CULINARY TOUR DEADLINE MARCH 31, 2010

Greetings from Carmela's Cucina,

Are you looking for a very exciting adventure in Italy in the near future? Why not join me for one of my culinary tours this fall. The focus is great food, wonderful wine and a ton of fun. Throw in a few cooking classes, fantastic sights wonderful villas and hotels to call home and it makes for a perfect vacation. And we take care of all of the details for you. All you have to do is show up.

For all of the details on my Tuscan and Calabrian tours just go to my website at www.carmiescucina.com and click on the tours link. Then just contact me and reserve your spot. But don't wait too long the deadline for the tours is March31, 2010 to allow plenty of time for us to make our airline arrangements.

Calabria: Sept.4-11, 2010

Tuscany Sept. 18-25, 2010

buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins

CARMELA ON SHOWCASE MINNESOTA

Greetings from Carmela's Cucina,

I am sorry that I have not written in such a long time. My Father was very ill and passed away on Feb. 17, 2010. I have been in Des Moines helping with his care and for his funeral. My Father was an amazing man, had a wonderful life and we were able to celebrate his life grandly. We will miss him everyday of our lives. I want to thank all of the many friends and family who have helped us through this difficult time.

Life goes on and Dad would want us to live life to the fullest. After taking some time to get back on my feet I am ready to take on the demands of my culinary business, Carmela's Cucina. Thank you for your patience and I hope to be able to write to you more frequently in the future.

One of the first things that I will be doing is appearing on SHOW CASE MINNESOTA on Tue. March 9, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. I will be demonstrating a Ricotta Pie (torta di ricotta) which is a special spring time luncheon item in Italy. It would be perfect for Easter Brunch. Please tune in and watch the show.

I will also be talking about my culinary tours to Italy this fall and about the information session that I will be holding on Sat. March 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. If you would like to attend this session please phone me at 952-929-9583 or email me at bchobbins@comcast.net to make a reservation for this event.

I hope to see you soon.

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins

BRUNCH AT JIMMY'S FOOD AND COCKTAILS

GREETINGS FROM CARMELA'S CUCINA,

I had a really big food and wine weekend and enjoyed every minute of it. Yesterday my husband and I met friends for a long and relaxing brunch at Jimmy's Food and Cocktails at 1000 Red Circle Drive in Minnetonka, Mn. 55343. 952-224-5858.

Enjoying brunch on a late Sunday morning after Mass has become one of my favorite things to do. Not only is it relaxing and a great way to connect with friends, but it usually means I don't have to cook a big dinner. This does not happen often though as I usually have my family together on Sunday evenings.

I had not been out to Jimmy's in about 2 years and never for brunch, the dining room is rich and handsome, bright and feels very up-scale and casual. The wait staff is very attentive and friendly. They serve the usual menu of eggs, pancakes, waffles and a large assortment of eggs Benedict. Among them a smoked salmon, California and crab, I chose the crab eggs Benedict.

My choice was made with a lump crab cake and nicely poached egg, the Hollandaise sauce was good, there just should have been more. The breakfasts are served with delicious looking cheddar breakfast potatoes, but I opted for more fruit as I am watching my calories and I thought the eggs Benedict had enough calories for one meal.

All in all it was a great experience. You might want to consider Jimmy's for Valentine's Day since it falls on a Sunday this year.

Hope you like Jimmy's too.

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins

NORDIC WARE FACTORY STORE COOKING CLASS

GREETINGS FROM CARMELA'S CUCINA,

JOIN US FOR THE NEXT COOKING CLASS AT THE NORDIC WARE FACTORY STORE.

4925 Highway 7 St. Louis Park, MN. 55416

MAKE IT A CHOCOLATE VALENTINE'S DAY
WITH CARMELA'S CUCINA
TUESDAY, FEB.9
7:00 to 8:30

Do you or someone you know love chocolate? Crave chocolate? Need to have chocolate every day? Then this is the class for you. In this class you will enjoy all things chocolate and you will learn to make a number of items you will want to try for yourself to make your Valentine's Day special or any time of year.

We will make:

COCONUT JOYS
CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS

PRETZEL PEANUT BARK
OLD-FASHIONED RED VELVET CUPCAKES

COST: $25.00 PER PERSON, PLUS TAX. SAMPLES AND TAKE-HOME RECIPES INCLUDED.

