Some Travel Advice

We just got back from a fun, long weekend in Paso Robles / Cambria. We drank wine in Paso, but stayed at a house in Cambria. Here are two recommendations.

First, bring a big, cast-iron skillet with you. I brought my largest, a 15" monster. You can never trust the homeowners who rent through VRBO to have decent cookware and since food is so critical to a good time, it pays to bring your own. A single one will do, no need to bring a bunch of them. We ended up using mine for every breakfast and dinner. Since we drove, packing it was no big deal.

Sadly, the house had an electric stove instead of gas and even the big cast iron couldn't distribute the heat just right. Still, it did the job better than just about anything else could. One of those dreadful, thin, metal skillets would have just burned everything.

Sauteeing shrooms in the big, cast-iron brute. Note the horrid electric stove.

Second, on your first morning, make a bunch of bacon and store the grease in a small bowl in the fridge for later use. There's nothing like cooking with bacon grease, but it's silly to bring it with you or buy it. We did this and then I used it to make a wonderful sausage, shrimp and crab gumbo the last night. Spectacular!

There. That's it for now. A pair of tips for your next trip. Bon apetit!