Luxury Travel Review
New soup cookbook a fine addition to my collection
Article and photos by Gary Cox
The New Book of Soups
Soup is a universal food. From the earliest days of mankind with an iron pot dangling over the fire to modern cuisine in the most exclusive restaurants, soup is one of the most versatile and flexible forms of cooking. The extraction, blending and concentration of flavors in liquid form can be a quiet challenging medium for the novice and experienced chef alike. It has been said that the best way to judge the capabilities of a new chef is to have him or her make a soup with the ingredients on hand.
Reviewing a cookbook can be a challenge, particularly one that requires the reader to possess specific skills or a talent for cooking. What I liked about The New Book of Soups (Lebhar-Friedman Book, $35) by the Culinary Institute of America is that it is well organized, making easy to pick up and start cooking. Also, there is quite a bit of information in the front of the book on processing ingredients, making stock and other topics useful for various skill levels.
It was gratifying to find that even having skipped past all the preparatory material, the recipes still produced great tasting results. We tried the Double Chicken Broth recipe and found it excellent and a memorable addition to our ongoing repertoire. Even substituting a mixture of mushrooms for the shitake ones in the recipe, the resulting soup was tasty and disappeared quickly.
Double Chicken Broth Soup made following the recipe in The New Book of Soups
An excellent test of a cookbook is to make a familiar classic recipe and evaluate the flavors and ease of performing the recipe steps. The next soup I made was the Onion Soup Gratinee, a rendition of the classic French onion soup. The instructions were easy to follow and produced a terrific tasting soup using easily obtainable ingredients. This time of year, Vidalia onions are widely available and they resulted in a slightly sweet and flavorful rendition of this longtime favorite.
The ingredients for the Onion Soup Gratinee
Our version of the Onion Soup Gratinee based on the recipe in The New Book of Soups
There are still many recipes I look forward to trying in this second edition of the 249-page The New Book of Soups. The book is divided into Soup Basics, Broths, Hearty Soups, Stews, Cream Soups, Pureed Soups, Bisques and Chowders, Cold Soups, and Accompaniments sections with many full color photos to illustrate the desired end result. I might even rely on the material in the front and take a lash at making my own stock or some of the other basics to improve my overall skills. It is not necessary to study the basics to get great results, but it is nice to know they are there if I have questions or an interest. Excellent for the beginner or perhaps even for experienced chefs, this cookbook makes a great addition to my library.
Click here to buy The New Book of Soups
Well situated Johannesburg guest lodge offered good value for money
Photos by Juan Cooper
One of the common areas at The Parkwood
A bathroom at The Parkwood
One of the water features at the Johannesburg hotel
A quiet corner for a meeting
The living area in one of The Parkwood suites
During a visit to South Africa one of our teams stayed at The Parkwood Guest Lodge, a 16-room luxury oriented property within an upscale Johannesburg neighborhood. They appreciated the property’s quiet ambiance, comfort and luxury oriented suites and the hotel’s location within easy reach of restaurants and shopping centers. Click here to read about their stay at The Parkwood Guest Lodge
Expandable carry-on bag, my new favorite traveling companion
Article and photograph by Josette King
I have long nurtured the fantasy of one perfectly versatile suitcase that would take me across the country or to the far reaches of the planet, preferably in carry-on only travel mode. When the complexity and length of the itinerary required more, it would expand just enough to carry all my travel necessities to my primary destination, then gracefully retract to its carry-on purpose for shorter side trips. And of course, it would hold much more than a carry-on bag ever could, and take all the abuse a memorable trip can dish out without adverse effects.
Enter my new Briggs & Riley Baseline 20” Carry-On Upright, an expandable wide body suitcase. Sized to meet most major airlines carry-on requirements for domestic as well as international travel, it also featured a zipped expansion gusset that extended its capacity by almost 25 percent to become a checked bag able to carry the necessities of an eight-week, winter into spring European trip across the Atlantic. Its interior was a masterpiece of thoughtful design. Wide enough to accommodate side-by-side two neat stacks of sweaters and shirts, it also had a small zipped garment bag compartment fitted in the case’s lid.
Briggs and Riley Carry On
Its sturdy construction allowed it to withstand less than ideal traveling conditions. It was dragged across the cobblestones of Bruges in a downpour (yes, its ballistic nylon exterior is water repellent), and up one flight of stairs in the Paris metro. It even became a handy stool when I found myself traveling in the corridor of a German high-speed train. Click here to read an article about the Briggs & Riley Baseline 20” Carry-On Upright.
Eastern Cape safari lodge had luxurious comfy suites, foodie meals
Photos by Gary Cox
The Kichaka pool and water hole
There were two daily game drives at Kichaka
A common area at Kichaka
There was game viewing of the small and large varieties at the lodge
Kichaka, an Eastern Cape, South Africa luxury game viewing lodge with 10 suites, offered visitors to the region excellent meals, luxurious suites with lots of privacy and twice daily game drives. Elena and Gary thought it was a great place for a romantic getaway and for visitors to South Africa’s Wine Route wishing to get a taste of game viewing in a luxury environment. Click here to read our team’s detailed article about the Kichaka Luxury Game Lodge.