GUESTS WILL ALSO RECEIVE A 15% DISCOUNT ON REGULAR PRICED NORDIC WARE MADE PRODUCTS.

TO MAKE A RESERVATION CALL 952-924-9672.

Buon appeito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins

LAST CALL FOR SAVANNAH, GA.

GREETINGS FROM CARMELA'S CUCINA,

It is 65 degrees and sunny in Savannah, Ga. Get away from this long, cold and snowing winter and join Carmela's Cucina as she travels to this warm city for a culinary and home and garden tour.

Join us for a sumptuous, savory and simply irresistible tour of historic Savannah, Ga. March 25-29, 2010.

The tour includes 4 nights accommodations at the Planter's Inn on Reynold's Square, baggage handling, breakfast each morning and wine and cheese each evening. Escorted transportation for all planned events not in walking distance of the hotel and driver gratuities. Licensed professional guides. All tour entrance fees and select tour of homes tickets, 2 cooking classes, all breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners. Tales of the South staff at all planned events and so much more. And even a Paula Deen Tour.

For more information go to my web site at www.carmiescucina.com and see the full schedule of events. Click on the tours link and then on Savannah. Contact me at bchobbins@comcast.net to make a reservation.

I hope to see you in warm, sunny Savannah in March.

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins

SPASSO FOR LUNCH

Greetings from Carmela's Cucina,

Let me first say how sorry I am for being away from my blogging for such a long time. Between, the holidays, company and travel and vacations there just has not been enough hours in the day to get it all done. But I do hope to be back at it more regularly.

Last Friday, Bob and I took a ride out to Minnetonka to check out Spasso for lunch. Friends had told me about it and the wine shop next door. Same owners, with a great concept. Spasso has a great wine shop, with wines from all over the world. And the best thing is that you can buy a bottle of wine in the wine store and take it next door to the restaurant and they will open it for no extra charge. A great savings and a wonderful idea.

I was happy to see that they do carry the wine that my cousins make in Ciro in the area of Calabria in Italy. It is there lowest end wine, but it was good to see it on the shelf and if you are looking for something not to expensive and want to try a red from the southern part of Italy, then the LiBrandi Ciro Rosso may be a bottle that you want to try. I am hoping that in the future they might carry some of their higher end wines, but availability is the problem.

After looking over the stock in the wine store and buying a few bottles Bob and I made our way over to the restaurant. Since it was Friday afternoon, they were fairly busy. Spasso is a large restaurant with hard floors and high ceilings so it was also pretty noisy. They have a great bar area and one of the things that caught my eye was a flight of 3 wines for $15.95, which is a good deal considering their extensive wine menu. But since we had a list to finish off the length of my arm we skipped the wine and ordered lunch and soft drinks.

In the back of the room is a beautiful wood-burning oven, which I am sure produces some beautiful pizzas, but since I am trying to loose a few, I skipped that too. Their lunch menu is mostly soups, salads, pasta and pizzas. The best value is their mix and match lunch for ten bucks and that is what I settled on. I enjoyed their Sausage and Bean Soup and the Chop Chop Salad which is one of their house specialties. The soup was robust and chunky with lots of sausage and beans and quite filling. I was expecting a half salad, but the portion was quite large and flavorful, lots of meat, cheese, olives and fresh, crisp salad greens. I wish that the dressing had a bit more zip to it, but all in all it was a great lunch and you can't beat the price.

If you are in the area, I would suggest that you first go and find yourself several bottles of wine, one to drink at the table the others to take back home and then go next door for a cozy little lunch and ask for a booth.

At the wine shop make sure and tell them that "Carmela sent you."

Buon appetito e Salute,

Carmela

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

Greetings from Carmela's Cucina,

The week-end high in Savannah, Ga. is going to be 68 degrees. Join me for the culinary trip that I am hosting there in March around their home and garden tour week. This special event includes, meals, hotel, ground transportation, cooking classes, entrance fees to many special homes in the historic area of Savannah and much more. For the full itinerary and registration form go to my website at www.carmiescucina.com and click on the tours button.

The deadline for the tour is Dec. 31, 2009. Give yourself a great Christmas present and think spring!

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins