ExperiencePlus! Blog


Food

  • Provençal Melon with Beaumes de Venise Muscat

    The ExperiencePlus! Bicycling through the Best of Provence Plus! the Luberon and Aix-en-Provence tour now goes through Beaumes de Venise. A lot of France’s melons grow nearby around Cavaillon, and Beaumes de Venise is known for its sweet Muscat dessert… Read full article

  • Spring Salad

    This recipe comes to us from our friends at Cooking Vacations Italy and takes advantage of the spring harvest including fava beans, lemon balm, mint, chives, radishes, spinach, lettuce and peas. If you aren’t familiar with fava beans, sometimes known… Read full article

  • Crème Brûlée

    When you travel to France, chances are you’ve got some culinary must-tastes on your list. While crepes and the delicately-crafted pastries in the corner patisseries are delightful, one dessert you must try is crème brûlée. The translation of this dessert… Read full article

  • Neeps and Tatties

    A delicious twist on a traditional Scottish recipe which should technically be accompanied by Cock a Leekie soup, Cranachan,  and haggis all washed down with whisky, but we’ll leave it to you to decide how authentic you’d like to be.… Read full article

  • Dordogne Hazelnut Cake

    I, like most of you, find myself excited by local specialties while I’m traveling and I often come home with flavored oils, spices or syrups that then sit in my pantry or fridge for eternity. During our recent snow storms… Read full article

  • Vlaamse Stoverij or Belgian Beef Stew

    Tour leaders Michele Boglioni and Enrico Dal Monte were recently doing some reconnaissance for our Bicycling Belgium’s Best Brewery tours and stopped in for some authentic Belgian Beef Stew. They report that it is especially delicious when washed down with… Read full article

  • Cotechino Sausage with Lentils

    Cotechino Sausage with Lentils Though our recipe is a little late for your New Year’s celebration, we thought we’d go ahead and share this traditional New Year’s dish that combines two of Italy’s culinary symbols for good luck, the lentil… Read full article

  • Daube Provençale or Beef Stew with Wine

    Daube Provençale or Beef Stew with Wine This month’s recipe comes to us from Josette Smyrl who coordinated hotels and meals for ExperiencePlus! trips in France for a number of years. Now retired and living near Aix-en-Provence with her gardening… Read full article

  • Risotto with pears, gorgonzola and walnuts

    Risotto with Pear, Gorgonzola, & Walnuts

    This month’s recipe comes to us from tour leader Enrico Dal Monte who you may have met on tour in Belgium, Italy, France or Spain.  Pears are in season so it’s the perfect time to make this delicious cheesy risotto.… Read full article

  • Carcassonne

    New in France – Cycling the Languedoc

    Cycling the Languedoc (Plus! French Catalonia) With a variety of landscapes bathed by the Mediterranean sun and connected with a vast network of small country roads that extend from the sea to the mountains, the Languedoc is a region ideally… Read full article

  • Piadina or Flatbread

    Piadina* or Flatbread Ingredients: 5 cups (500 grams) of unbleached flour, soft flour if you can find it 2 teaspoons (10 grams) salt 5/8 cup (70 grams) of rendered lard (or scant half cup of olive oil if you prefer)… Read full article

  • Josette's Cherry Clafoutis

    Josette’s Cherry Clafoutis

    Josette’s Cherry  Clafoutis Preheat oven to 400F Ingredients: 1/2  pounds pitted Cherries 3/4  cup flour 2/3 cup  sugar 3 eggs 1 cup milk or light cream 1/3 cup melted butter 1 teaspoon powdered or brown sugar In a bowl, mix… Read full article

  • Strawberries are in season. Time for Strawberry Lasagna with Cream

    Strawberry Lasagna with Cream

    Serves Four Sponge Cake: 3 egg yolks 1/3 cup sugar pinch of salt 3 egg whites 3/4 cup flour Zest from half an orange The Filling: 1 cup of fresh strawberries 2 tablespoons of lemon juice 2 tablespoons of powdered… Read full article

  • Celebrate Italy’s 150th Birthday

    As the ExperiencePlus! Italia 150 bicycling expedition begins May 7th in Marsala, Sicily we thought it would be the perfect time for all of us to acknowledge Italy’s unification. Unfortunately we can’t all join the twenty-seven cyclists who are riding… Read full article

  • Image courtesy of http://guildwoodgardens.blogspot.com/

    Ramsons or Bear Garlic Soup

    Philipp Alexander Schmitt, one of our Tour Leaders in Germany and Spain, recently shared his version of Bear Garlic Soup which some of our travelers will remember fondly from their adventure  Bicycling Bavaria’s Back Roads. Bear garlic is also known… Read full article

  • Interview with Chef Erick Vedel

    A local Provençal chef tells us about his passion for food and how it has pervaded other areas of his life. Each year he opens his home to us on our 8-day Bicycling through the Best of Provence and 11-day… Read full article

  • Camargue Red Rice with Ginger and Chickpeas

    This recipe comes to us from Chef Erick Vedel and was served on the ExperiencePlus! Bicycling through the Best of Provence tour October 2010. Clinical studies have proven that red rice helps lower cholesterol and is also famous for its… Read full article

  • Photo byExperiencePlus! Traveler John Clevenger

    Per la Cena or What’s for Dinner?

    An interview with Bea Tassinari who coordinates meals on ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours in Italy. Bea can you tell us a little about the process of deciding what’s for dinner on a tour? The first step is to ask each restaurant… Read full article