Raise your hand if you plan vacations around food.
Keep it raised if you don’t think that’s a problem.
If your hand isn’t raised, don’t keep reading. It’ll just make the rest of us feel bad.
This is standard behavior for the Anderson family. We don’t always choose our trip locations for the food, but we do always spend our vacation days planning, shopping, and cooking our meals.
For the many years Maggy lived in England, we’d start MONTHS before her trips home, planning out all the meals we were going to eat, the restaurants we’d visit, all the things we were going to bake, and of course, the wines and cocktails we were going to drink.
Two years later, when I was studying abroad in Greece and completely broke, my roommate and I picked the islands we were going to visit based solely on the one restaurant worth spending our precious little money on. (When my Mom found out I was only eating one major meal every three days, she shook her head and thanked me for not telling her until I got back.)
Last summer, on the first day of our family vacation, we sat out on the beach meticulously planning each meal for the next seven days. And when we’d planned and shopped for everything—and ostensibly there was nothing left to plan—we’d talk half the day about who was going to make what, when cocktail hour was going to start, and what we were going to make for my birthday dinner (one month away).
This year, I am on vacation with Tony’s family. I was ecstatic to receive an email before we even left that assured me our first stop off the plane would be a local farmer’s market. These are folks who make a habit of traveling with their own cookware and who lugged a 3-liter bottle of awesome Cabernet from Ohio to South Carolina. Happily, the conversation during late morning beach hours runs to “What’s for dinner?!” (Yes, exactly my kind of people!)
The one downside of cooking on vacation—whether it’s Canada, Florida, France, or South Carolina—is the rental kitchen gamble. When you rent a house, you have to put some faith in humanity and hope that the people who own the place know that cooking requires knives other than the kind you spread butter or cut steak with, and that not all skillets should be nonstick, and that a food processor (no matter how small) is much appreciated.
Like many of the houses I’ve rented with my family over the years, the house we’re in this week is beautiful, but somewhat less well endowed in the kitchen department. But, there is something fun about culinary “camping.” There is a sense of adrenaline and McGyver-like creativity that comes with cooking without good knives, or mixing bowls, or a wide-range of cutting boards…and, of course, not knowing where anything is.
Last night, when Tony and I were making dinner for the family, the expensive hamburger buns were dangerously close to burning under the broiler while I was running around trying to find the one single potholder. Anthony was making gazpacho in a blender that smelled like coconut rum. I was cutting all the produce with a steak knife. And we made pasta salad in a plastic punch bowl.
All in all, though, the meal was great—or at least every one said so. The texture of the gazpacho, the presence of a giant punch bowl on the table, and the slightly over-toasted buns didn’t give anyone pause. Hey, we’re on vacation. Who cares if we have to wash the dishes with a balled up rag, since there is no sponge to be found?
Sharon I can completely relate! My sister and I plan the menus/dining for where we vacation before we thing about any other part of the trip!
And you are so right – the improv involved in cooking while renting others homes is crazy yet fun – even in million dollar lake/beach front homes…what sometimes is lacking in the kitchen is nuts! Especially when needing lots of large serving platters, bowls etc to feed my firends and family!
This winter my son was very sick and we had to cancel on the annual ski trip last minute, I was like…what are they going to do…who is going to cook…lol But they made it!
When we take off on vacation — my “no plan” traveling companion is more than happy for me to bring a long a copy of Road Food to inspire our food stops. At the start of the trip, I put all the “possible” locations within 50 miles of our route and it always works out that we hit at least a half dozen or so. Last year the hit was a great Mexican restaurant near the stockyards (think of that appetizing welcome …) in North Platte, Nebraska. MOST memorable!
Lovely column …
I hear you on the rental houses–the beach house we stayed last fall had 5 corkscrews, but only 1 measuring cup. Two pasta wheels, but no pizza cutter. The condo we stayed in earlier this year–no 9×13 pan, and no baking sheets of any kind. Also no icemaker, which is fine (I don’t have one at home either), but also no ice cube trays. I guess they figure no one is eating in?
