italy on a deeper emotional level than they would on other tours, and who keep in touch for years with new friends they’ve made along the way.”

“It was great to have so many sisters to help decide which leather coat to buy,” said Kathy, a repeat visitor, about her trip to Florence.

Renaissance Women

Cooking Vacations International runs this week-long culinary program for small groups (maximum of twelve) in Positano. “Ages range from nineteen to eighty-five—no kidding!,” says President Lauren Birmingham, who lives in Positano, giving the program an insider’s expertise.

The relaxed tone of the program is set immediately by the accommodations, which are in a private estate, surrounded by manicured gardens, a lemon grove, and breathtaking views of the coast. Itineraries include three hands-on cooking classes, lectures about Renaissance women, watercolor and journal writing instruction, as well as visits to markets, gardens, and surrounding spots such as Amalfi and Capri. In addition, there’s flexible free time to simply chill-out on your terrace, take a swim at the nearby private beach, or a hike on The Walk of the Gods in the hills above Positano.
Women’s Quest

This cycling company runs bike tours along the Tuscan Riviera and inland Val D’Orcia, with a body-mind-spirit focus. It’s tailor made for gals seeking a retreat-style vacation—it features exercise, time for guided personal exploration, and delicious meals, all with Tuscany as an inspiring backdrop.

President Colleen Cannon, a former triathlon world champion, leads the tours assisted by a staff of award-winning female athletes, a certified yoga instructor, and life coach. The leader/traveler ratio is three to one providing individual attention to riders at all levels in groups of no more than twenty.

Besides cycling, programs include morning yoga classes, journaling sessions, a cooking class, and visits to ancient nearby villages. Accommodations are in three-star hotels, with a massage therapist always onsite.

via divineCaroline

By Chantal Martineau

Once the Mediterranean playground of choice for such style icons as Jackie O. and Greta Garbo, the Amalfi Coast has long been associated with glamour. But an active volcano, a Star Wars palace and proximity to the birthplace of pizza make this Southern Italian stretch extremely kid-friendly.

Naples is the gateway to Southern Italy, but for kids (and more than a few adults), it’s, above all, the mecca of pizza. Wood-fire-baked and topped with tangy San Marzano tomatoes and melt-in-the-mouth buffalo mozzarella, Neapolitan pizza is the perfect first meal to have in Southern Italy. Skip the tourist-packed Da Michele Pizzeria and head for Trianon da Ciro just around the corner, a local institution that’s been around for close to 90 years. Get a table upstairs for a glimpse of the beautifully mosaicked wood-burning oven. Kids will also get a kick out of nearby Via San Gregorio Armeno, a street lined with artisans selling handcrafted figurines as part of the city’s tradition of elaborate nativity scenes. A miniature butcher shop, complete with hanging prosciutto, may have little to do with the first Christmas but makes for an adorable addition to the toy collection back home.

From Naples, families can rent a car or travel by train or boat along the scenic Amalfi Coast. But before heading south, take a short detour just north of the city to Caserta for a visit to the magical Royal Palace. Little princesses and Jedis will recognize the echoing halls, grand chambers and long, narrow channel as those of the Naboo palace from the more recent Star Wars movies. From this fictional “long time ago,” head toward Mount Vesuvius to see the real-life ash-frozen villages of Pompeii and Herculaneum that date back to the height of the Roman Empire. The mountain itself is an accessible hike from a checkpoint near the top. English-speaking guides are available to explain what exactly you’re seeing as you peer over the edge of the winding trail into the depths of the still-smoking volcano. Experts consider Vesuvius to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet and predict that it will erupt again within the next century.

As you approach Sorrento, the sea air becomes perfumed with the scent of citrus. Orange, tangerine and lemon groves can be found just blocks from the city centre. While parents indulge in a tipple of limoncello, little ones can sample citrus sorbet and gelato. Stroll through the labyrinthine alleys of town to discover a lively cobbler trade, where shoes are made to order in hours. From the marina, ferries sail to Positano, a colourful former fishing village built right into the cliff overlooking the Bay of Naples. Its roads are staircases, and donkeys are still used to transport goods around town because horses can go up stairs but are afraid to come down! Introduce your little ones to the local culture and language with a hands-on cooking class. The Secret Garden in Positano’s centre is a charming bed and breakfast where afternoon classes are available through a company called Cooking Vacations. Designed specifically for kids (accompanied by an adult), the curriculum is pizza with a little Italiano 101 thrown in. Afterward, your marinara-stained, flour-dusted bambini can go rinse off in the twinkling sea.

(Chantal Martineau is a freelance writer who splits her time between New York and her native Montreal. She is a regular contributor to Imbibe and Best Life magazines.)

IT seems that a one-week trip to the shore, with days spent digging for clams and nights spent camping under the stars, has long ago ceased to be enough of a diversion for families planning their summer getaways. Now, the options range from cooking lessons in Italy (with even toddlers getting some kitchen time) to marionette-making courses in Prague to “volunteer vacations” that include trips to orphanages in China.

“Family travel continues to grow as more and more parents, particularly those working full time, view vacations as a way to ‘reunite’ the family, more than an occasion for rest and relaxation,” said Peter Yesawich, chief executive of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, a travel marketing firm. According to the 2007 National Leisure Travel Monitor, a yearly report by the company, family travel will be up this summer, as nearly 40 percent of adults plan to take a vacation with children, up from 32 percent five years ago.

A DOSE OF EDUCATION

Hands-on culinary skills is what families will get at Cooking Vacations’ new Secret Garden Positano trip to Positano, Italy; (800) 916-1152; www.cooking-vacations.com. Children as young as 2 are invited to learn to make pizza, pasta, fresh mozzarella, gelato and other Italian treats. Between classes, families will go to Ravello to visit a pastry maker and pick lemons, go on a fishing trip and visit Pompeii for a day. The weeklong program costs $2,800 a person (half that for those age 5 to 10; younger are free).

Culinary Travel

January 2010

I’m going to paraphrase a very famous saying here: “If you give a man an Italian meal, you will feed him for today. Teach a man to cook an Italian meal, and you will feed him for a lifetime.” Indeed, eating your way through Italy is easy. But mastering the art of la cucina italiana is a gift that will keep on giving. I’ve profiled a few cooking schools on this site before, but there are a number of culinary travel packages and food-focused tour companies that you should know about.

