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When we travel thoughts of disasters are far from our mind. But with the news of natural disasters, especially numerous tornadoes in Oklahoma and the Midwest -- as well as...
"Sandy, the aurora's rising behind us, the pier lights our carnival life on the water." ----Bruce Springsteen, Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) For years, we’ve been hearing the news: Asbury...
Father's Day can be a great day to get out in nature and take a special hike or walk, like this family is doing at San Elijo Lagoon, in San...
Anyone who has ever pumped diesel gasoline into their tank knows just how critical it is that it’s DIESEL that makes it into the tank, not regular, not premium, but...
When planningyour summer road trip don't overlook Devil's Tower, Wyoming. It is one of my favorite side trips and possibly one of the most overlooked National Parks. The first time...
Martinique Beach Provincial Park is a treasure of the Eastern Shore in Nova Scotia, and is one of many delightful discoveries I made during a road trip along Marine Drive...
Vegetarian travel gets easier in the summer, when farmers markets and their bounteous produce draw tourists and local chefs. Summer is also know for outdoor eating, and New York City...
Planning your family vacation can be overwhelming--where to go, what to do, how to get there, you name it. There are a lot of details to planning a summer vacation....
How do you keep the kids -- and yourself -- healthy and happy when traveling? Do you look for hotels that provide special activities that keep your kids active and...
Billing itself as “The Best Free Show on Broadway,” n’s Stardust Dineras been open since the 80’s, but it’s décor, memorabilia and food will take you back to the 50’s. However, what are you really going to see at this popular tourist destination in the heart of Times Square? [ ... ]
Relax at the Qua Bath and Spa, play the slots and dress to the nines to party at the Pool After Dark. This is just part of a Caesers Atlantic City girlfriend getaway. Located on the Boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean, Caesers offers entertainment and fabulous dining.
Reserve a room, depending on the [ ... ]
Cozy is the word my son used to describe our room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Not the first word that usually comes to mind when you describe a 22-acre property with 3,500 rooms. It’s a testament to Hilton’s commitment to creating a family friendly environment at their enormous p [ ... ]
Disney makes the magic look easy, but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. I am always inspired by the team of people who create the masterful new Disney experiences. One of the pleasures of my job is getting to spend time talking with and learning from these incredibly creative [ ... ]
Who says you can’t surf in the desert? The Kierland FlowRider opened last year at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s the first of its kind in Arizona and one of the main reasons why I think the Westin Kierland rocks for kids and anyone else that loves to have fun. Kierl [ ... ]
Context Travel is a Rome-based tour company that offers educational walking tours for a number of European destinations. What makes Context Travel unique is its intellectual and educational focus, with experts from a variety of disciplines, including literature, history and art, leading the tours an [ ... ]
Most of us have a memory of getting lost as a young child. I remember the first time I couldn’t find my parents. I was probably about six years old and I was playing in the Barbie section at K-Mart. My Mom kept telling me it was time to go but obviously, as a five-year-old child, I was too b [ ... ]
I love to have company over for dinner, but, and this might surprise you, I don’t really like to cook for company, especially for large groups of people. I much prefer the idea of people coming together sharing great food - others made.
That’s why catering is very appealing to me. I have this fear that I’ll spend all my time in the kitchen and I won’t be a proper host. Being a proper host is something that has been ingrained in me since I was a little girl. My parents were diplomats and diplomats host parties – lots of parties – but, in my parent’s case, they had servants. No wonder I like the idea of having a party, and then food magically appears.
One very nice thing about my Eat Planet project is that I’m becoming fearless when it comes to cooking, even for large groups. However, dinner at my house has become a spectacle these days and maybe that, in itself, has taken the pressure off. When I invite people over for one of my ethnic meals no one has any big expectations, it’s all about the adventure.
Curanto is the traditional food of Chile. It’s the perfect thing to cook for large groups of people. But it’s a dish that one must cook outside, in a rather primitive form. It is prepared in a hole dug in the ground. If I had more guts – and a bigger yard – I might have tried it. But instead, I cooked pulmay, the indoor version. You buy massive amounts of food but the dish practically cooks itself.
The first thing I had to do was buy a very large pot, like the kind you see in soup kitchens. I then layered the pot first with vegetables, then sausage and chicken pieces, then clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops (if you have a really big pot throw in whole crab). I covered each layer with cabbage leaves and then poured a bottle of white wine over the top. The aroma of wine mixed with garlic, onions and seafood is heavenly.
When I invited guests over to help us eat the pulmay I had plenty of food and I was not trapped in the kitchen.
But if you’re interested in cooking a traditional curanto, here is what you do: You dig a hole, 1 foot deep, 5 feet wide (hopefully your neighbors won’t think you’re burying a dead body in your backyard). You then start a bonfire in the middle of the hole. Spread wood coals evenly on the bottom, then stones on top of the coals and then cover the stones with leaves. Rhubarb leaves are the best to use. Then put on the layers of food. Seafood (best to use shellfish) goes on the bottom, then meats and then the vegetables. Cover each layer with the rhubarb leaves. When all the food layers are down, cover it again with leaves and then lay down a thick cloth over the top of it all. Now shovel dirt on top of that. It will cook for one to two hours.
So, if you’re like me when having friends over, and you want to cook something interesting, but you don’t want to be a slave to the kitchen, try pulmay, and if you’re really brave, curanto.
Pulmay
2 green bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
5 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 head of cabbage, with leaves separated
1 1/2 lb pork loin, cubed
1 1/2 lb pork sausage, sliced
1 chicken cut into 8 pieces
10 mussels
10 sea scallops
20 clams
10 large prawns
7 blue crab and soft shell crabs and any other seafood available
1 bottle of white wine
salt
You will need a very large pot. Spread the peppers in the bottom of the pot, sprinkle with parsley and salt, follow with onions, garlic, and potatoes. Spread a layer of cabbage leaves and follow with pork loin, sausage, chicken pieces and salt. Spread a layer of cabbage leaves and follow with seafood and cover with cabbage leaves again. Pour wine over the layers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 to 35 minutes until cabbage is tender. If needed add water.
In my experience the seafood may be done much sooner. We ate our pulmay in sections. I’m not sure this is how it is done, but it worked for us. Also, you’ll want to eat it with fresh bread so you can use the bread to soak up the wine and garlic juices.
I may be a bit biased, but I think Texas has the most beautiful Capitol building in the country. Built almost entirely out of Texas Hill Country red granite and sitting taller [ ... ]
One glimpse of Skagway and it’s easy to see why this quaint Alaskan town is a popular port for cruise ships sailing along Alaska’s Inside Passage. Skagway offers beautiful [ ... ]
Grapevine, Texas celebrates summer Texas style, with Grapevine’s 5th annual SummerBlastrunning Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Grapevine, 20 miles from Dal [ ... ]