So true! Very frustrating indeed, but kudos for forging ahead mighty one! McGyver would be proud.
I may pack simple tongs at least for the next trip.
A couple of years ago, we rented a HUGE house with 4 other couples and each of us were in charge of 1 meal, so I made pizza. I made the dough (enough for 12 pizzas – we wanted leftovers!) and all the sauces and toppings before we left, and brought along my 2 pizza stones, 2 pizza peels, and pizza cutter. It was SO worth it!
I also travel with a good knife and a couple of those flexible, antimicrobial cutting boards. They come with us to the beach and to the woods. It just makes life easier and they take up hardly any room. I have a blade guard for the knife (a Wustohf Santoku that I wasn’t really using anymore in the kitchen), and they actually live in the Rubbermaid tub that we store all of our camping supplies in (and when I say camping, I mean in the middle of the woods – not at a campground). As long as I remember to grab it when I’m packing for the beach, we’re good to go!
Been there, done that! My husband doesn’t understand that the reason my favorite knife is my favorite (besides the obvious) is that is has a wonderful sheath to carry it it. It goes everywhere with me!! Now my sister lives in CA and whenever she is here (Seattle) for vacation it is all about visiting the restaurants she misses most. We hardly ever cook when she is on vacation here. It’s a little weird as we both love to cook so much.
I can totally relate to this post, Sharon. As you know, we’ve stayed in a few vacation homes with well-stocked kitchens, but it’s usually pretty makeshift.
This also reminds me of cooking big dinners for you and your friends in a college dorm kitchen. They’re the worst, I think. I remember lining a plastic crate with a tall kitchen bag for tossing Caesar Salad. I do love a good challenge.
The only real essential tool is good wine and plenty of it. I used to bring an entire kitchen , including food processor and a chocolate fountain. Now in my old age I fully appreciate the essentialias — good wine– nice glasses — plenty of family to drink it- and good gin in case you right out of wine. The rest is gloss.
I love cooking at the beach. I don’t care to swim in a pool or sit on the beach. What I look forward to is the one week of summer that I can be sure they will all be sitting at the table to eat together.I always take a container of my cooking gear so I’m prepared!
Yeah, eating is the only real reason to travel!
Love your posts Sharon, they always make me smile. We had one house in NH we rented every year for about 8 yrs, so we got really good at knowing what to bring. Next weekend Jack and I are off to a B & B in NH, and I’m already thinking about where we will eat dinner.
Great post, Sharon. I blogged about it over on FineCooking.com:
http://www.finecooking.com/item/19284/beefing-up-a-vegetarian-dinner
Thanks for the inspiration!
Sharon. vacations are for fun, it sounds to me like you had your share of fun on yours!!
I have been wanting to plan a vacation around all the famous food spots I hear about. I would love to try a Pinks hot dog for example, I want to know why their hot dogs are not just another hot dog. I read and hear about so many great places that I would dearly love to travel around, hitting the places that interest family members most. I don’t know if those famous Hawaiian shaved ice (I’m referring to places like Matsumoto’s Shave Ice, Waiola’s Shave Ice or Island Snow.) will make the list, as Hawaii is not in the budget, but I think going there for special shaved ice is as good an excuse as any, don’t you?
The “makeshift” kitchens are kind of the best part, in a way. I just spent 10 days with family out west (Colorado), and I’m kind of the only culinarily-inclined one of the bunch. So, with the help of some sous chefs, I found myself making meals for some 20 odd people most days, and yes, I quite enjoyed it actually. A little bit like Kitchen Impossible, I think. Especially out where we were, b/c not only were the kitchens questionable, but I could never really be too sure what I’d find at the market or the grocery store either.
@Margo – Matusomoto’s Shave Ice is the BEST. So so so good.