Cooking Vacations, with headquarters in Boston, MA, and Positano, has several dozen Italy cooking and travel programs, from a 6-day program in Bologna and Emilia-Romagna(Italy’s culinary hub) to a one-week Kids Cooking Program in Positano (a great way to get the whole family involved). Cooking Vacations has women-only programs, tours that pair cooking with driving a Ferrari around Tuscany (!), and combination art and food tours.

The International Kitchen, which has been featured on The Food Network and CBS News among others, has cooking classes with both top chefs and Italian home cooks; wine-tasting experiences; and culinary walking tours that you can fit into your regular touring itineraries of Rome, Florence, Siena, or almost anywhere you happen to be. In addition to International Kitchen’s daily a la carte programs, there are cooking vacations to 12 of Italy’s 20 regions, including the Villa d’Este Italian Cooking Holiday (Lombardy), Gourmet Sicily, and All About Umbria, a program that has been mentioned in the New York Times.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Divina Cucina, a cooking school in Florence run by cooking diva Judy Witts Francini. Even though she’s American, Judy is something of a real Renaissance woman, not only running her cooking school but writing her own cookbook and dispensing food advice and tips on her blog Over a Tuscan Stove. Judy offers one-week courses at her kitchen in Certaldo, Tuscany, and daily programs in Florence and Chianti.

by Clint Hamblin
November 29, 2008

A Cooking Vacation

If you’re looking for the ultimate gift for a foodie, how about a trip that includes cooking classes with top executive chefs in Italy? Imagine milking a cow in the morning and making cheese in the afternoon. How about going on an exotic truffle hunt at the foot of the Maritime Alps or an afternoon cooking in a 300-year-old kitchen? Located at 304 Newbury Street in the Back Bay, this is just a sampling of what’s on tap with Cooking Vacations’ culinary tour programs.

Join Chefs Rosa, Anna Maria & Roberto and Pizza-maker chef Pietro at our Secret Garden Positano as they lead you in hands-on cooking classes in Positano-for a week of food, wine and sun-filled days. Our chefs share their Neapolitan recipes with you making pizza, fresh pasta, antipasto, fish, meat and desserts. This program features the healthy Mediterranean diet. This one-of-kind cooking experience is set our luxurious private Villa, a private property, perched on the Amalfi Coast and overlooking the pastel village of Positano. For more information call 800 916 1152 or visit www.cooking-vacations.com.

YOU AND YOUR WIFE
SLICING, DICING, AND EATING UP ITALY

When you propose traveling to Italy for a sweeping, customized tour of the country’s kitchens, don’t tell your wife that she could really use the cooking lessons. It’s ungallant, unwise, and even a little uncouth, and if you don’t frame the idea just right, things could get ugly. Paint this picture for her: the two of you traveling from the country’s rolling hill towns to its coastal villages and spending a part of each day in the kitchen of a local cook, learning to prepare regional dishes. Sure, you’ll be “working”, but you’ll enjoy intimate meals eating what you cooked, and the recipes and skills you acquire will live on in your own home. Cooking Vacations International, a Boston-based outfit that plans culinary vacations, has a nine-day tour that begins on a working vineyard in Tuscany, where you’ll learn Florentine mainstays like tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and pepolino, tiramisù, and Tuscan schiacciata all’uva cake with red grapes and rosemary. Then it’s south to Positano on the Amalfi Coast and recipes for Neapolitan pizza, handmade organic mozzarella, and artisanal pasta. From there, you’ll hop a ferry to Capri (pictured at left, top), where ravioli and other Caprese specialties await. When you’re not working the stove, you could go out to eat, hit up museums and shops, or relax with a bottle of wine. It’s a vacation, after all. Just don’t tell her she could use the lessons.
From $ 3,495 per person; cooking-vacations.com.

Piccolo Chef, is Cooking Vacations’ non-profit venture that provides kids interested in the culinary world a scholarship to realize their passion for cooking. Kids who want to become a Piccolo Chef, can tell their story as to why they want to be a chef and what is their inspiration.

Children 10 and under are invited to send in an essay of 250 words or less. All entries are due by December 31, 2007. The winner will visit our Secret Garden Positano Kids Cooking program. Please send entries to Cooking Vacations, c/o Piccolo Chef, 304 Newbury St., Suite 318, Boston, MA 02115. You must mark your envelope Piccolo Chef in order to qualify. The winner will receive a six day trip to Italy for two.

A DOSE OF EDUCATION

Hands-on culinary skills is what families will get at Cooking Vacations’ new Secret Garden Positano trip to Positano, Italy; (800) 916-1152; www.cooking-vacations.com. Children as young as 2 are invited to learn to make pizza, pasta, fresh mozzarella, gelato and other Italian treats. Between classes, families will go to Ravello to visit a pastry maker and pick lemons, go on a fishing trip and visit Pompeii for a day. The weeklong program costs $2,800 a person (half that for those age 5 to 10; younger are free) and includes seven nights at La Maliosa bed-and-breakfast in Positano.

By Faith Bahadurian
1/3/2007

The simplicity of the cuisine made it all seem easy

In November, Tuscany is bathed in culinary glory. Just-pressed olive oil flows onto toasted bread, porcini mushrooms are fat and flavorful, and freshly dug white truffles shower down onto buttered fettucini. And in the wineries, September’s harvest is already being lauded as an unusually good vintage.

I was there with my nephew, Patrick Stahl, celebrating a milestone birthday (mine, alas, not his) and had arranged a cooking class through Cooking Vacations (www.cooking-vacations.com) at the Forconi estate in Montespertoli, about a half-hour from Florence. One of many properties that Cooking Vacations works with, the estate has a vineyard that produces D.O.C. Chianti wines, olive groves and organic gardens. The restored villa, Podere dell’Anselmo, offers accommodations, horseback riding and a swimming pool in addition to frequent cooking classes.

Our seasonal menu included puréed peppers on crostini, gnocchi with pumpkin sauce, fish filet wrapped in eggplant slices, and whole fish roasted on a bed of vegetables. The simplicity of the cuisine made it all seem easy.

Our chef/instructor Antonella communicated through her vibrant personality, and with Sandra, the manager, translating where needed. Before we arrived, a bunch of parsley and several cloves of garlic had been chopped to form the seasoning base of most of our dishes. If we had been cooking meat instead of fish, we were told, sage or rosemary would have replaced the parsley.

A hefty pumpkin was cracked open, and blazing orange flesh chopped into a sauté pan where parsley and garlic already sizzled in olive oil. This was cooked down into a fragrant sauce for potato gnocchi that we rolled out by hand and cut into little pillows.

