ExperiencePlus! Blog


Recipes

  • Pasta making demonstration.

    Recipes

    An Easy, Fresh Pasta Recipe

    An Easy, Fresh Pasta Recipe A former tour leader, photographer, bike mechanic, and web guru extraordinaire came up with a quick pasta recipe. Ingredients: use about 1 cup of flour, 1 egg, and 1 tablespoon of water per person eating 3… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Sicilian-Style Pizza with Focaccia

    Sicilian-Style Pizza with Focaccia This is the most basic way to make a Sicilian-style pizza, but we recommend adding any sort of toppings you find tasty. Also, this recipe is even better when served with salad or fresh vegetables! Serves… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Acquacotta or Tuscan Soup

    Acquacotta or Tuscan Soup Literally, ‘acquacotta’ means ‘cooked water’. This is the Tuscan version of ‘Stone soup’. This was once a very humble soup made out of a little tomato, onion and celery boiled in water and poured over old… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Caffé Sciaccherato

    Caffé Sciaccherato means “shaken coffee” and is the Italian equivalent of an iced coffee or “blended latte.” Even when it gets hot outside, Italians still have their espresso – but they simply cool it down with some ice! Like many… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Baked Fennel

    Finocchio al Forno (Baked Fennel) I grew up eating fennel, raw in salads or cooked. When I moved to the States I was surprised to realize that many people did not know about fennel, had never eaten it or did… Read full article

  • Classic Italian Minestrone Soup

    Recipes

    Classic Italian Minestrone Soup with Pesto

    Classic Italian Minestrone Soup with Pesto Every family in Italy makes its own variation of minestrone, which means literally “big soup,” from the word “minestra.” One may insist on using spinach, while another may argue for leeks and swiss chard.… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Gallo Pinto

    Gallo Pinto   If you ask any Tico what the national dish of Costa Rica is, chances are they’ll mention Gallo Pinto. Pura Vida!   Ingredients:     3 cups "day old" cooked rice   2 cups black beans –… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Dios Kalacs (Walnut Roll)

    Dios Kalacs (Walnut Roll) Our good friend Donna Bathory, whose family hails from Hungary, has suggested this recipe for December. (I have increased the amount of sugar in both the dough and the filling from two tbsp. to ½ cup.… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Lebanese Hummus

    ExperiencePlus! hosted an Open House at our new office last month and our guests  requested recipe copies. We thought with the Superbowl this week it’s a perfect time to share Paola’s hummus, and Rick’s bruschetta recipes with you all. Although… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Monica’s Ricotta Mousse

    Monica’s Ricotta Mousse If you tried last month’s homemade ricotta recipe and have been looking for something to make with your fresh ricotta recipe, you might enjoy this light and versatile dessert from Monica Malpezzi Price: This is an excellent… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Parmigiano-Reggiano Cocktail Wafers

    Parmigiano-Reggiano Cocktail Wafers Our recipe this month comes from Nancy Radke, President of Ciao, Ltd. Nancy has the enviable job of promoting Italy’s Parmesan cheese throughout the U.S. for the cheese makers’ consortium – il Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano. Nancy… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Panzanella, a Tuscan Salad

    A perfect way to use up some bread that has gotten a bit old and a great summer salad! So many dishes from Tuscany are For six people: 8 pieces or more (or less) of hard Tuscan bread or any… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Creamy French Pumpkin Soup

    Creamy French Pumpkin Soup (A note from Rick Price of ExperiencePlus!) This recipe comes to us from Josette Smyrl, coordinator of our France hotels and restaurants from 1995 through October of 2006. This submission, indeed, marks the end of a… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Baked Lemon Almond Tart

    The past several years, Rick and I have discovered the joys and benefits of almonds. We eat them as a snack, put them in our oatmeal or granola, and add them to salads. This new-found love reconnects me to my… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Homemade Ricotta Cheese: So Easy a Child Could Do It

    Homemade Ricotta Cheese: So Easy a Child Could Do It  If, like me, you’ve always assumed that making your own cheese is too arcane for normal folks, you should find this recipe pleasantly surprising.  It turns out that cheese-making, like… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Ratatouille – A Provençal Specialty

    Ratatouille – A Provençal Specialty   On the Italian side, when I was growing up in the 50’s and early 60’s, my aunt’s family at the farm used to cook the vegetables with pieces of pancetta or fresh bacon and… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Zucchini e melanzane sott’olio’ or “eggplant and zucchini marinated in olive oil”

    Zucchini e melanzane sott’olio’ or "eggplant and zucchini marinated in olive oil" Eggplant: Use the fatter or rounder eggplants, and cut into slices about 1 inch thick. Salt them and drain them for at least half an hour. Wash the… Read full article

  • Recipes

    Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

    Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage One of the dishes that Rick raved about from the ExpeditionPlus! trip from St. Petersburg to Istanbul was the stuffed cabbage that the group ate in Hungary. This is the closest we could come to replicating the… Read full article