Grilling Around The Globe: A Memorial Day Photo Tribute

by Laurel Miller on

Where there’s smoke, there’s barbecue – and there’s no better time than Memorial Day to light that grill. This year, instead of the same old, same old post on burgers, food safety and how not to burn the patio down, I thought I’d offer a photo tribute to grilling in all of its glorious permutations around the globe.

I confess to taking some liberties, and adding a few methods that don’t call for an open flame. The Hawaiian imu is a familiar site to luau lovers; it’s a pit filled with hot rocks that effectively roasts the food (in this instance, pork). The curanto from the Chilean archipelago of Chiloe is also Polynesian in origin (hailing from Easter Island, or Rapa Nui) and operates on the same principle, but also includes shellfish and potato cakes called milcao and chapaleles. Spit-roasted suckling pig, whether it’s Filipino lechon or Cajun cochon de lait, by any other name would taste as succulent.

Argentina remains the indisputable holy grail of grilling but plenty of other countries utilize fire –indirectly or not – to cook food, including Japan, Morocco, Turkey, Vietnam and Australia. Enjoy the slideshow and don’t forget to wipe your mouth.

%Gallery-155880%

Get Ready For The Olympics With Andaz’s World Food Marathon

by Jessica Festa on

While the Olympic Games are associated with international sports, Andaz Liverpool Street in London will be focusing on international food during the weeks leading up to the big event.

The five-star luxury hotel will be looking to staff members of its four Andaz restaurants – 1901, Catch, Eastway and Miyako – to help create the menu. Pulling from the 40 different nationalities that represent the Andaz Liverpool Street team, 26 unique cultural dishes were created. This number isn’t random, as it embodies the 26 miles in a marathon. The tasty festival will run from July 2 to July 27, the 26 days leading up to the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Some of the dishes attendees can expect include Korean Spicy Pork, Polish Golabki, Slovakian sheep’s cheese dumplings, Colombian bandeja paisa and South African Bobotie.

“With all eyes on London this year as the 2012 Olympic season gathers momentum, Andaz Liverpool Street wanted to pay tribute to the multicultural base of the city with a variety of dishes from around the world, which celebrate different cultures, allowing our guests to take a journey of the culinary kind through what we have called the World Food Marathon,” says Arnaud de Saint Exupéry, the Andaz Liverpool Street General Manager.

10 Things To Do In Cuzco, Peru, That Don’t Involve Visiting Inca Ruins

by Jessica Festa on

When visiting Cuzco, Peru, you will be overwhelmed by the amount of tourism agencies and street vendors selling tours to Machu Picchu, Moray, Ollantaytambo, Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Puca Pucara, Templo de la Luna and the various other Inca ruins. While seeing these sites is an important part of the culture and getting to know the area, there are days you may want to do something different. Here were some of the things I enjoyed doing when in Cuzco that didn’t involve Inca ruins.

Explore Pisaq Market

Pisaq Market (shown right) sells handicrafts, jewelry, minerals, herbs, spices and local foods and is the biggest market in Cuzco. Sunday is the best time to go, when locals from hours away come to attend church and buy and sell goods. This is also when you can see locals dressed in traditional clothing from the church procession that takes place in the town. Even if you don’t buy anything it’s a good way to learn about the local way of life, get a taste of how herbal medicine works, see how paints and dyes are made using natural minerals and sample the various local foods. Make sure to try the choclo con queso, a regional strain of corn on the cob topped with cheese and chili sauce.

For something closer to the downtown area of Cuzco, you can also visit the San Pedro Central Market located on Santa Clara near the Church and Monastery of Santa Clara. The market is enormous and sells an array of traditional and offbeat items. You can purchase handicrafts, beauty products, fresh fruits, ornate flans, sweet breads, traditional llama fetuses, colorful masks and even hallucinogens.Get A Massage

Walking around the streets of Cuzco, you’ll be bombarded by hundreds of people selling massages and spa treatments. While most will sell these at 30 to 50 Nuevo Soles (about $11 to $19), I found an excellent place called Spa Hampi Maki at 250 Marquez Street, on the 2nd floor of the “Artesanias El Solar Dorado” building. They gave me a 60-minute full-body massage with hot stones for 15 S/.$ (about $6). It was very relaxing with a dark, private room, gentle music and comfortable table.

