Travels with Tricia

Category: Food and Drink

  • A chef, wearing a green hat and uniform, holds a tray of bright yellow souffles, preparing to put them in an oven.

    Mouth-Watering Modena: A Cooking Class in Italy

    “Secrets, especially with cooking, are best shared so that the cuisine lives on.” Bo Songvisava Having just thrown back a rich shot of espresso, we slipped into black ‘Chef for a Day’ aprons. Our cooking class in Modena, Italy had officially begun. In strolled our instructor, Chef Massimiliano ‘Max’ Telloli of the Osteria Stallo del Pomodoro…

  • Edible Art: The Fresh Market of Modena, Italy

    In some ways, the Mercato Albinelli in Modena, Italy is less like a covered market and more like a gallery showcasing fine art. One artist exhibits his prize, plump strawberries; another her handmade golden tortelloni; while another puts the finishing touches on links of sausage. “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”  George Bernard Shaw…

  • Delicious History: Zinfandel Wine & Octopus Peka in Kaštela, Croatia

    As our friend’s car propelled us up the jagged slopes of Kozjak Mountain in Croatia’s Dalmatia region, we struggled to steady our cameras enough to document the increasingly-magnificent view. Simultaneously fearing for the health of my friend’s tires which risked being ruptured on the rocky dirt road, I marveled at the panorama along this stretch of…

  • Krolo Winery: Slow Food and Wine in the Croatian Countryside

    In a cozy country winery near the town of Trilj, where Croatia’s Continental and Mediterranean climates meet, winemaker Dražan Krolo of Vinarija Krolo is making magic with Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and Zinfandel grapes. Together, with our friend, Srđan of the Art of Wine, we journeyed to the Krolo’s country home in the Dalmatian hinterland not…

  • A man pushes 6 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese at the Hombre Farm near Modena, Italy.

    Photo du Jour: Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese on the Move – Modena, Italy

    A Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese-maker transports approximately 230 kilos (500 pounds) of the prized cheese at the Hombre Farm outside of Modena, Italy. An organic wheel of this magnificent cheese sells for approximately 700 Euros ($975 USD), and is typically aged for 24 months. Hombre is able to produce about twelve of these wheels a day. We…

  • Fresh Delights: A Cooking Class in Split, Croatia

    Jakša Bedalov’s earliest winemaking memory was when he was just five years old. Tasked with cleaning his family’s fermentation room near the coastal Croatian city of Split, Jakša remembers his father pushing him so that he could squeeze into the small space. It was a challenging feat since he was a broad-shouldered child. “It was like being…