travel week

The best drink to pair with your Ethiopian meal is Tej. It's known as "honey wine," but is actually a mead that is indigenous produced from pure wild flower honey and specialty hops imported from Ethiopia. It's pale yellow and contains no carbonation. If you can't find a bottle near you, you can purchase it online at brotherhood winery for $11 (thanks HonestMuffin!), or you can do the next best thing and make a batch of your own. read more

When planning your next vacation, why not do something a little off the beaten pack? I don't mean camping in some unheard of destination, I'm talking about a culinary adventure. Instead of choosing a place for its renowned museums, gorgeous beaches, or ancient architecture, select your travel spot based on the local cuisine! If it sounds crazy, think again: culinary vacations are a fast growing trend. Sure you can eat your way through the best restaurants in Paris, New York, and Rome, but wouldn't it be much cooler to stay in a teeny chateau in the French countryside and learn authentic Provencal cooking? Or how about learning to make wine in sun soaked Tuscany? For all that and more scroll through my top ten foodie destinations list and then click on each one for the reason why you need to go there now!

For more on creating your own culinary vacation check out gourmet on tour and cooking in paradise.

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I've already got a portion of the menu planned for this week's travel party - where the theme takes itself from five countries. The Mexican, Japanese, and Russian rooms will have delicious savory nibbles, dips, and tasty appetizers for guest to enjoy while they mingle. For an element of surprise, create an English cheese tasting platter for the British room. Generally cheese platters consist of Italian, French, or Swiss cheeses, so a platter with nuts, jams, honey, fig crackers, English cheddar, and Stilton will wow guests with your originality. Meaty Cuban sandwiches with pickles and mustard finish up the menu. Head over to Cost Plus World Market to supplement the rooms with sweet treats and exotic bites from the respective countries. For the recipes that will take you around the globe, read more

Much of Ethiopia's cuisine is in the form of stews or wats. These stews are generally paired with a type of flatbread that acts as a serving utensil. For tonight's meal, take your family on a faraway journey to Africa with an authentic chicken stew. Although it takes a little over an hour to prepare, it's simple to make. Serve with a cold beer or sweet Riesling to counteract the spiciness. To travel to Ethiopia in the comfort of your very own kitchen, read more

Grilled quesadillas are wonderful for an impromptu dinner party. I like to invite friends over on a weeknight, set out a whole bunch of toppings, and let guests assemble their own quesadillas. Next, I throw the personalized quesadillas on the grill and heat them up, slice into wedges and enjoy! To avoid having to rip the tops off of the quesadillas to see whose quesadillas is whose, have your friends carve their first initial into a tortilla (like the D in the above pic). When stacking the tortillas, be sure to inform guests to place the initial side down as the base tortilla. When you flip the quesadillas on the grill the initial will be on top. To take a look at my super fast, wonderfully delicious quesadilla recipe, read more

One of the weirdest things about globalization is how everything is the same and yet totally different. You'd think that no matter where you go, a McDonald's would be a McDonald's right? Wrong! If you've never been to an International McDonald's, you might not know what you're missing. For example, in Germany you can order a Big McFeast and a cup of beer, whereas in Norway you can opt for the McLaks - a sandwich made from grilled salmon and dill sauce. Personally I love how you can get an Ebi (shrimp) burger in Japan, and rice burgers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. How about you, have you ever discovered anything interesting on an International McDonald's menu?

Source: Trifter
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