The 60 Minute Gourmet If your holiday has been anything like ours, I am sure you have had enough marvelously rich food to tide you over till, say, March. Between the gratins and the roasts, the puddings and cookies and cakes, the holidays encourage eating…

The Duomo all lit up on a Sunday night. Italy outside the Freccia’s windows Once I left the Viking Star in Venice, I travelled across Northern Italy by bullet train to Milano, or so I hoped.  Unfortunately, a World War IIbomb was discovered at Brescia,…

  I like cooking Chinese food at home.  And I had an overwhelming desire to do so after my stay in Milano last month.  My Italian ‘sister’, Sofia has a real problem with gluten.  This, unfortunately, removes a great deal of Italian food from her…

Chef Brian Luscher            We’re not eating nearly as much beef as we used to.  But that doesn’t mean we’ve given it up altogether.  These days, when I do cook beef, I like it to really give it flavor.  When I saw this recipe…

         The grill has long since been put away.  But the grill pan does an admirable job of crisping the skin and giving us, if not the real thing, a taste of summer.  In this easy dish that takes under 30 minutes to make, the…

         I have sung the praises of The East End Mushroom Company more than once.  I have the greatest affection for Jane Maguire and John Quigley who have put heart and soul into their company.  They now offer shiitake, maitake and blue oyster mushrooms grown…

         The last port of call on Viking Star’s Mediterranean Odyssey was Venice.  Beautiful Venezia, La Serenissima, so-called because the once all-powerful city state was referred to in Italian as the Most Serene Republic of Venice or Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia. No matter how many…

A Bas-Relief Map of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s Palace helps you get your bearings in Split          The Bell Tower of the Cathedral ofSt. Domnius dares from 1100 AD When I was growing up there was a rivalry between my hometown of Montreal and…

Rumfest’s Ding Dong Cake in a blaze of glory          Every year, our friend Jayne’s Birthday Celebration is declared Rumfest.  That’s a combination of her maiden name and the fact that Jayne’s Birthday is never confined to a single day. It seems to carry on…

         Of the six countries on Viking Star’s Mediterranean Odyssey, the only one I had never visited was Croatia, better known to its inhabitants as Hrvatska.   We made two stops there along the stretch of the country that makes up the Dalmatian Coast.  This where the…

  On our Sea Day, we sailed past Stromboli at Sunrise. Called “The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean”,Stromboli is one of Italy’s 3 active volcanoes as seen in the steam rising from its core. Viking Star docked in Venice  There is only one sea day on…

        We sailed into Naples, mid-morning.  There is a famous quote about Naples…”Vide Napoli e Mori” which translates to “See Naples and Die”.  The phrase is not attributed to any author and is meant to suggest that once you’ve beheld the beauties…

Some things in Rome are eternal.  Like St. Peter’s and Vatican City           Others. like Campo de’Fiori are not so. For years, I’ve actively avoided going anywhere near Rome.  Despite travel to Italy over the years, I wanted to lock Rome in…

David, 500 year old hunk          Initially, I’d signed up for a tour that took its participants into the countryside where we’d tour a winery and make ‘afternoon snacks’ called ‘marende’.  Now I lived in Italy and have gone there several times afterwards and I…