Indulge Your Sweet Tooth At The Chocolate Museum

While you’ll find plenty of worthwhile Inca and history museums in Cuzco, one that stands out from the rest is the Chocolate Museum, officially called the ChocoMuseo. The museum is free to enter and features chocolate and cocao history, facts, old advertisements, videos, tastings, workshops and the chance to make your own chocolate. They also offer a Cacao Farm Tour. Moreover, the chance to indulge in delicious chocolate delicacies, like cacao tea, fondue, iced chocolate and a chocolate tasting with Peruvian coffee, can be done in their cafe. Note: The museum is a bit hard to find. It’s located at 210 Garcilaso, on the 2nd floor. Simply walk through a small hallway into an open courtyard to find the stairs leading up to the entrance.

Take A Cooking Class

What better way to get to know a culture than through food? Cusco Cooking offers Peruvian cooking classes where you not only learn how to make traditional dishes, but also how to navigate the markets and create cocktails. Some of the meals you’ll make include crema de choclo, a corn-based soup, arroz con pollo, chicken and rice, lomo saltado, a spiced and marinated beef dish and Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru. You can choose between three menu choices. The classes take place in the ChocoMuseo at 210 Garcilaso everyday at 5:30 p.m. Prices range from $33 to $42 per person, depending on the size of the class.

Lie Out In Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas is a big plaza in the downtown area with numerous small gardens, benches and statues. Numerous churches and shops with charming stone architecture surround it, which adds to the aesthetics of the area. The ambiance is charming and peaceful – the perfect place to relax and lie out with a good book.

Explore The Art Of Cuzco

Walking around the city, you’ll find numerous galleries that are free to enter. Here, you’ll find cultural pieces, many of which also incorporate Inca traditions. The works are amazing, with vibrant colors, life-like portraits and landscapes that seem to jump off the page. My favorite galleries were in a building called the Centro Artesanal Arte Inka, located at 392 Triunfo, near Plaza de Armas.

Hike To Cristo Blanco

While you’ll need to pay 70 Soles (about $26) to enter the archeological sites nearby, it is free to hike to Cristo Blanco. It’s located to the right of the admission booth for Sacsayhuaman. Trek 11,811 feet up Pukamoqo Hill, and you’ll come face-to-face with an enormous statue of Christ. The piece was a donation in 1945 from the Christian Palestines who were living in Cuzco as refugees. At night, you can see Cristo Blanco all lit up from the downtown area of the city.

Get Religious At One Of The Town’s Places Of Worship

Cuzco is full of beautiful churches, cathedrals and convents. Near Plaza de Armas is the Cathedral, La Compañia de Jesus, the Convento de la Merced and the Church and Monastary of Santa Clara. Moreover, next to the Parque de la Madre, you’ll find the Church and Monastary of Santa Teresa. My favorite, however, was the Templo de Santo Domingo, with a beautiful manicured lawn and expansive facade, located on the corner of Avenida El Sol and Arryan.

Visit a family In Chichubamba

Chichubamba is a small village in Sacred Valley that is home to 14 families, each of whom have a special talent that you can learn about and experience. When I was there I visited Celia, a woman who makes chicha, or corn beer. I learned about the production process and got to play a local drinking game, where players toss heavy coins into the mouth of a metal frog. Moreover, I visited a family of ceramics makers, and saw how high-quality pottery was made, even getting to roll the clay, create the base and paint a pot myself.

Experience The Nightlife

Cuzco has many options for bars and clubs. The best part: it’s easy to get a buzz on a budget, as a full-priced cocktail will only set you back about $4 to $6. Paddy’s Pub is a lively Irish bar with a great happy hour, although you’re more likely to find Pisco Sours and Cuba Libres on the menu than Magners. However, they do have Guinness. If you want to experience the best club in town, Mama Africa is a favorite among tourists and locals. Other popular bars and clubs include Real McCoy, 7 Angelitos, Groove, Mythology and The Frogs.