South African lion whisperer tells his story
Part of the Pride My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa book cover
Although Kevin Richardson had a reasonably normal childhood in Johannesburg, South Africa as an adult he became extraordinary by virtue of his ability to interact safely (mostly) with predators in captivity. Lest we think rubbing nose to nose with male and female lions and hyenas in an enclosure, handling a lion cub while sharing space in the same enclosure with the lioness mum, filming commercials and entire feature length movies, often outside the safety of a park enclosure, is something any zoo staff member can do, it’s not.
It is dangerous work. No one, not even Kevin Richardson, denies that. How and why is this possible? In Part of the Pride My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa, published in 2009 (St. Martin’s Press, $25.99) he discusses his growing years and the path that led him to his amazing interactions with some of Africa’s big cats raised in captivity at the South African Lion Park and the Kingdom of the White Lion. With the help of Author Tony Park, he shares his experience as a self taught lion whisperer.
Kevin Richardson with his lion family (back cover of the book)
The 243-page hardcover book, easy to read in his candid first person style, is divided into 14 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue. For lion lovers and fans of Richardson’s work (some videos on YouTube show him in action) the book answers many questions. It made us eager to watch the two film projects mentioned in the book including White Lion: Home Is a Journey due out soon.
Photos courtesy of St. Martin’s Press
Click to buy Part of the Pride: My Life Among the Big Cats of Africa
Inspiria, a Boucheron, Cirque du Soleil jewelry exhibit at Montreal museum
Article and photos by Andrea de Gosztonyi (jewelry photos courtesy of Boucheron, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)
Love is set in white, yellow and pink gold with blue, pink and yellow sapphires, emeralds and diamonds
Kooza is set in pink gold with pink and yellow sapphires and diamonds
There is a new temporary exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in Montreal, Canada, Inspiria: How Cirque du Soleil Inspired the House of Boucheron to Create a Collection of Luxury Jewellery. Some are also calling it the Clown Jewels. Guy Laliberté, the founder and chief executive officer of the internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil, and the well established high fashion jewelery house Boucheron based on the Place Vendome in Paris, France have come together to present a collection of 20 necklaces that are presently on display at the museum. Each necklace was conceived to represent one of twenty Cirque du Soleil shows on tour such as Love (see Cirque du Soleil ‘Vegas show fun and Cirque du Solei The Beatles Love) and Corteo (see Italian themed Cirque show delightful). Rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds are only some of the stones used to create this stunning collection.
The museum devoted a separate gallery to the exhibit of these fine jewels. The display counters unfold like a magnificent ribbon winding down from the ceiling and flowing across the room. Encased in sunken boxes, each necklace is described with a text explaining how the jewelers were inspired by that particular show. Suspended above each necklace is a video clip of the show represented by the necklace. Brilliant craftsmanship, flowing shapes and movements are reflected in both works. Gouache drawings of each necklace are displayed on the walls. I found it fascinating to see the transformation from drawing to actual object. There is also a short video on the selection of jewels and the actual fabrication of the necklaces from sketch to finished product.
Guy Laliberté, founder and CEO, Cirque du Soleil
Exceptionally two sets of each necklace were made. One set remains in the private collection of Guy Laliberté and the other collection, presently on display, is for sale. Another first for this collaboration is the fact that some of the profit from the sale of the jewelery will go to the One Drop Foundation, a charity founded by Guy Laliberté to ensure that everyone across the planet has access to clean water now and in the future.
O Necklace set in white gold with a pear shaped diamond, pave diamonds, blue and purple sapphires and rubies
Boucheron, founded in Paris in 1858 by Frédéric Boucheron, has been jeweler to courtesans and kings, maharajahs and czars. The company rose to prominence during the Art Déco period in Europe and its jewelers have been creators of luxurious jewelery ever since. Jean Christophe Bedos, president, House of Boucheron attended the exhibit opening. Cirque du Soleil is well known for spectacular shows with acrobatics, costumes and original music.
Jean Christophe Bedos, president, House of Boucheron
As an admirer of fine jewelery I thought the free-admission exhibition was well worth the visit. This collection exhibit coincides with the 25 anniversary of Cirque du Soleil and the opening of its new show Totem scheduled to open April 22, 2010 and run through June 27, 2010 at Le Grand Chapiteau (the Big Tent) in Old Montreal. Montreal, the home base for Cirque du Soleil, is a fitting location for the opening exhibition of Inspiria inspired by the Cirque shows. See it at the Jean Noel Desmarais Pavilion of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in Montreal Quebec, Canada (514-285-5000, 1-800-899-MUSE, www.mbam.qc.ca) until August 29, 2010.
