Classic Journeys’ Quartet of Culinary Tours
Classic Journeys offers four culinary tours for 2010: Amalfi Coast and Tuscany in Italy, Napa & Sonoma in California and Provence in France. Departures start in April, with the last leaving October 17, 2010. These itineraries were designed with the food-lover in mind and include casual cooking instructions…plus visits to markets, vineyards, bakers, cheesemakers and the like. And, for you Road Trip Foodies who travel with non-cooking spouses, all offer options for companions who don’t want to spend time in the kitchen, as well as walks and visits to sights of historic and scenic interest.
This recipe from Tuscany is typical of what you’ll be learning to prepare on the journey:
Polenta and Mushroom Crostini
Ingredients:
300 g (10 oz) small porcini mushrooms
extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1 sprig calamint
maize meal polenta
Clean the mushrooms carefully, removing the earth from the stalks and lightly scraping the caps. Rinse them quickly in water and dry well. Once dry, finely chop the mushrooms. In a small pan add three tablespoonfuls of oil, 2 cloves of garlic, a sprig of calamint, the finely chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cover, and cook over a moderate heat for 20 minutes, then take off the saucepan lid and let the contents thicken. Cut the polenta into little rectangles (about 7/8 cm by 5/6 cm) and fry them in olive oil (you can also grill them). Dress the polenta with the mushroom sauce. Serve hot. (Calamint is a perennial herb in the mint family, so go ahead and substitute another mint if you can’t find it.)