Welcome to the Cooking Vacations Marketplace featuring hand-selected artisan products from Italy, and Lauren’s cookbook.
“It’s a Dream Place – Stories of Food, Love and the Amalfi Coast”
By Lauren A. Birmingham
See pages here
Elizabeth Berg, NY Times best selling author calls Lauren’s cookbook:
Elizabeth Berg, award-winning New York Times bestselling author says, “This is a dream cookbook. Who in the world wouldn’t want to try ‘Catch of the Day for a Beautiful Woman of the Sea?’ But in addition to being a cookbook, it’s a slice of life from the impossibly beautiful Amalfi Coast: how it looks, how it feels, how the interactions with the people there are so soulful and rewarding. It takes a particular kind of person to attract the kinds of magical stories Lauren Birmingham Piscitelli does. And it takes something more to get chefs to give up their recipes. Call this author not only a charming writer, but a sorceress whose company in these pages we are privileged to keep.”
Spanning 372 stunning pages filled with the culinary artistry of Michelin-Star Chef Andrea Migliaccio (Executive Culinary Chef at Capri Palace), Lauren’s mom, and Italian artisans and winemakers, this book is a treasure trove of stories, recipes, and colorful photographs of the Amalfi Coast and Capri. It’s not just Lauren’s exploration of Italian cuisine that enthralls but her heartfelt stories of family, friendship, and her profound love for Italy.
Lauren’s stories of family, friends, her love of Italy and Italian cooking make this so much more than just a cookbook. It is a celebration of life, love, food, eating and la dolce vita that’s guaranteed to make you want to book the next flight to the Amalfi Coast. A gifted storyteller, Lauren brings to life the people, sights, and flavors of Italy in this one-of-a-kind cookbook. To purchase a copy or would like a signed copy – Order Here
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Our Cooking Vacations’ olive oil begins in the olive grove with hard work and passion throughout the four seasons. We care and cultivate 600 trees, some over 100 years old, that grow in rich volcanic soil following biodynamic and organic farming to keep the soil healthy under the warm Mediterranean sun touched by a gentle sea breeze.
In autumn, the harvest begins at sunrise. Nets are spread beneath the trees and passionate men and women pick the olives by hand. They climb tall wooden ladders and gently coax the olives off the silvery green branches with wooden astrelli, traditional olive-harvesting rakes. At mezzogiorno, a picnic lunch is served with vino locale, local wine, and dolce and espresso. When the day’s work is done, the gorgeous olives are quickly brought to the frantoio, olive mill, where they are cold-pressed into extra virgin, olive oil. The cold press process gives a low acidity level and protects them from oxidation. The olive oil is then bottled in dark green glass bottles protecting it from sunlight.
At the mill, everyone celebrates the Olio Nuovo, new oil, drizzling it on artisan bread with a small pinch of sea salt. Our olive oil is made with a blend of Leccino, Curatora, Frantoio and Coratina olives creating an intensely fragrant oil with an emerald-green hue and delicate notes of almond and artichoke. It is a celebration of the harvest, the land and the people who bring it to life—from our farmer Salvatore to our friends and family who gather each autumn to pick the olives.
Our olive oil is available in classic extra, as well as Amalfi Coast Sfusato lemons, chili pepper and rosemary olive oils. The minimum order is six bottles.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin first cold- pressed olive oil offers fresh green olive oil with hints of artichoke and almond. Extra virgin olive oil adds a big flavor to antipasto, pasta, risotto, fish, meat and cheese, and is a healthy ingredient in Mediterranean cooking.
| $25 | 500 ml. |
| $35 | 750 ml. |
Lemon Olive Oil
Sfusato limone, Amalfi Coast lemons, are gently pressed into the olive oil for a fresh light citrus flavor. Accent your pizza, pasta, fish, meat and cheese with our lemon olive oil and you’ll be dreaming of Positano!
| $25 | 500 ml. |
| $35 | 750 ml. |
Rosemary Olive Oil
Wild Mediterranean rosemary is pressed into the olive oil giving it a delicate and fresh flavor. Drizzle rosemary oil on focaccia, fish, chicken, meat and roasted potatoes, and transform your ingredients into a delicious Mediterranean fare!
| $25 | 500 ml. |
| $35 | 750 ml. |
Red Chilli Pepper Olive Oil
Olio al pepperoncino, red chilli peppers, grown in the volcanic soil of Vesuvius are pressed with the olive oil. Drizzle chilli pepper olive oil on pizza, pasta, meat and fish, and you’ll be cooking like an Italian mamma!
| $25 | 500 ml. |
| $35 | 750 ml. |
Gift Certificates
Give the gift of cooking!!!
Gift certificates make the perfect gift for birthdays,
anniversaries, weddings, mothers’ and fathers’ Day,
graduations, Valentine’s Day, or just because!
Available in any amount for online cooking classes, cooking tours, one day classes, wine tastings, guided tours, and food lover’s walks – to name a few.