For the crostini, onion and colorful sweet peppers were sweated in a pan, then puréed into sauce to spread on toasted bread. When it was time to peel and slice the eggplant to wrap around the fish, we had a problem — the eggplant that estate owner Fabrizio Forconi had purchased in Florence earlier that day turned out to be skinny and somewhat shriveled, not the big fat specimens that Antonella required to wrap around whole filets.

"Male melanzana!" (bad eggplant!), she exclaimed to our amusement. So we made do, cutting the filets into smaller pieces, tossing them in parsley and garlic, then wrapping the eggplant around those. Once baked, these involtini (rolls) were tasty morsels.

Earlier that day I’d impulsively purchased a bag of chestnut flour at Pegna, a gourmet store in Florence. "What on earth will you do with that?" Patrick had asked. I must have been psychic, because for dessert that night we made a Tuscan classic, castagnaccio, dense chestnut cake.

During the evening, Fabrizio disappeared along with his wine consultant into the winery for some sampling, bringing me back a taste of inky red barely-wine just weeks off the vine. We sampled various estate wines throughout the evening, including several vintages of Chianti, the Bianco Toscano (a white blend), and a dry rosé, all under the Podere dell’Anselmo label — hopefully coming soon to a store near me.

Please note these recipes were made without precise measurements, so mine are approximate; like many experienced chefs and home cooks, Antonella measured by handfuls and pinches, and cooked by sight, feel and taste.

PUMPKIN SAUCE FOR GNOCCHI

This can also be made with pre-cut butternut squash. Use your favorite potato gnocchi recipe or purchase from store. Antonella garnished this with basil leaves, but sage also is an option. Makes enough for a pound or more of gnocchi.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 cups diced pumpkin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of hot red pepper, ½ cup ricotta cheese
• Basil leaves for garnish

Cook parsley and garlic in olive oil for just a minute or two. Add pumpkin and simmer covered for 15 minutes, until pumpkin is completely tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with hot pepper if using. Purée in blender or use immersion blender. Stir in ricotta and adjust seasonings; serve with basil garnish.

WHOLE FISH BAKED WITH VEGETABLES

Serves 4 as a second course.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced
• 2 heads radicchio, sliced
• 1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 whole branzino (sea bass), cleaned, about 3 pounds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Toss cut up vegetables with olive oil and place in baking pan large enough to hold fish. Bake vegetables in 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.

Rub fish all over, including inside, with oil, parsley, and garlic. Place fish on pre-cooked vegetables in baking dish and return to oven for another 20 minutes, or until baked through (test with a knife; flesh should flake).

CASTAGNACCIO

The amazing thing about this thin sheet cake is how sweet chestnut flour is without added sugar. Antonella served this with a dollop of ricotta cheese that had been heated with a little sugar and cinnamon.

•  17 ounces (500g) chestnut flour
• Water or milk, or both, as needed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup pine nuts
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, briefly sizzled in olive oil

Put flour in a large bowl, and gradually add water and/or milk while stirring with a large fork until a smooth, thin, pourable consistency is achieved. Add olive oil, pine nuts, and raisins. Pour into a shallow baking pan; the batter should be the height of your index finger’s thickness. Spread rosemary leaves on top and bake at 350 degrees for a half hour. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Faith Bahadurian will be teaching a five-part ethnic cooking class this spring at Princeton Adult School, starting March 13. Registration opens Jan. 2 at:

www.princetonadultschool.org.

©PACKETONLINE News Classifieds Entertainment Business – Princeton and Central New Jersey 2007

Why I killed My Inner Accountant
A 17th Century Italian villa sets the scene for a priceless travel experience.

By Carol Stigger

South of Naples, Positano is one big cliff rising from the Bay of Salerno. The town’s one road winds, turns back on itself, loops around churches and villas and trees that have been here since donkeys determined where the road would go. The advent of the automobile gave Positano to the world. Yet, despite metallic din drowning whispery breezes, I have not found a corner of Positano that lacks an avian chorus. Perhaps natural selection increased the volume of birdsong to give visitors the music they did not know they missed until they arrive woozy and white-knuckled from the hairpin road from Naples, vacation nerves jangling, inner accountant snapping, “You paid a lot for this, and you better get your money’s worth.”

Thanks to a friend of friend, I am not paying for this. Marco, the friend once removed, rents guest rooms or apartments in his 17th Century villa that clings to the cliff. He had no paying guests scheduled for the time I was there. If I had considered paying for this, my inner accountant would admonish that I had regressed to that irresponsible child blowing her allowance on bubble gum.

The power failed after the housekeeper left for the night and after Marco called to say he was delayed in Switzerland. I was alone somewhere in time, but not in this century. And that’s when I killed my inner accountant without remorse.

Light was fading, radiators were cooling. I rounded up candles, a down comforter, and a bottle of limoncello from an assortment of other interesting liquors, including grappa. I’ve learned to stay away from grappa, but that’s another story, something about serenading a tollbooth on the autostrada. From the salon’s library of books in four languages, I selected a book I have been meaning to read for 20 years. I passed the grand piano with the first sorrow I have felt over giving up piano lessons for gymnastics. Imagine playing Mozart with keys illuminated by the antique candelabra. Imagine playing Mozart looking over an iron balcony at the lights of Positano winking on below. So much for double back flips and tarnished team medals.

Something was missing. Dinner. I could walk uphill to an osteria or downhill to a trattoria, but I was in the Renaissance and truculent about leaving. Using ingredients on hand and cooking by candlelight in an old kitchen modernized with appliances was a hazardous pleasure. I boiled pasta in unsalted water—not a culinary tip, I simply could not find the salt. I sliced garlic, onions, basil from a pot on the kitchen terrace, a tomato and my thumb. The pasta was tasty, although I could not tell if the red stuff I was eating was tomato or blood. However, the dish did not taste unsalted, and that’s where I jumped off that train of thought.

In a brass bed, under two down comforters, I read Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own by the light of three candles. The limoncello expanded my understanding of Woolfe’s premise, which evaporated by morning leaving me with a personal premise. A room of one’s own in a deserted villa is a decadent delight.

I woke to the hiss of radiator, redundant because my face was warm from sun shining through the terrace’s glass doors. I drifted into the fragrance of sea air and roses and looked down on the bay. Fishing boats and yachts looked like bathtub toys. The cliffs on both sides have mythical grandeur. Is this a scene Homer envisioned when he wrote Ulysses? On the terrace, generously blooming potted plants and meandering vines thatched a privacy screen. I sat on a wicker chair and felt as if I were sitting in the lap of God. My spirituality is broader than Judeo-Christian, so I took off my nightgown, lay on a lounge chair, and gave my body to Apollo until sweat dripped on terracotta tiles.

