'Pizza Pilgrims' - Two Brothers embark on an epic Italian road trip in a Piaggio Ape three-wheeler van, to find inspiration for their new street food venture

Brothers James and Thom Elliot have masterminded a new street food business venture in the UK; selling traditional Italian pizzas, served fresh from a custom made oven in the back of a three-wheeler Piaggio Ape van. The pair will pack in their hectic London lifestyles to follow this culinary dream; risking it all for their new business.



The brothers are flying to the southernmost point of the Italian mainland to collect their van and drive it back to the UK, travelling over 2000 miles across the length of Italy. Driving at a max speed of 40mph, the boys are quite literally taking the long way home. James and Thom are using this road trip to completely immerse themselves in Italian culture, history and traditions; eagerly absorbing as much of the local lifestyles and food humanly possible as research for their business.

Throughout the trip the brothers will have a television camera crew by their side capturing every mile of their journey. A television series is planned for broadcast in the New Year.



James and Thom are building an extensive social media campaign, which is due to go viral and become an online hit. The brothers will entertain their followers with a daily video blog, Facebook and Twitter updates which will enable the fans to get involved with the trip, make route suggestions and ultimately create a vibrant web based community.


Highlights of the trip include:


- Cooking with San Marzano tomatoes.


- Limoncello production on the island of Capri.


- Visiting the oldest pizzeria in Naples to learn from expert pizza chef.


- Milking buffalo to create buffalo mozzarella.


- Learning how make Pesto.


- Stuffing sausages with chilli peppers in Spilinga.


- Driving along the stunning Amalfi coast.


- Fishing for Eels in a lake outside of Rome.


- Participating in a village Donkey race.


James and Thom both have a passion for food that was instilled in them from growing up in a family of restaurateurs and wine merchants.James is the true foodie of the two, and has worked as a chef since he was 16, from his parents pub in Dorset to Marco Pierre White's The Mirabel in London. He gave up cooking after believing that he should grow up and get a real job and went off to university. He then moved to London and started working for BBC 6 music radio station and now works in commercial and pop promo production. However, at 25 he has decided that he wants to be his own boss and pursue his passion for food.Thom works in advertising and marketing and is desperate to get out of the rat-race and bring the world a better pizza. It is fair to say that he is currently more involved in eating pizza than cooking it, something he is hoping to rectify. However, having quit his job leaving his fiance as the breadwinner and mortgage payer of the house he certainly has the most to lose from peddling pizzas for a living. Comparatively, he is probably the organized one, but being on his third mobile phone of the year that is probably a little of an overstatement.



Core Facts



1. Journey of 2000 miles from Reggio di Calabria in Italy, back to London, driving at a max speed of 40mph.


2. A full 8 part series will be completed about the trip in the New Year.


3. A social media campaign will continuously track the progress the trip. The brothers will entertain their followers with a daily video blog, Facebook and Twitter updates which will enable the fans to get involved with the trip, make route suggestions and ultimately create a vibrant web based community.


Pizza Pilgrims: The Pilgrimage Begins.


The journey has officially begun. On Sunday afternoon James and Thom touched down in Lamezia Terme Airport, Italy.


Monday morning was the first of many early starts for the boys, as they eagerly went to collect their only mode of transport for the next month – a brand new, racing green, Piaggio Ape.


The brothers enjoyed a morning full of test driving and getting to grips with the three-wheeled van before hitting the road and driving to Spilinga for onion ice cream tasting the next day.


Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Hn43xWqxM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1soc5XwRGI&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBjGFyUulGQ

National Gumbo Day Dinner

Al Fresco Chipotle Chorizo Chicken Sausage with Mango and Adodo Gumbo Basmati Rice Bowl

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 bay leaf

1 t. Kosher salt

1 t. dried oregano

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

20 oz. chicken broth

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes

12 oz. Al Fresco Chipotle Chorizo Chicken Sausage with Mango and Adobo, sliced

1/2 lb. frozen okra

3 c. cooked Basmati white rice, cooked

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven, or pot, heat oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add flour and stir until combined and becomes a dark red about 6 to 8 minutes.

Add celery and onion and continue cooking another 3 to 5 minutes scraping any bits from the bottom. Stir in bay leaf, salt, oregano, cayenne, broth, tomatoes and sausage. Boil lightly about 15 minutes.

To assemble dish spoon mounds of rice into a bowl and spoon gumbo mixture over the top.

Sunday Night Salmon Supper

It's so nice to come home after a day of work and have a man that has the dinner taken care of...all I needed to do was prepare my families favorite glazed carrots...

Grilled Alder Sockeye Salmon, Glazed Carrots and Basmati White Rice

Serves: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
4 (4-6 oz.) Sockeye salmon fillets
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. black cracked pepper, to taste
1 c. Basmati rice, rinsed
1 1/2 c. water
1 pinch Kosher salt
1 T. olive oil
8 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 t. Kosher salt
1-2 T. brown sugar
1 T. unsalted butter
soy sauce (if desired)

Directions:
Preheat grill over medium heat, using a small piece of Alder wood if desired. Place salmon fillets on foil and season flesh with salt and pepper; set aside.

In a medium pot combine rice, water and pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Continue cooking until water is disolved and rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and set aside.

In the meantime heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and toss to coat evenly. Cook until golden and almost tender tossing frequently, about 10 minutes. Add salt, brown sugar and butter then toss to coat and continue to cook until a glaze is formed about 3 to 5 minutes. 

While rice and carrots are cooking place salmon fillet skin side down onto grill on indirect heat and cook just until medium if not medium rare about 8 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of fillets.

Serve salmon with glazed carrots and white rice. Flavor rice with soy sauce if desired.