What's Cooking in...

Adding water to the simmering Hungarian Goulash. Photos by Sandra Scott

When I was in Budapest, Hungary, in October 2019, I booked a cooking class with Chefparade (Budapest; phone +36 20 316 1876, cookingbudapest.com). Aside from myself, there was only one other participant plus Chef Geri Hajas.

The lesson included three recipes, including a variation on goulash, which in America has become a generic term for any one-pot concoction, but the word gulyás, commonly written “goulash,” means “cowboy” in Hungarian. The Great Hungarian...

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Chef Doreen Williams-James with Sea Purslane Fish Cake. Photos by Sandra Scott

Before going to Bermuda in July 2019, I searched the internet for a place to take a cooking class or see a cooking demonstration there. I ended up booking a unique experience with Doreen Williams-James of Wild Herbs N Plants of Bermuda (St. George’s, Bermuda; phone, in US, 441 335 1958, wildherbsnplantsofbda.com). 

Doreen calls herself a forager, an expert in locating and preparing foods that grow in the wild. Foraging runs in the family; she learned from her father....

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Chef Dwayne of <b><i>Ciao Jamaica</i></b> with a plate of Jamaican Goat Curry — Negril. Photos by Sandra Scott

In March I needed to get away from the cold and snow of Upstate New York, so I flew to Jamaica and stayed at the SamSara Cliff Resort (West End Road, Negril, Jamaica; phone, in the US, 876/957-4395 or 315/307-4395, negrilhotels.com).

The hotel is a couple hours from Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport, but the hotel provides transportation for $87 one way.

The hotel is located on low cliffs, with several flights of steps down to or into the water. Guests enjoyed...

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Large, free-form pool at La Ensenada Beach Resort & Convention Center in Tela, Honduras. Photos by Sandra Scott

In the following article, Sandra describes a trip that was taken before the death of her husband on January 22. Her fond remembrance of John can be read on page 51 and 52 of this issue. — Editor

In December 2018, my husband, John, and I were in Honduras to check on some land we own in Trujillo. It was a long ride there from the San Pedro Sula airport, about eight hours, so we decided that on the way back we would treat ourselves to a few days at an all-inclusive resort before...

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Chef Myint Oo and a bowl of the Rakhine Hot and Spicy Chicken Curry with garnish. Photos by Sandra Scott

When the leaves start to turn red and yellow, my mind begins to think of winter getaways. My first thought is always of beautiful Ngapali Beach in southwestern Myanmar — my happy place.

In 2008, when my husband, John, and I first stayed at Amazing Ngapali Resort (Ngapali Beach, Rakhine State, Myanmar; phone +95 43 204201, www.amazingngapaliresort.com), there were virtually no tourists, and it was the only hotel on the 2-mile stretch of beach on the Bay of Bengal. The hotel,...

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Chef Giovanni Ciaravola's finished dish.

Ostia, several miles southwest of present-day Rome, was once an important port for Rome. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, Ostia was abandoned. Today, the archaeological site of Ostia Antica can be visited near the modern town of Ostia (Ostia Lido).

In October 2016, my husband, John, and I stayed in Ostia, now a beach resort, so we could visit the nearby archaeological site, easily accessed from Ostia by a short train ride.

Admission to Ostia Antica costs about $9, but...

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Chef Keshab Ram Shrestha, executive chef at Hotel Shanker in Kathmandu, presenting a dish of Chicken Choyala in the dining room. Photos by Sandra Scott

Kathmandu has been on my “wanna visit” list for years. The perfect opportunity arose in March 2017 when my husband, John, and I were in Kuala Lumpur (better known as KL), Malaysia. AirAsia (airasia.com), an excellent budget airline, was flying from KL to Kathmandu, Nepal, for $169. Perfect!

For $83, we booked a room at Hotel Shanker (Lazimpat, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal; phone +977 1 4410151, www.shankerhotel.com.np) because it was a family-owned heritage hotel. The location...

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Maria Luisa Guzman with the fish balls mixture. Photos by Sandra Scott

In December 2017, several members of our family decided to spend Christmas in San Felipe, where our oldest son has a vacation house. San Felipe is a small, sleepy fishing village on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula, 125 miles south of Calexico. 

The area had changed from the one and only other time my husband, John, and I had visited, 20 years earlier. At that time, we stayed at the only motel in the area. (Interestingly, there was a sign in our room that said, “Do not...

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