A long soak in a deep tub was like one of those optional tour excursions that cost extra. I paid for the bath with an hour that could have been spent exploring Positano. Like the gondola ride in Venice, it was worth it. Green marble tiles, little chandlers flanking the vanity mirror, a warming rod. Toilet and bidet are up three stairs and through an archway. A round window provides a sky view for mundane duties. But in the tub, light was diffuse and so was birdsong and so were my thoughts except for one. Showers are for hotels; in a villa, one bathes. After replenishing hot water for the third time, I realized that it would be considerate to take my host to dinner to compensate for the gas bill.

And where was the mysterious Marco? While waiting for pruny skin to smooth, and dithering about what to wear, I heard footsteps, whistling, and a short burst of celebratory piano music. Marco had survived the autostrada and was happy to be home. Now that my inner accountant was in rigor mortis, I felt no shame in calculating how many relatives I would have to fleece to make Marco an offer on his villa.

John Steinbeck wrote, “Positano bites deeply.” He used the wrong verb. Positano burrows. It takes root in your soul and leafs out in memories too dear to have appraised. But first you have to step out of the villa.

Finding Your Villa

Lauren Scuncio Birmingham specializes in Positano and its environs. For the perfect villa, personalized tours, and cooking classes with local chefs, Lauren is your guru and gracious mentor in living the Italian life. New in 2007 is her Renaissance Women week, where girlfriends gather in Positano’s Secret Garden on a private estate to explore their dreams in the ambiance of the century that birthed Michelangelo.

www.cooking-vacations.com

By Morgan Kuntze
FALL 2006 ISSUE

Taste the Lemon Lifestyle

Friendly locals and fresh food rule in Positano, a colorful seaside village on the Amalfi coast. Begin with a morning visit to a private lemon grove to gather the pale yellow Amalfi lemons that are the basis of the coastal cuisine; then return to your villa, which overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea, to create an all-lemon menu with Mamma Rosa. “Mamma Rosa’s cooking was amazing—I’m still craving that fresh squid— and our remarkably generous host introduced us to the townspeople as if we were part of his family,” says Susan Shand of Cornwall, New York. Two to four people per group; eight days, $2,900, based on double occupancy; includes meals, excursions, artisan and market visits and round-trip airport transfers. The Secret Garden is magical! For info call 800 916 1152 or visit www.cooking-vacations.com.

Intensivkurse: Cooking Vacations – Ciao from Cooking Vacations Italy

26 Settembre 2005 – by Source: PMQ

Cooking Vacations

Ciao from Cooking Vacations Italy, September is the ideal time to vacation in Italy without the crowds. As the Italians prepare for entrare, the official Italian term for preparing to return to work and school August, Americans come to Italy for their vacations. September also brings a plethora of sagras (the Italian word for feasts) that celebrate the harvest of a fruits, vegetables and fish.

This month, Cooking Vacations, Italian Cooking And Living & Alitalia have also cooked up something special for you: Pack Your Bags And Don?t Forget Your Apron; your chance to win a cooking trip to Italy.

PACK YOUR BAGS! (and don’t forget your apron)

Cooked up by Italian Cooking And Living Magazine, Alitalia and Cooking Vacations

Enter to win a Cooking Vacation in the heart of Tuscany at Villa Ortaglia!

Villa Ortaglia The Ortaglia Relais offers an exciting Tuscan culinary experience set in the hillside of Montepulciano. Throughout time Tuscany has been known for its diverse cuisine and now you can learn the secrets of Tuscan cooking in an intimate and authentic setting.

Terenzio is our friendly host and villa owner of Ortaglia. Chef Maria will teach you the secrets, history and culinary traditions of Tuscany with three diverse menus during your cooking program. There at the villa, you will see how he and his family harvest wine and olive oil.

Every class takes place in the country kitchen at Ortaglia, a beautiful farmhouse built in the 1600s that has recently been renovated. The renovation changed the farmhouse into a five-star luxury accommodation. Each suite is decorated with antiques, maintaining the traditional feel of old-world charm in the heart of Tuscany.

Terenzio welcomes you to Ortaglia and shows you a slice of the best hidden addresses in Montepulciano. Every visitor falls in love with the magical land of Tuscany, its food, wine and story.

To register to win a Cooking Vacation at Villa Ortaglia, cooked up by Italian Cooking And Living, Alitalia and Cooking Vacations: Go to www.italiancookingandliving.com/contest/ and register to win.

Cooking Vacations is dedicated to the food, art & music of Italy. We hope you will join us in Italy for one of our authentic cooking class adventures, and if you cannot, here is a little food for thought for the month of September.

During August, I have worked from Italy creating new and interesting cooking and wine programs for the months to come. I spent time visiting my family in Prata Sanita, south of Italy in the region of Campania; and Pico, central Italy in the region of Frosinone, while experiencing the magic of this wonderful land.

In addition to new cooking and wine programs, we will also have new Cooking For Kids. The children will learn the Italian language with music and lessons, while measuring & mixing in hands-on cooking lessons.

Chloe Lucia (my three-year old niece who is on my website) always cooks with my mom in the kitchen. She was my inspiration to start something for children.

Hope to see you soon in Italy!

Enjoy! Lauren Birmingham

September Notes

September 19th is the feast day of San Gennaro. He is the patron saint of Napoli and dear to the people of Southern Italy.

San Januarius (Gennaro) was Bishop of Benevento in Campania. Saint Gennaro together with his deacons Socius and Festus, and his lector Desiderious, was subjected to most atrocious torturing during the Diocletian persecution (A.D. 305) for refusing to worship pagan idols.

Ever since approximately A.D. 1389, San Gennaro?s dried blood was kept in a silver reliquary in the Cappella del Tesoro (Chapel of the Treasure) of the 13th c. Naples Cathedral (the ?Duomo. It liquefies (sometimes even boils) on his saint?s day and if it doesn?t, disaster is said to follow.

On this Saint’s day, his blood is kept in a vial in a silver reliquary topped by a crown and a cross. When the Bishop takes the vial to the Alter that holds the Saint?s head, the people, who gather by the thousands, pray that the blood becomes liquid once again. If the miracle takes place, the officient proclaims. ?Il miracolo ? fatto!? Then a Te Deum is sung and the reliquary is taken to the alter rail so the faithful can kiss the vial.

