|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
To ensure delivery of your Active Gourmet Holidays emails, be sure to add
info@activegourmetholidays.com to your Address Book or "Known Senders" list!
THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS HERE!
Everyone knows someone whose
passion is cooking, food and wine, the outdoors
or traveling. Why not SURPRISE
THEM WITH A CULINARY TRIP? Active Gourmet Holidays' trips are the perfect
Christmas, honeymoon, anniversary or birthday gift for the
special people in your lives.
2007 DATES AND PRICES are now being posted. For questions on
specific tours, please contact 1.203.732.0771   NEW!
Rhode School of Cuisine
- Villa Lucia - Tuscany, Italy - 6 nightsVilla Lucia and the Rhode School of Cuisine invite you to Tuscany for an unforgettable week of culinary instruction, gourmet food, luxurious accommodations and stunning surroundings. Learn to prepare, cook and present fascinating traditional and new dishes with your chef or just relax around the grounds. In addition, you will experience the history and beauty of Tuscany. Available April to June, September and October - Sunday to Saturday  NEW!
Cooking in the
South of France
- Uzès, France -
6 nightsSpend a memorable culinary week at a charming 17th century farmhouse in the South of France near the beautiful medieval village of Uzes. Your hostess, renowned chef, author and broadcaster Peta Mathias will teach you the secrets of the cuisine of the South of France. You will stay in a hotel du charme and experience all that is French. Available May, June, September, October
 NEW!
Ciclismo Cucina Tuscany
- Tuscany, Italy - 7 nightsSample the most authentic Tuscan cuisine as we pedal our way from cucina to trattoria to picnic al fresco. Tuscany sets the standard for all Italian cooking: its balance between traditional recipes and a creative use of classic ingredients results in Italy's most renowned cuisine. Matthew Abdoo, chef of Marco in Boston, headlines our cooking season in Tuscany. As we pedal through the very fields and vineyards that inspire our menus, our meals include grilled artichokes, pancetta, pappa al pomodoro, and green fava beans paired with sharp pecorino. Touring with our Guest Chef gives us a special perspective on Tuscany. Not only do we enjoy hands-on cooking lessons, but we also have the chance to share informal; discussions over a glass of wine, or perhaps the unexpected pleasure of cracking open a fresh chestnut that our chef discovers as he bikes along the routes with us each day. Featured on The Food Network. Available May, September, October NEW!
Loire Cooking with Chef Frederic
- Loire Valley - 5 nights  NEW!
Culinary Arts in Tuscany
- (Options: Day Cooking Classes, Art and Cooking Four
Day Tour, Chianti Two Day Tour) - Tuscany, Italy - 6 nightsStay 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. All classes are hands-on, include local wine and are taught in a traditional Tuscan kitchen. Available year round
IN THE NEWS
ACTIVE GOURMET HOLIDAYS has just been awarded the Better Business
Bureau's "EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS CONSUMER EDUCATION AWARD" and was
honored at the Annual Awards Dinner on October 26, 2006.
*The
annual Gold Kist National 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.
*The Southern Ohio Chapter
of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is hosting its third annual "Taste
of the World Wine & Beer Festival”. The event includes an
Active Gourmet
Holidays European Culinary Trip Raffle Grand Prize. The raffle grand
prize is a fabulous seven-night, eight-day European culinary destination for
two. The winner can choose between a trip to Provence or Tuscany.
French Cookery Classes - Northern Loire, France - 5 nights  Breathtaking
French countryside, fun filled cookery lessons, gastronomic delights, fine
wines, a beautifully renovated farmhouse, interesting conversation with new
friends. Take part in five days of hands-on gourmet cooking instruction to
enhance your confidence and knowledge in the kitchen. What more could one ask
for?Available March to June, August to November - Saturday to Thursday RECIPE OF THE MONTH -
PROVENCAL GOURMAND
Tian de Courge/Potimaron - Baked Squash
This recipe has proven to be one of the favorites of our students this fall, and apparently also of their happy dinner guests once they return home!
Ingredients 1/3 cup olive oil In a large deep frying pan, pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom, reserving the rest for later. Turn your flame up to medium high, and add the bacon bits and onions. Sautee till the onions are sweated and the bacon cooked. Add the squash and the remaining oil, and saute over a medium flame, allowing them to lightly brown, for 10-15 minutes. They should start to become tender. Now remove the squash from the flame, fold in the bay leaves, the minced garlic, and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a baking dish/tian/gratin dish and place in the oven at 400F or 200C. Let bake for 30 minutes, or till tender. When just about done, drizzle the honey over the top, return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or till the honey caramelizes.  ***ACTIVE
GOURMET HOLIDAYS has partnered with the famous Villa San Michele Cookery
School in Florence and will host a special culinary week next fall,
September 23-28, 2007. Look
for more details in future newsletters on the "Active Gourmet Goes Tuscan" Culinary
Week. Limited availability.Also, you asked for more YOGA holidays and we are following through. Look for Cooking and Yoga programs in Le Marche and Tuscany". Details to follow. Please inquire. Click here to refer a friend to this site. |
 |
NEW!
A visit to France at Christmas time and New Year's is both magical and
memorable. The Christmas market in Narbonne lines the banks of the canal du
Robine; the bridges and streets are skirted with thousands of white Christmas
trees turning this pretty Roman town into a winter wonder-land. Christmas
evolves around midnight Mass whether in a tiny village church or the grand
gothic cathedral of Narbonne.
Join your hosts for a holiday celebration at their beautiful 17th century Chateau for fabulous wines,
gourmet food, cooking lessons if you wish, and a traditional English Christmas dinner.
The
Squash, the pumpkin, and all its varieties is of course, an import from the
new world. But, we have at least 200 years of enjoying this hearty fall
vegetable in Provence. The most popular preparations are either in
soup/potage or as a gratin or tian. In Provence there are now many different
squash available on the market. The most abundant is the Potiron which most
resembles a pumpkin, but has a slightly more watery flesh. This grows to
quite large proportions and the vegetable sellers sell it by the kilo, in
large slices. More rare, but much more flavorful with a meatier flesh is the
Potimaron. It can be either orange or green skinned, and is 6-10 inches in
diameter, and quite dense, thus heavy in your shopping basket.