A unique concept, this cookbook draws recipe inspiration from six different travel destinations. With global travel paused for much of last year and a portion of 2021, 'Getaway' allows you to recreate these dishes in the comfort and safety of your own kitchen. Rather than feature obvious destinations for food, these geographical areas were chosen because of the personal relationship Author and Chef Renee Erickson shares with them. These are the places she returns to most often - Rome, Paris, Normandy, London, Baja and Seattle (where she lives and runs a successful restaurant group). With a focus on feeding a gathering of people, the recipes are intended to be shared. To that end, there are several cocktail recipes throughout - resulting in a festive, delicious week of eating. Here are the dishes (and drinks!) we chose: • Ben's Focaccia Al Sale - We certainly aren't going to be mad at baking a giant sheet tray of tasty olive oil-infused bread! While we've all drooled over the eye-catching, elaborate focaccia creations populating our social media feeds, this recipe keeps things simple. Although, we chose to add some fresh rosemary and grated parmesan atop the bread. You'll need to muster some serious willpower to avoid devouring all of this at once. Thankfully, the leftovers can be portioned and frozen to enjoy later. • Sliced Coppa with Celery, Green Olive and Lemon - It's easy to forget that not only do pigs have shoulders, but they are insanely delicious. Coppa, made from pork shoulder, is a welcome reminder. Here, it gets simply prepared with green olives, celery, thinly sliced shallot (we used some red onion we had on hand), salt, pepper, olive oil and a drizzle of lemon juice. The result is a savory, fresh plate with a touch of brightness. Using the best quality ingredients you can source ensures each component will excel. • King Oyster Mushrooms with Marjoram, Bread Crumbs and Poached Egg - Texturally and flavorly (yes, we made that up), king oyster mushrooms can hold their own against any meat counterpart. Browning them in a skillet with butter and olive oil coaxes even more flavor from them. Adding garlic, lemon zest and preserved lemon too? Forget about it! The addition of a poached egg atop the dish makes it a knife and forker. While we weren't completely sold on the addition of marjoram (too "soapy" tasting), thyme would have worked better. A sprinkle of fresh garlic bread crumbs adds a pleasant textural component. Although intended more as a shared plate, this made a great lighter dinner entree. • Whale Wins Old Fashioned - This drink served as an introduction to calvados, an apple brandy originating from Normandy, France. This variation of an old fashioned swaps whisky for calvados. Consisting of just three ingredients (calvados, bitters and simple syrup) and garnished with an orange peel, this was both easy to make and drink. Perhaps it was the brand of calvados we used but there was a medicinal note in the flavor we weren't completely enamored with. Not that it prevented us from enjoying this cocktail... • Roast Chicken Salad, Green Beans, Fennel, Potatoes and Grainy Dijon Vinaigrette - There are few meals that bring as much joy as a simply roasted whole chicken. Except, perhaps, grabbing a quality rotisserie chicken from you local grocer - which is what our lazy selves did (to be fair, the recipe instructions offer this as an option). Having abdicated our chicken roasting responsibilities, this was a quick and easy dish to compose. A "salad" consisting of green beans, shaved fennel and potatoes are bathed, along with the chicken, in a sharp, tangy dijon vinaigrette. There's a reason these classic flavors work so well together. • Strawberry and Black Pepper G & T - While black pepper may not be an obvious cocktail component, it works surprisingly well here. It serves as a perfect foil to the sweet, juicy strawberries and herbal notes of the gin. If you are looking to elevate the classic gin & tonic, reach for the freshly ground black pepper and prepare for your drinking companions to be amazed. • Dill Dip with Potato Chips - Serving these with a glass of sparkling wine is the perfect "high brow / low brow" combination! The dill dip was reminiscent of the rippled Old Dutch potato chips we used to enjoy at family gatherings when we were young. Much like French fries, we never seem to execute potato chips as successfully as when others make them. Yet, we keep trying. We scaled back the recipe since it was just the two of us. These were a perfect pre-dinner snack as we eased into the weekend.