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Culinary Excursions: 10 Savory Cooking Retreats
by Carrie Miner
Spice It Up In Santa Fe
How do you roast a green chili? What's the difference between salsa and red chili sauce? How do you make the perfect mole?
 If you're looking for the answers, the Santa Fe School of Cooking has them. For more than 16 years, this high-profile cooking school has brought the best of contemporary Southwestern and traditional Mexican cuisine to thousands of hungry home chefs each year.
The culinary classes celebrate the laid-back lifestyle of New Mexico and its rich cultural and historical traditions. This close-knit, family-owned school features the recipes and handiwork of some of the most renowned chefs in Santa Fe.
Among the 32 regularly scheduled classes featuring the flavorful foods of the Southwest include the traditional tastes of New Mexico (cheese enchiladas with red chile sauce, carne adovada, chiles rellenos, calabacitas, and posole) and contemporary Southwest (herbed chicken breasts with huitlacoche-roasted corn salsa, lamb adovada with chipotle sauce and smoked pork tenderloin with a red chile cider glaze and apple-piñon chutney). There is also classic Mexican cuisine (pork loin with red chili mole, flautas a la crema with green chile tomatillo sauce and chorizo enchiladas with guajillo sauce).
The classes begin with on a perky note with a cup of piñon coffee and then continue on with the chef preparing and explaining the scheduled recipes while students observe and finally sample the finished dishes.
All of this comes complete with lodging at the charming, adobe Inn on the Alameda.
 Best accessed by the Santa Fe Municipal Airport [SAF] and located in the heart of historic Santa Fe, the Inn on the Alameda offers the Muy Sabrosa Cooking School package several times each month.
In addition to two nights' accommodations and the cooking class, this package includes a 20 percent discount at Ristra. Just don't expect tortillas and tamales at this critically acclaimed dining destination. The French twist on Southwestern cuisine here will turn the head of even the most adventurous gastronome. We're talking arugula and fig salad with goat cheese and crispy yucca; chili relleno with rabbit and onion confit, fried beets and pomegranate jus; roasted rack of lamb with minted couscous, fennel and tomato confit, and black tapenade and lavender jus; and crispy salmon with cumin polenta, pea tomato basil salsa and port sauce.
And after dining, you can continue your colorful trip with the visual feast displayed in Santa Fe's more than 300 art galleries or downtown's artistic attractions—Georgia O'Keefe Museum, the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, and the Museum of Fine Art.
Victuals In Vermont
Vermont is known as the "Green Mountain State" for a reason. This picturesque mountain range dominates the skyline of the southern region of this state, which is known as a popular year-round destination for outdoor enthusiasts seeking the best in hunting, fishing, hiking biking and skiing.
But indoor pastimes also abound—most notably the gourmet pursuits offered by the New England Culinary Institute at The Inn at Essex.
After a smooth landing at the Burlington International Airport [KBTV], the inn's complimentary shuttle takes guests on a relaxing 15-minute ride to this charming country inn where the New England Culinary Institute [NECI] has been teaching world-class chefs for more than 25 years.
Today, NECI expands its base by offering the guests at The Inn at Essex the chance to work with everything from caviar to chocolate. Taught in the Daycor Culinary Theatre, the small "Chef 'Inn' Training" classes are customized to fit the needs of the participants.
Chefs from every expertise are available to take on the most demanding cooking challenges in the intimate, state-of-the-art kitchen. Those seeking a more laid-back approach are invited to Chef Tyler Lighthart's culinary demonstrations.
Or for private dining delight, guests can dine on a customized menu created by their own personal chef.
However, the flavorful offerings don't stop there. Menu must-haves at Butler's Restaurant include such savory pairings as pan-roasted duck breast with raspberry vinegar gastrique, salsify and mushroom ragout; seared beef tenderloin with foie gras emulsion and scallion mashed potatoes; and pave of sole and salmon with ginger beurre blanc and sautéed spinach.
The Tavern at The Inn of Essex offers a more casual atmosphere with such selections as fish and chips, turkey pot pie, home-style meatloaf, grilled rib-eye and hamburgers.
Even though food in all its flavors and forms are the focus of this culinary retreat, there are many other activities offered for those looking to walk off the inn's sumptuous fare.
Try a game of tennis or golf at the property, relax at the inn's luxurious spa, walk through the culinary-themed garden, hit the slopes at one of the five nearby ski resorts or take a visit to one of Burlington's many attractions.
Finally, you might want to think about finishing up your Vermont adventure by stopping by the Cold Hollow Cider Mill and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory for an after dinner drink and a little dessert.
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