The feast of San Gennaro is celebrated simultaneously in New York?s Little Italy every year. Many Italians who came to New York City at the turn-of-the-century, took the tradition with them, and today the tradition carries as the Italo/Americans celebrate the feast day with a celebration of typical Neapolitan foods, music, a procession and mass.

Recipe Of The Month

Pizzette di San Gennaro Little Pizzas of San Gennaro This is a recipe for a small spicy pizza, popular on the feast of St. Januarius or San Gennaro and the other days that the vial of his blood bubbles.

Ingredients

Dough

* pinch of sugar

* 1/2 cup water, lukewarm

* 1 teaspoon dry yeast

* 1 Tablespoon olive oil

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 2 cups flour

Topping

* 3 large tomatoes (or 5 small)

* 4 anchovies (optional)

* 1/4 cup green olives

* 1 teaspoon oregano, fresh

* freshly ground pepper

* 3 Tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Add the pinch of sugar to the water, sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the olive oil and salt, stir and pour into the flour. Work the mixture to a smooth dough. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a warm location. Preheat oven to 425? F.

Roll out the dough thinly and cut out circles about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter. Brush each circle with oil and place on an oiled baking sheet.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on the circles with the anchovy fillet and the green olives. Sprinkle with the fresh oregano and some freshly ground pepper and brush with oil. (Dried oregano may be used if fresh is not available.) Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves: 10

Yield: 30 small pizzas

Prep Time: 1 1/2 hours

Table Talk

Zucchini

Zucchini, the colorful fruit that grows in a variety of shapes and colors from early spring to late summer, is celebrated in Italy during late summer in sagras (feasts of all kinds).

Zucchinis have a light and sweet flavor with flesh as delicate as a flower and a texture that makes it almost melt in the mouth. Zucchini’s many varieties offer the cook countless opportunities to prepare a varied menu of colorful summer dishes. Farmers’ markets are the best source of the freshest squashes and frequently offer unique varieties as well as those organically grown

Summer squashes, as well a winter squashes, are native to the Americas and belong to the family of curcurbita. Archaeologists have traced their origins to Mexico, dating back from 7,000 to 5,500 BCE. Explorers of the time, came to the Americas brought back what they considered strange foods. The zucchini eventually found its way to Italy where it was named zucchino.

Zucchinis are considered the tender, sweet, immature fruit of the curcurbita pepo which is eaten in its entirety. Cocozelle, a variety of zucchini that originated in Italy, is shorter, plumper, and striped. Today’s farmers are developing hybrids that are a visual delight. Some are round, some are yellow, some a combination of green and yellow, and some are a cross between zucchini and the fluted patty pan squash.

With their high water content (more than 95 percent), zucchini squashes are very low in calories. There are only 13 calories in a half-cup of raw zucchini, with a slight increase to 18 calories in the same quantity cooked. Nutritionally, zucchinis offer valuable antioxidants. They also provide some beta-carotene, trace quantities of the B vitamins, folic acid, small amounts of vitamin C and calcium, and a healthy content of potassium.

The zucchini plants have both lake and female flowers, a situation which requires insects, such as bees primarily, for pollination. If bee activity is low, female flowers are likely to drop.

Wines

Wines Picks

A’ del Bosco 2000 Curtefranca Rosso

Piedmont, Italy

Winemaker’s notes: Beautiful red color. Strong fruity fragrance and a nuance of herbs; robust with a highly refined structure. Easily drinkable and adaptable to many cuisines and dishes. Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Cabernet Franc 19%, Merlot 27%, Nebbiolo 16%, Barbera 13%.

Priced at $22.99.

Argiolas 2002 Costera

Southern Italy, Italy

Winemaker’s notes: Intense ruby color tending toward orange with age. Full bouquet typical in varietals character. Warm and full-bodied on the palate, with excellent texture and ripe fruit flavors. Firm and pleasant tannins. This wine has aging potential. Recommended with roasted meats.

Priced at $22.99.

Banfi 2000 Cum Laude

Tuscany, Italy Winemaker’s notes:

Castello Banfi’s newest Super Tuscan cuvee, Cum Laude – Latin for “with honors” – combines 25% of a Banfi selection of the region’s historic Brunello grape, with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 15% Syrah. Each wine is individually vinified and aged 14 months in French oak barrels to develop its unique style, then masterfully interwoven with the others to achieve an elegant bouquet and full, round flavor Cum Laude is characterized by a rich color and soft, ripe fruit flavors. The wine is complex with aromas of juicy berries and spicy cherries, as well as clove, anise and black pepper. As a full-bodied red with dense tannins, it marries well with all red meats, hearty stews, pasta dishes and cheeses.

Priced at $34.99

Food For Thought

If you cannot make it to Italy, we bring Italy to you

Fun

Silent Cellar

Silent Cellars Wine Cellar CS 110D will keep your wines in the best possible condition, like those of a traditional wine cellar.

All models have digital temperature settings. The absorption technology guarantees storage without vibrations. The carbon filter will act as a natural barrier from odors that may have adverse affects on the wine.

Silent Cellars CS 110 D comes equipped with one storage shelf and one sliding shelf, with optional extra fitted or sliding shelves to obtain a customized cellar. It can stock up to 116 bottles, keeping them at the perfect storage temp. $2,699.99 each.

Food

Spice Up Your Life

Peperoncino Afrodisiaco, a peppery red spice, will have everyone coming back for seconds. The organic product, made by local chef Salvatore at Ristorante Il Ritrovo in the hills of Positano, will turn an ordinary pasta into a one with a kick. Peperoncino Afrodisicaco is made by grinding the famous red chili peppers into flakes. Just add a little into any tomato sauce, garlic and oil or on top of bruschetta and presto!

Music

Bella Napoli

Wrapped in red with Pulcinello dancing on its cover is Bella Napoli. The perfect music to celebrate San Gennaro?s feast with. Your heart will be swept away with Franco Ricci’s ‘Te Voglio Bene Assaie,’ and ‘Santa Lucia,’ Sergio Bruni’s ‘LaTarantella’ and ‘O Sole Mio.’ Bella Napoli is a mix of sixteen classic Neapolitan songs by Italy’s most famous artists.

featured in Bonnie’s Bites August 2005

Limoncello liquer is made from the giant lemons of Southern Italy, in the Campania region which includes Sorrento, Postano, Capri and Amalfi. The delicious drink is served as an apertivo or after dinner digestive. Lemon groves, with unique sweet lemons, fill the latticed hillsides and gardens. These amazing lemons grow to be the size of a melon, and only the lemon zest is used in the production of this delicate liquer that is a favorite summer drink. The oil in the zest produces the wonderful taste of Lemoncello. This recipe makes two quarts.

I was so happy to find this recipe because several years ago I was given a collection of Limoncello cups as a gift from an Italian ceramic producer who’s business is in the Amalfi area, and I had no idea what to do with them. Thanks to my friends at cooking-vacations I have a new summer beverage to experiment with.

LIMONCELLO RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 pounds very fresh mottled green and yellow lemons, approximately
* 12 small to 8 large lemons.
* 1 quart grain alcohol
* 6 cups water
* 2 cups sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Peel the lemons with a sharp peeler. Use only the peel, and the the pith or it will be tart tasting.

Put lemon zest into a clean half-gallon jar with tight fitting lid. Pour alcohol inside. Let stand for one wweek in the sunlight, and shake the jar every day. When lemon zests are pale and crisp, yu have extracted all the oil. Strain the lemon flavored alcohol and discard the zest.

Continue by making a sugar syrup in a sauce pan by combining the water and suger. Stir over mediumheat until sugar is dissolved, and the syrup is clear. Do not boil, and let coll to room temperature. The Limoncello can be tasted immediately, but it is suggested it sit in a cool place for about a week. Serve it in tiny frosted Limoncello glasses or bowls that have been chilled in the freezer.

Salute!

© Scene Magazine
March/April 2005 Issue

If you love authentic Italian food and have sampled the cuisine at every North End restaurant, we’ve got another idea: say ‘arrivederci’ to Boston and travel to Italy for lessons with the masters. Sound like a dream vacation? Lauren Scuncio Birmingham makes it possible with her company Cooking Vacations Italy. Birmingham, a fifth generation Italian and owner of Birmingham Associates, provides an opportunity to experience Italian culture and learn true Italian cooking in it’s place of origin. Cooking Vacations Italy offers trips to Tuscany, Sicily, Campania and Rome, with programs tailored to your preference. Stay in a cozy villa amidst a lemon grove, learning to cook everything from antipasto to biscotti incorporating fresh Amalfi lemons. Or stay in a Tuscan hillside farmhouse, golf during the day and make fresh homemade pasta at night. The experience will leave you breathless and your new skills will impress as much as they entice. For more information visit www.cooking-vacations.com

By: Susan Van Allen

It’s rare to open the door to your home and be greeted by a cold blast of air that reeks of grape must that’s been fermenting for twenty-five years. The sharp smell sends such a tingle through your nostrils your eyes water.

But that’s what happened to me when I visited the villa of Giorgio Barbieri, who produces balsamic vinegar in his attic, or acetaia. My time with Barbieri was part of a three-day adventure in Emilia-Romagna, set up by Cooking Vacations International, where I got a backstage look at the region gourmets consider to be home to Italy’s finest cuisine. Here, along with balsamic vinegar producers, are dairies where Parmigiano-Reggiano is made, pig farms where Parma ham and proscuitto originate, orchards where prized Vignole cherries grow, and vineyards where Trebbiano grapes are cultivated.

I was based in the medieval town of Modena, at the modern Three-star Hotel Estense, perfectly located just steps away from the town’s historic center. This pedestrian only zone has a gracious, elegant vibe which centers around the Piazza Grande, featured recently in the funeral of Modena native, Luciano Pavarotti. Foodies flock here to enjoy the town’s impressive markets and shops and to eat excellently prepared regional dishes, including taglietelle with Bolognese sauce, tortellini, and pork sausage.

Though it was fantastic to mingle with the natives in the shops and restaurants, the highlight of my stay was to get one-on-one with the folks who produce Emilia-Romagna’s culinary treasures and get an insider’s peek at time honored traditions that have kept the quality of food here exceptional for centuries.

“One conducts an acetaia, one doesn’t own it … it’s a living thing,” Giorgio Barbieri told me, as he showed me around his vinegar loft. At 6′ 8", the genteel, slim, retired national volleyball player is a master conductor. Using a giant glass dropper, he meticulously decanted vinegar from one antique barrel to another, while explaining the vinegar-making process he learned from his grandmother. This involves judiciously transferring grape must from year to year, to barrels made of different woods, so a variety of flavors are absorbed into the liquid.

Barbieri is one of fifty-five producers approved by a government-run consortium to make what is considered the only real balsamic, labeled Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, and stamped DOP, which stands for Denomination of Protected Origin. A rigorous testing process must be undergone to meet the consortium’s standards. Barbieri’s vinegars, which he ages from twelve to twenty-five years, have always passed inspection.

“I’ve never had real balsamic vinegar before,” I said, amazed, when I tasted a demitasse spoonful he offered me. The thick, syrupy condiment burst with a balance of sweet and sour flavors that didn’t come close to what’s called balsamic in the states.

“It’s also the best thing for a sore throat,” Barbieri’s wife, Giovanna, told me, as she served lunch in the downstairs dining room. The dishes she’d prepared were all complemented by her husband’s balsamic—including pumpkin tortellini with sage butter and an arugula and apple salad. “Soldiers used to carry vials of it into battle, to use in case they got injured,” she added, drizzling a thick stream over chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The origins of Parmigiano-Reggiano can be traced back to the fourteenth century when Bocaccio wrote in the Decameron about a Land of Plenty, describing a hill of the region’s famous hard cheese. When I visited a Parma dairy, rather than a hill, I saw what Italians call a “Cheese Cathedral”—a vast warehouse where wheels are stacked to mature for twelve to thirty-six months, and the smell Italians call Piedi di Dio (God’s feet), is heavenly.

The young husband and wife team who ran the dairy were (like the Barbieris) friendly, but had little time to chat, as they were hard at work in the cheese-making process that has remained basically unchanged for 800 years. Like balsamic, government standards for Parmigiano-Reggiano are strict. It must be produced in a designated zone from cows fed only on locally grown hay or grass, and cheese-making has to begin within one hour after milking. Throughout the aging process, inspectors scrutinize each wheel to make sure it’s worthy of the DOP label.

Winemaking has been going on here since the Middle Ages, and I got a taste of it at Maria Bortolotti’s home, overlooking her vineyards. As we sat in her dining room and her son poured samples of the organic wines he produces, Maria insisted on giving me a taglietelle-making demonstration.

Like magic, she mixed egg and water with a mound of flour and in no time transformed the golden dough into thin delicate strands. Sure enough, there are even rules for pasta here: a taglietelle strand must measure eight millimeters wide. Maria proudly showed me with a ruler how hers were right on target.

