TRAVEL AND WANDER

Pizza is the favored food of many a people throughout the globe so I couldn't resist sharing a pizza recipe from non other than NAPLES, ITALY.                                 Margherita Pizza Who invented pizza?  Pizza style dishes (flatbreads with toppings) were eaten by many folks living in the Mediterranean including the Greeks. However history states that  baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples, Italy who owned a tavern called "Pizzeria di Pietro" introduced his style of pizza in 1889. Raffaele Esposito was requested to prepare a pizza for Queen Margherita who traveled to Naples with King Umberto. The King and Queen liked the taste of the pizza and the rest as they say is history. If you have the fortune of owning a wood burning oven or know someone that does this recipe for Pizza Margherita is hard to beat.                             PIZZA MARGHERITA (Naples, Italy) DOUGH 500 grams of Molino Caputo (Italian flour) 325 grams of water

When in ITALY it's not always easy to choose where to head. Afterall ITALY has a lot to offer; Capri and the Amalfi Coast The island of Sicily Stunning Sardinia Artistic Florence Remarkable Rome The Alps Enchanting Venice Cinque Terre Assisi Milan Naples the list goes on                                                                                Picture Perfect CINQUE TERRE                                                                                                flicker                                                                                                                                           One visit to ITALY just isn't enough unless you can stay for a whole year which would be absolutely "perfecto." WIth summer just around the corner one of the most gorgeous places to visit in ITALY is CINQUE TERRE. This Italian Riviera with its five picturesque villages clinging to breath-taking cliffs is the perfect place to have a v

                                                                courtesy of biz journals Cool mountain air currents combined with the warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine make ITALY a prime wine producing country.  The grapevines of boot-shaped ITALY intrigue wine connoisseurs  from around the world who enjoy Italian wine with meals or just plain solo. The Italians love their vino and are proud of the 20 wine regions that scatter throughout their lovely country. Chianti (Tuscany), Barolo (Piedmont), Soave (Veneto), Nero d Avola (Sicily), and Pinot Grigio (Umbria) are just a few of the hundreds of wines to sample when traveling through ITALY. Whether you find yourself along the lengthy coastline, the Alps region, one of the islands, or somewhere in between there's nothing more Italian than drinking wine. Italian Wine Merchant

One thing not to miss when traveling through ITALY is a cup of cappuccino. No matter where you find yourself in ITALY; there's nothing more relaxing than sipping cappuccino at an outdoor cafe. A double shot of expresso combined with serveral ounces of steamed milk and poured into a cup is one of the world's tastiest beverages. The key to the perfect cup of cappuccino is frothing the milk properly. If you really love CAPPUCCINO it's worth investing in a good Italian made cappuccino maker!                                                   Courtesy of Dreamstime

What would a trip to Italy be without eating some pasta? The Italians love their pasta and with good reason. There are countless ways to prepare pasta dishes it just depends what your taste buds are seeking.  Basil season has arrived to many parts of the world and I recommend making a pesto sauce to combine with your linguine or spaghetti. Here it is:                                                                      PESTO AND PASTA 1 cup loosely packed parsley 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves 2 cups toasted walnut halves (optional) 5 garlic cloves, peeled  1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil To make the pesto; place the parsley, basil leaves, garlic cloves, and sea salt into a blender or food processor and pulse several times. Pour the olive oil into the blender or food processor and combine with the other ingredients. You can add 2 cups of walnut halves (toasted) to the mix for extra flavor.  Boil one pound of linguine or spaghetti in a large

ITALY feels like home to me; the scenery is a work of art, the people are as warm as the sun, the opera is music to the ears, and the food is beyond perfection. I'm glad my Mother gave me an Italian name (Adrianna) because my heart truly belongs to ITALY. Assisi, Brindisi, Como, Florence, Genoa, Lecce, Milan, Naples, Pisa, Rome, Siena, Turin, Udine, and Venice are just a few of the places I've ventured through while in Italy and food tasting was something I just couldn't resist. I'd like to share a recipe a chef in Venice game me when I was eating at a local restaurant in Venice.  Fried Green Olives are a very popular appetizer in Venice thanks to the abundance of olive trees that grow in beautiful Italy. For this recipe using green olives is the best choice. To learn more about Venice, click here.                                        FRIED GREEN OLIVES 40 pitted green olives (not packed with oil) 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 2 eggs, beaten Pl

Although I've never been to IRAN I'm able to write about it thanks to my friend Mahmood who was kind enough to share a bit about the country he was born and raised in. Most tourists must have a visa to enter IRAN! IRAN is located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. It's a young nation with a very ancient history. Covering an area of 636,296 square miles, it takes about 10 days to drive through the whole country. IRAN is a land of mountains, volcanos, lakes and plains. The Caspian Sea the largest lake in the world is also the largest producer of caviar (eggs of the sturgeon fish). Ninety percent of  the world's caviar comes from four different types of sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea. Caviar nicknamed "black pearls" is one of the most expensive and sought after food   in the world. "Caviar" is not something Iranians eat on a daily basis. Iranian dishes consist of rice served with heavy meat and vegetable stews in a combination of sweet