Get Anything Hand-Delivered By Travelers From Anywhere

by Meg Nesterov on

In my two years as an expat in Istanbul, I’ve asked visiting friends to bring me everything from bacon to Ziploc bags and iPads, and in return, I visit home with boxes of Turkish delight, baklava and coffee. But for those long winter months when I don’t know anyone visiting Turkey, how am I supposed to get my chocolate-and-peanut-butter fix? Now there’s a social network that connects locals and travelers who can bring you anything hand-delivered from anywhere in the world. mmMule aims to get hard-to-find or foreign items to locals everywhere, and rewards travelers with a local experience for delivering it.

Let’s say you are visiting Paris. You can log on to mmMule and find locals who want stuff ranging from Big Red gum to South African biltong cured meat. Maybe you want another jar of that Dijon mustard you loved on your last trip to France or some good old American mac & cheese if you’re abroad (seriously, all expats miss mac & cheese, and yes, we know we can make it ourselves). You can post a request on mmMule and wait to be connected with a traveler who can bring it. In exchange for the delivery, the “mule” is repaid for the cost of the item and rewarded in some way, from drinks at a local bar to an overnight stay in the local’s home. Illegal, embargoed and other illicit stuff is strictly verboten, so don’t think you can get someone to re-enact “Midnight Express.”

Should you feel inspired to help someone in need of more than supermarket goodies, you can check out the listings for AngelMule and bring supplies to non-profits. Your donations can be rewarded with cultural experiences like stays with local families or just an offer of “a big hug and eternal gratitude.” They’d probably be even more grateful if you threw some peanut butter cups into the deal.

Get whatever you want at mmMule.com or volunteer to bring stuff to someone else.

Barbecue Boot Camps: Taste Instead of Torture

by Jill K. Robinson on

Boot camp tends to be something people sign up for because they think they should. Participating may be helpful for getting back in shape or training for an athletic event, but it usually just feels good when it’s over.

Imagine if boot camp were a joy to the taste buds instead. These five culinary-minded camps teach barbecue techniques, from fire making to the whole hog, and they feel good from beginning to end.

Alisal Guest Ranch BBQ Boot Camp

Held every March, the BBQ Boot Camp takes place on this 10,000-acre working ranch in California’s Santa Ynez Valley. Santa Maria barbecue originated from 19th-century Spanish-style ranch cookouts in this region, and is considered one of the significant barbecue types in the United States. Executive Chef Pascal Godé and Hitching Post II owner Frank Ostini help guests hone their grilling skills, with sessions covering barbecue elements and techniques – from spice rubs to starting a fire.

The Broadmoor BBQ University

It may sound smarty-pants, but BBQ University at this five-star Colorado Resort appeals even to the common man. The grilling course is named after instructor Steven Raichlen’s PBS TV show, and has been called the “best barbecue experience in America” by the Food Network. To learn the six methods of live-fire cooking, students can choose from more than 30 smokers and grills during the session, as well as prepare at least eight recipes per day. Put on your big boy apron. They don’t call it BBQ Kindergarten, do they?Jack’s Old South Cooking School

Learn to grill like a champion at this school for barbecue in Georgia. The Jack’s Old South Competion Bar-B-Que Team has won more than 200 grand championships, 40 state championships and 11 national championships in barbecue. Chief Cook Myron Mixon holds the Jack’s Old South Cooking School at his home, with courses in whole hog, ribs, chicken, brisket and pork. Those who dream of being pit masters will feel at home with the contest format style of the school.

North Carolina Barbecue Society BBQ Boot Camp

“Society” and “barbecue” go together at the NCBS BBQ Boot Camp, where campers learn to master North Carolina-style barbecue and judging. The state’s best pit masters and chefs teach barbecue techniques for everything from wild salmon to whole beef tenderloins, and ambitious students can sit up all night with pit masters preparing whole hogs for the grill. The diploma students earn here may find a special place on the kitchen wall at home.

The Culinary Institute of America Grilling and BBQ Boot Camp

The Grilling and BBQ Boot Camp promises students will “BBQ your way across the United States,” without having to spend tons of money on gas. The intensive class covers hot smoke and barbecue for dishes ranging from seafood, poultry and meat to veggies and side dishes. Students mystified by rubs, sauces, brines and marinades will see the light, and become a celebrated grill master at home. Boot campers here walk away with a classy chef’s uniform.