I couldn’t resist applauding. She bowed her head—like all the natives I’d met, showing a sacred respect for a tradition that has made this delicious region deservedly famous.

By Susan Van Allen

There are four things one needs for a good life,” Enzo says, as we clink glasses on the terrace of his Il Mediterraneo restaurant in Positano. “They are wine, the sun, the sea, and amore.”

I take a sip of wine: a vibrant Falanghina from white grapes grown in nearby vineyards.

I stare off into the panorama: a brilliant sun setting into the shimmering sea.

Amore surrounds me, in the “join the famiglia” spirit of the restaurant. It emanates from owner Enzo’s dark sparkling eyes, his waiters (that include his son and daughter), and the packed terrace where diners sing along with a Neapolitan guitarist strumming “O Sole Mio.”.

“I have a very good life,” I say.

The Positano Dream

Author John Steinbeck wrote about visiting the quiet fishing village of Positano for Harper’s in 1953, summing up his experience with, “Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.”

The essay inspired American travelers to visit, and more than 50 years later, Positano has transformed into one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations.

Its geographical location, an hour south of Naples on the Amalfi Coast, is key to its allure. Dramatically tucked into a seaside gorge, its enticing windy roads and stairways are flanked by stone houses, restaurants and shops that are built into cliffs.

Navigating through Positano, a traveler has to surrender to old world rhythms, and there’s no escaping becoming awestruck by ocean views, quiet paths and balconies overflowing with flowering plants, beaches, and the happy spirits of its natives.

Cooking Vacations in Positano

On my recent visit, I signed on with Lauren Birmingham’s Cooking Vacations, to get an insider’s experience of the dream Steinbeck wrote about. Birmingham is the great granddaughter of Italian immigrants who came from this region and she grew up in Rhode Island, surrounded by their culinary and family traditions.

Her travels over many years to Italy, combined with her PR and marketing savvy, cooking talent, and passion for discovering the country’s best chefs, are what lead to her creating Cooking Vacations International. The company (dedicated to her great grandmother), offers authentic culinary experiences to travelers up and down the boot.

Positano is the home base for Birmingham’s successful enterprise. She’s created a range of programs here that include a week-long Lemon Lifestyles course, where cooking classes pay homage to the Amalfi Coast’s prized fruit, to a Renaissance Women program, which features lectures about Renaissance women, along with classes in painting, journaling, photography, and cooking.

All her itineraries include escorted side-trips to the gems surrounding Positano — be it a boat trip to Capri, chauffer driven rides to Ravello, Amalfi, Sorrento, or Pompeii, and visits to ceramic makers and lemon groves.

Living the Dream

I showed up eager to get a taste of Birmingham’s offerings, which brought me into a circle of welcoming natives from that first night’s dinner at Il Mediterraneo. Though my schedule wasn’t such that I could enroll in a full program, Birmingham customized my Positano days with accommodations, a cooking class, meals in the town’s best restaurants and expert guidance for my free time.

The Cooking VacationsBed and Breakfast was an ideal base to immerse myself in serene Positano pleasures. Located a 20-minute walk from the town center, its terraced grounds are landscaped with lush bougainvillea, lemon and olive trees, and a few sweet kittens wandering about to add to its homey atmosphere.

I’d wake up to birdsongs, take in the dramatic ocean view from my terrace, and be tempted to stay put and cancel all plans for the day.

A Lemon Lifestyles Class

On the other hand, when a handsome chauffer showed up in a shiny black Mercedes for a morning drive up the coast for class, thoughts about lounging around disappeared.

In Massa Lubrense, a hilltop village on the outskirts of Sorrento, I landed in the Gargiulo family villa. Mamma Rosa began cooking class in the heart of the home, the huge white-tiled kitchen, with a demonstration of mozzarella making.

With smooth, assured moves and her engaging smile, she transformed a big bowl of milk into cheese, astounding us with a traditional practice that’s been carried on in her family for generations.

An idyllic after school lunch on the terrace featured that fresh made cheese, garden grown vegetables Mamma Rosa’s sisters grilled on a wood-burning stove, baskets of thick-crusted bread and pitchers of white wine from their vineyards.

For desert, Mamma Rosa served her homemade lemon cake and gave us a simple lesson in making the Amalfi Coast’s famous liqueur, limoncello.

A walk through the villa’s lemon groves, lead by Mamma Rosa’s son, Antonio, followed. We strolled through narrow paths, shaded by chestnut wood pergolas that are built to protect the lemons from the elements, as Antonio launched into a passionate monologue about grafting techniques he uses to explore and develop new flavors.

Lemon cultivation is taken very seriously in these parts, with the Italians giving Amalfi Coast lemons IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) status, meaning that their production, processing and distribution are strictly controlled.

Dining Pleasures

“You’ve got to have the white fish grilled on the lemon leaf,” Birmingham said as we settled in for dinner at Le Tre Sorelle restaurant.

I’ve enjoyed dinners here before on previous visits, but this meal, where we were catered to by owner Salvatore, trumped all others. The restaurant is set adjacent to Positano’s main beach, and with its candlelit tables, fresh fish and pastas, it attracts crowds of loyal natives and tourists who know they’ll get a quality meal and a great time each time they visit.

Our dinner stretched on late into the warm starry night, beginning with that delicious grilled fish, followed by spaghetti con frutti di mare, and wonderfully seasoned eggplant.

Il Dolce Far Niente

The Arienzo beach, a 250-step walk from my Positano digs, turned out to be the spot where I indulged in what the Italians call Il Dolce Far Niente, the sweetness of doing nothing.

I rented an umbrella and chair, and flopped down in the quiet cove intending to read an old New Yorker. Instead I was lulled into a euphoric state by the sounds of gently lapping water and simply ended up lying there blissfully until lunchtime.

Lucky for me, Melody (Birmingham’s assistant), had given me the advice that, “Ada’s Arienzo beach gnocchi is the best in Positano.” The beach snack bar was only steps away from my lounging paradise, and the gnocchi turned out to be the topper to a dream of a day.

“Fantastico,” I told Ada, after my first tastes. The lovely, energetic signora was even patient enough to bear with me as I practiced my Italian, laughing along as I launched into a stuttering rhapsody about how this was the best beach lunch I’d ever had, completely different from the hot dogs typically served in seaside spots back where I come from.

Wanderings Beyond Positano

Energized by rest and great food, I took Birmingham’s advice to guide me to places near my Positano home. It felt great to hike on the footpath above Positano, called “The Walk of the Gods,” where steep steps shaded by olive trees offered me even more amazing coastal views and brought me to the town of Nocelle.

