Suzanne Carreiro - Food and Wine Consultant

I am home after spending 2006 in Italy, where I lived in a centuries-old farmhouse next door to my “adopted” family on the outskirts of Umbertide, an ancient town in the Upper Tiber River Valley. While living as part of this old Umbrian family and immersing myself in their daily lives, I gained insight into the cuisine, customs, and lifestyle that few are privileged to have. I attended birthday, holiday, and graduation celebrations. I was one of the first to visit my neighbor in the hospital, just hours after she gave birth to a baby boy. I went into forests inhabited by wild boars and poisonous viper snakes to gather truffles and wild asparagus. I harvested grapes to make vinsanto, a traditional dessert wine. With a family who lived up the hill from me, I picked olives and watched them being pressed. So many adventures—and they’re all in my book—

: Tales and Recipes from My Year in Umbria. If you’d like to be kept in the loop about my book, please email me at suzanne@foodandwinepros.com.

During my year in Umbria, I took thousands of beautiful photographs and finished the research for my regional book. My agent has submitted the proposal to a couple of interested publishers. Speriamo bene (let’s hope for the best)!

At this point, I have lived in Umbria in the same apartment in Umbertide for a total of one and a half years. While living in Italy, I spent my time trying to find the best cooks, artisans, and food producers. By now, I know so many wonderful people, that I have decided to put together excursions to Umbria for lovers of good food and wine. I am also planning tours for photo buffs. I hope you will join me in Umbria—we’ll hunt truffles, make pizza in a wood-burning oven, and drink Umbria’s sagrantino wine.

Hunting for Truffles, Vincenzo argues with his dog over a truffle

Food has been my love since childhood—I developed my first recipe, apple pie filling, at age ten while my mother was at work. I went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in home economics. Since then, I have been teaching cooking classes, developing recipes and styling for major food companies, and writing for major newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle and The Oakland Tribune. I have worked in advertising-public relations agencies and been a PR director for Beringer Blass Wine Estates’ international portfolio—Castello di Gabbiano, Campanile, and Travaglini in Italy, and Tarapaca in Chile.
Photo: Vincenzo argues with his dog over a truffle.

In April of 2007, I began doing cooking demonstrations at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, one of the best-regarded chef training programs in the country. I’ve been studying photography—and used my new skills to shoot all of the photos for my book. I’ve combined that experience with my twenty years’ as a food and prop stylist to shoot photos for clients’ websites.

Food companies, commodity boards, wineries, and publications who I have worked for,
written for, styled food for, developed recipes for, and/or created and implemented PR campaigns for . . .

Summer is one of my favorite times to cook and entertain. Here are a few of my recipes that I love to serve when the weather is hot.

Crostini Con Salmone Affumicato
You’ll never buy a store-bought smoked salmon spread after you taste this one. And you won’t have to—this one is so simple to make. Serve the crostini with a crisp pinot grigio.

Prawn and Avocado Salsa with Chips
This ceviche-style salsa is so good, everyone asks me for the recipe. Here it is.

Guacamole Tostadas with Smoking Hot Chipotle Vinaigrette
Wow, if you love spicy food, you’re going to be wild about these tostadas! And the versatile vinaigrette is delicious on grilled meats, fish, or poultry.

Portuguese Grilled Chicken Soup
You may not think of soup as a summer dish, but I do. It makes a light meal on a hot day. And this soup, made with grilled chicken and linguisa sausage, has the intriguing smoky flavor of a summer barbecue.