I love this chicken dish – it is so Mediterranean and brings back wonderful memories of days spent in Greece, where one meal seems to slowly move into the next almost without notice. There are two keys to this dish: one is the marinade combination, and the second is...
Did you know the story about the most expensive bottle of wine ever broken? Well, here it is….. In 1989, William Sokolin, a New York wine merchant, was asked to sell an extremely rare and sought after wine on consignment. The wine was a 1787 Chateau Margaux and engraved...
Benedict (image is by Phillipe de Champaigne The Poisoned Cup of Wine c. 1643-48) was born around the year 480 AD to wealthy parents in Nursia, now the region in Umbria in central Italy. As a young man of privilege it is said that he led a life of promiscuity...
Pacharán, the traditional sloe liqueur from Navarra, is regarded as both a sensual delight and as beneficial for the stomach and nervous system! Some resourceful medical practitioners claim that when consumed in moderation (of course), it is effective in preventing heart attacks and arteriosclerosis. Originally, this national liqueur of...
Here is an extract from Lawrence Durrell’s wonderful book The Greek Islands (1978) where he discusses, while in Crete, Greek wine…..I love this piece, and I am sure that you will too!! “As for drink, the controversial rezina has been discussed so often that it seems invidious to do it again....
On his return to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India in 1498, Vasco da Gama proclaimed “Somos a gente do mar” (We are the people of the sea). Using small, light, high-powered caravel sailing ships based on an ancient Mediterranean design, 15th and 16th-century Portuguese explorers voyaged the...
Here is a little about sidra the cider of Asturias, Spain….. “The Asturians have a drink they call zythos which is made from fermented apple juice”, so wrote the Greek geographer Strabo in the first century B.C. Even the Celts had cultivated applies in this northwest region...
Paul Ricard, born in 1909 in the Sainte-Marthe district of Marseille and co-founder of the Pernod-Ricard Group, had a fascinating life, and next time you have a glass of the world famous anis spirit or one of the many other prestigious brands of this Group (such as Mumm, Martell, Perrier-Jouët, or...
I recently shared with you my review of Tessa Kiros’s sumptuous cookbook Venezia, so I thought I would let you in on one of my favourite risotto recipes from her cookbook. This is a delicious vegetable risotto, creamy but fresh, easy to make and the ‘crowning-glory’ is the use of...
I was reorganizing my bookshelf recently and I admit I didn’t get far – as I ended up pouring through my many cookbooks and recalling some of my favourite dishes. As part of this process I found myself, once again, delighting in the recipes of Silvena Rowe in...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