Outside the tiny village church, kids kicked soccer balls while old men in caps, seated on stone benches, gave me friendly buon giornos.

“I have an aunt in New Jersey,” the woman who ran the local grocery told me. She scribbled down her aunt’s address, convinced that even though I told her I lived in California, the two of us would find each other.

On another afternoon, I took a 20 minute ferry ride to Amalfi, to check out Eva Caruso’s paper shop, located right next to the impressive Duomo. Eva (another of Birmingham’s friends) is an elegant signorina with spectacular dark eyes and a passion for the Amalfi tradition of papermaking.

Her shop features beautifully crafted shelves of her handmade stationery, leather bound journals and photo albums.

I happened to be there at dinner time, and the Taverna degli Apostoli, just outside Eva’s shop, seemed a natural choice. It turned out Eva’s boyfriend ran the place.

So there I sat, overlooking the opera-set-like Amalfi piazza, as the church bells rang for a full ten minutes, while Eva, who’d closed her shop, took on her waitressing job and ended up serving me an exquisite dinner of Caprese salad and homemade sausage.

A Reluctant Departure

As Steinbeck said, “Positano bites deep.” To ease my departure I bought a Metro del Mare ferry ticket to Naples and pulled away from the Marina Grande slowly on a foggy morning.

It gave me the chance to have one last long look and to wave arrivederci, sending out a grazie mille to all the people I’d met, with heartfelt wishes to return to this paradise soon.

For info about Cooking Vacations programs visit www.cooking-vacations.com .

Taking the same boring vacation to the same spot each year can take the excitement out of traveling. You have already done the cruise thing and the beach thing. It is now time to do something different. It may be just you, or a trip with the whole family or just a friend. It could also be a romantic getaway for you and your loved one. What vacation comes to mind? Cooking vacations can offer just what you need to recharge your batteries, while learning some new culinary delights. You get the opportunity to travel and enjoy what the culinary community has to offer. One website to check out is www.cooking-vacations.com.

Before getting into what cooking vacations are, it is best to state what they are not. You will not be attending the best culinary school in the country. That is not what these vacations are, nor is it what they are intended to be. You may be traveling in France and Italy, yet you will not be attending Italian cooking schools or French cooking schools that teach formal food preparation.

Now for what these vacations are and what they mean to you as the vacationer. You can expect several different programs and options when booking one of these vacations. They include: Italian tours, women only tours, Todd English tours, kids programs, corporate tours, couples and French tours.

The website has a listing of each different location that is offered on each particular tour. You may want to visit Southern Italy and feast in the open air kitchens that offer far more than just a scenic view. The one thing in common with all of the programs is that each locale features an organic garden so that you will be cooking seasonal foods and foods indigenous to that particular region.

The website also offers recipes from the different regions, as well as travel tips and much, much more. If you are a fan of Italian and French cooking, then this may be the vacation that you have dreamed of taking. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the regions and to have the chance to cook in the kitchens of such places as rustic farmhouses or luxurious estates.

Owner and creator Lauren Scuncio Birmingham designed the tours with a love of food and travel. You can be part of this experience by booking a vacation at www.cooking-vacations.com. Cooking vacations may be the best opportunity to truly experience a culture of food and festivities. As the website says, “la dolce vita is not just a special vacation it is a way of life.”

I am of Italian-American descent, travel to Italy often and have found Lauren to be a great resource. Her programs offer travelers authentic Italian experiences and individualized customer care which combine to make for a wonderful vacation. Compared to other group tours I’ve taken, which feature restaurants that cater mostly to tourists and rush travelers around from place to place, Cooking-Vacations provides a way for travelers to have a relaxing adventure in Italy that captures the true essence of this exquisite country. Last May, I participated in her Puglia Cooking Vacation. I have a special interest in the area, as my grandmother was born in Bari and wanted to get an insider’s experience of the area. The program’s base, in the town of Conversano, was ideal. It’s a beautifully restored Medieval town with fantastic restaurants, picturesque whitewashed alleys and lovely churches. The accommodations at the Corte Alta Villa were top-notch — large comfortable rooms, great service, and a lavish breakfast buffet.

Susan Van Allen, Journalist “Tastes Of Italia”

Photograph Italian Culinary Institue,

All Rights Reserved Courtesy of Cooking and Living

June / July 2005 Issue

As I write my story, I am still in awe about what happened to me on my journey to Italy. I will begin my story with my grandmother, Lucia Scuncio, whom I did not know. She died of influenza when my mother, Philomena, was only 5 years old. I knew of her only in a photograph that I was given two years ago by a distant cousin, and that her grave number was 1648. The journey started here.

After doing research in the archives, I discovered her death certificate and learned that she died September 30, 1913. The same week, my daughter Gina told me she was expecting a baby and that her due date was September 30. Chloe Lucia was born September 30, the date my grandmother died. The nurse who took care of my daughter and our miracle baby was named Lucia.

These coincidences sent me on a mission to Italy. After spending two wonderful weeks in Sorrento with my husband and daughter, we decided to visit Prata Sannita on the last Wednesday of the vacation, a small town in Caserta where my grandparents were born. As we approached the paese, my heart and soul were in a state of disbelief that I would be visiting the place where my grandparents were born.

We traveled to City Hall to inquire about my grandparents, Pasquale and Lucia Scuncio. As we asked for the birth certificates of my grandparents, a young woman behind us in line spoke out. She told us she was Maria Rosa Scuncio. “I am your cousin,” she said. She was there at the exact same time getting a certificate for her daughter, Antonella.

The feelings that we all experienced that moment are unexplainable. It was a miracle, a gift from God. Everyone was crying, and this moment in time reunited a family. I knew in my heart that my grandmother had taken me by the hand—from the moment I was given her photograph to my destination in Prata Sannita.

We visited six Scuncio families, going from house to house. I saw the house where my grandfather was born. We had dinner at Maria Rosa’s house with everything fresh from their land— antipasti, pasta, meats, cheese, wine; and most of all a warmth and love none of us had ever experienced.

As we left for Sorrento that night, the tears of joy and love overwhelmed us. It was a place in time that God gave to me to find my roots. My daughter Lauren now visits my family often. She has also fallen in love with Italy and has a passion of her own, called Cooking Vacations—a venture she is pursuing to help people visit this beautiful part of our universe. Our family now calls one another frequently —we share recipes and photographs, and we visit often. My life circle is now complete.