Cooking Vacations - Follow Me To Italy With Lauren

Lauren Birmingham Piscitelli
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Celebrating the Food, Art & Music of Italy

  1. 12/14/2025

    19 – Dolce Natale

    Music in the kitchen, almonds toasting and a busy oven that is always baking – this is Marie Lucia’s recipe for biscotti pratesi.  Coming from a family of pastry makers in the sleepy town of Prata Sannita, she keeps her Italian heritage alive through cooking, baking, music and family. As she tells me about recipes from her grandmother’s cookbook, she takes a moment to rotate the pans of anisette biscotti that are baking in the oven. She is exquisite and dainty, and her dark brown eyes match her thick, brown hair. Marie Lucia, who’s named after her grandmother, is my mother.

    15 min

  2. 08/28/2025

    18 – Cooking In The Seasons

    Join us in our garden and discover how Italians cook in the rhythm of the seasons from spring, summer, autumn and winter cherishing the bounties of the harvest. Italians know the natural way of living. Farmers also plant in the seasons following the full moon and tides. Listen in and learn how.

    20 min

  3. 08/28/2025

    17 – Amalfi Coast Lemons

    Sfusato lemons which grow on terraced land along the Amalfi Coast are the protagonist in cooking in this region. Discover their history, importance in cooking and secrets in the Mediterranean diet as you travel from Capri to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.

    12 min

  4. 03/10/2025

    16 – A Postcard from Pompeii

    Pompeii laying in the shadows of Mount Vesuvius charms visitors from around the world. The Cathedral, set on the main piazza to the delicious Neapolitan food and wine, wows! The main pedestrian walkway and where locals stroll and socialize on caffe tables spilling onto the sidewalk, is a city steeped in Neapolitan tradition. Closely attached to the Vatican and home of where the rosary was first said, Pompeii is not to be missed on your Italian Cooking Vacations.

    23 min

  5. 02/28/2025

    13_COOKING_MONTALCINO.mp3

    Nestled on the Spiaggia Grande, the main beach, in Positano, the Tre Sorelle restaurant has been dazzling guests since 1950 with the likes of John Steinbeck, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to Diego Maradona, Italy’s legendary soccer player. Join us at Tre Sorelle as we dine and speak with Luigi and Alfsono Piscane, owner of Tre Sorelle.

  6. 10/18/2024

    13_COOKING_MONTALCINO.mp3

    The Reale Vineyard, owned by a humble family of winemakers, is set in the hills above the Amalfi Coast. For generations the winemakers follow the old world method of growing and bottling awaard-winning wine.

    9 min

  7. 10/11/2024

    13_COOKING_MONTALCINO.mp3

    Join as we visit Montalcino. Montalcino, a dreamy hilltop town once ruled by kings, queens, and noblemen, is a UNESCO Heritage Site in the province of Siena. Famous for its Vino Brunello di Montalcino, the small village, beckons wine enthusiasts from around the world. Follow us as we visit Montalcino and stroll through its cobblestone streets – no cars allowed – and to Piazza del Popolo, the main square and up into Palazzo dei Priori for a breathtaking view over the infinite Val d’Orcia. Discover the Fortress of Montalcino, the 14th century bastion and a shining palazzo of military architecture – now a fancy wine tasting room and shop. Stroll through cobblestone streets lined with artisan shops and wine bars owned by locals who are passionate to share their craft and where you can sip and swirl Vino Brunello di Montalcino and other precious wine of the region.

    13 min

  8. 06/04/2024

    12 – It’s a Dream Place – Stories & Recipes of Food, Love and the Amalfi Coast

    Elizabeth Berg, award-winning New York Times bestselling author says, “This is a dream cookbook. Who in the world wouldn’t want to try ‘Catch of the Day for a Beautiful Woman of the Sea?’ But in addition to being a cookbook, it’s a slice of life from the impossibly beautiful Amalfi Coast: how it looks, how it feels, how the interactions with the people there are so soulful and rewarding. It takes a particular kind of person to attract the kinds of magical stories Lauren Birmingham Piscitelli does. And it takes something more to get chefs to give up their recipes. Call this author not only a charming writer, but a sorceress whose company in these pages we are privileged to keep.” Order here  View Pages

    19 min
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Celebrating the Food, Art & Music of Italy

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