Active Gourmet Holidays JoAnn Gaidosz
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Active Gourmet Holidays offers the finest in culinary and active travel. Search our site for cooking vacations, food and wine tours, active tours and everything in between. We will help you to choose the right tour for you, whether it be hiking in Provence during lavender season or looking for precious truffles in Italy with a truffle sniffing dog!



NEW! Bordeaux Gourmand- Bordeaux, France - 6 nights

Enjoy a fully escorted seven day culinary and wine tour offering you luxurious accommodations in a 19th century Chateaux, hands-on cooking classes, wine tastings and wine education and discovering this exquisite region of France. This program is perfect for travelers  interested in fine cuisine, Bordeaux wines and the French “Art de vivre”. Limited to eight participants.
 Available May and July

Cooking, Hiking and Yoga - Arles, France - 5 nights

 Arles is one of the most captivating cities of all of Provence. Treat yourself to a week of culinary lessons, hiking and yoga as you discover this special area of France. Learn to cook from a native chef who will show you the beauty and simplicity of authentic Provençal cuisine. Enjoy yoga in the mornings before you begin your day and go on hikes that will help you appreciate the scents and colors of Provence.
Available May and September - Sunday to Friday

Painting in Provence - Provence, France - 6 nights

Enjoy a week of painting and gourmet food in one of the most beautiful regions of the world, Provence. Your guide and instructor will take you to the most breathtaking sites and teach you techniques that you can carry with you anywhere in the world. Perhaps it will be a poppy, sunflower or lavender field, but in any case you will have incredible scenery and will also enjoy the flavours and scents of this beautiful region of France.
 Available year round - Monday to Sunday


NEW!  Cycling and Cooking in Provence

Looking for a way to fit serious "cycling on-your-own" around a cooking program? Active Gourmet Holidays is now partnering with a Provence cycling company in an effort to bring you Cycling and Cooking options in Provence. You will be provided with custom cycling routes and bike rentals. Ride routes detail a wide variety of options, all using the best local roads to avoid traffic and take in the best scenery and cycling challenges. Why take a week to find the best roads? The rental bikes are top quality carbon-aluminum and full-carbon frames with Campagnolo ten-speed groups -- you'll be happy you didn't drag your bike to Europe! Your bikes will be delivered to most locations in Provence. For more information, please inquire.
 Available weekly from May 20 to September 30 (3 day minimum)

Secret Le Marche - Le Marche, Italy - 7 nights

Discover the unspoilt region of Le Marche, a well kept secret of Italy. You will take cooking classes from an English-born chef who has made this special place her home. Your classes will take place in a grand 17th century ‘casa padronale’ lovingly restored by the owners and you will stay in a beautiful renovated agriturismo, which are typical rustic farmhouses that dot the Italian landscape.
Available May to July, September - Friday to Friday/Saturday to Saturday
SPECIAL! SAVE $500 on the the May 12-19 or May 19-26 programs when you reserve by April 6.

The October Truffle Festival - Bologna, Italy - 7 nights

 Travel in three marvelous culinary regions and dine in exquisite top Michelin-starred restaurants. Cooking classes take place in a stunning sixteenth-century palace in the historic center of Bologna. Learn techniques for multi-course food and wine pairing meals, create specialties from the north, central and southern regions of Italy! Featured on Food Network and Fine Living.
 Available October 7-14 - Sunday to Sunday
 

Classic Tuscan Cookery Lessons - Tuscany, Italy - 7 nights

Learn authentic Italian cooking while staying in a magnificent villa located in a secluded part of Tuscany. Immerse yourself into the culture and ways of this very special countryside. Your week will consist of cookery lessons, visits to food producers and the finest food and wine the land has to offer.
Available April to October - Saturday to Saturday
 

Culinary Arts in Tuscany - Tuscany, Italy - 6 nights

Stay in a beautiful medieval Tuscan village, set amongst olive groves and vineyards. You will learn the secrets of creating authentic Southern Tuscan dishes as well as gaining some expertise in recognizing the famous wines of the region and even go on a truffle hunt. All classes are hands-on, include local wine and are taught in a traditional Tuscan kitchen.
Available year round
 

IN THE NEWS
 
*The annual Gold Kist National Winning Taste Recipe Contest has chosen ACTIVE GOURMET HOLIDAYS as their sponsor in providing the Grand Prize to the recipe contest winners. Four winners will receive a week long cooking vacation in Provence, "The Perfumes, Colours and Flavours of the Luberon" with Chef Patrick Payet. ACTIVE GOURMET HOLIDAYS is being featured in the March subscriber issues of Woman's Day, Good Housekeeping and Redbook magazines and will be promoted in major supermarkets across the country.
 
ACTIVE GOURMET HOLIDAYS was honored to be chosen for an annual fundraising event for the LEAP foundation in New Haven, CT on March 7. Jo-Ann Gaidosz, along with 24 other special guests, were all hosted by for dinner by volunteers in different homes around the area. The attendees of each of the dinners across the city came in support of this event to help inner city youths in New Haven. The hosts who volunteered for Jo-Ann's group made a spectacular gourmet dinner based on the cuisine of Spain.  Great food, great wine and new friends -- all with a common goal which is to give back to the community!


 
RECIPE OF THE MONTH - COOKING AND GASTRONOMY IN SORRENTO

CANNELLONI ALLA BIAGIO
 Active Work Time 1½ hours; Total Prep Time 1¾ hours
Serves 4

CANNELLONI PASTA
375 grams all-purpose flour
125 grams durum wheat semolina flour, plus extra
5 eggs
Water
1. On flat work surface, mix both flours together; form well.
2. Put eggs in center. Mix with hands, gradually taking small portion of flour into the center to combine with eggs. Add splash of water if dough becomes too dry.
3. Continue to work dough until it’s well blended and compact.
4. Cut dough in 2 pieces; form squares about width of pasta machine; dust well with extra semolina flour.
5. Feed dough through pasta machine set on #1; fold in half; repeat.
6. Dust with flour, feed dough through machine set on #3. Dough will begin to thin and lengthen.
7. Dust with flour; arrange dough in ribbon folds; feed into machine on #5.
8. Cut into 10-centimeter strips. Repeat process until all pasta has been cut.
9. Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
10. Remove pasta from pot; dip in bowl of cold water to stop cooking; place on oiled wax paper.

FILLING
500 grams chopped beef
Salt
Finely ground black pepper
400 grams ricotta cheese
250 grams mozzarella
½ cup Pecorino cheese, grated
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
Béchamel sauce

1. In large frying pan, brown meat over medium/high heat until completely cooked; drain excess fat.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes.
4. Add ricotta, mozzarella, Pecorino, Parmesan and eggs; mix well; set aside.
5. Add enough béchamel sauce to make a creamy filling. Reserve remaining sauce; set
aside.

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
25 grams butter
1 tablespoon flour
200 milliliters milk
Salt
Finely ground pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg

1. In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
2. Add flour; stir.
3. Add milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously until all ingredients are combined and smooth.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste and dash of nutmeg; stir until creamy.

TOMATO SAUCE
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1200 grams canned Italian peeled tomatoes, crushed
1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

1. In saucepan heat oil over high heat until hot, about 1 minute.
2. Add garlic and onion; sauté 1 minute.
3. Add crushed tomatoes, basil, salt and sugar; stir well. Cook over medium heat 25 minutes.

CANNELLONI CONSTRUCTION

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree C.
2. Working on oiled wax paper, lay out strips of pasta.
3. Using a pastry bag, pipe 8 centimeters of filling along pasta strip.
4. Roll up pasta around filling. Continue until all pasta and filling has been used.
5. Spread a few spoons of tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish.
6. Arrange cannelloni in dish; top with tomato sauce. Drizzle with a little additional béchamel sauce and Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake 30 minutes, or until cannelloni is hot. Serve immediately.

Cooking Tip of the Month: Anyone who knows me well, knows I enjoy wine - a hearty, full bodied wine to be exact! So, it goes without saying that when a recipe calls for wine, do not even think about using cooking wine from the supermarket, and do not use any wine that you wouldn't drink! It really does make a difference!





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