Global Recipe Project

How about a little Caribbean flair? We ran through Puerto Rico with street food and a hearty rice dish. The recipes required that I run around the neighborhood looking for seasonings and spice packets that were completely foreign to me. I tried the huge Mexican supermarket chain store, Cardenas. I had mixed success there. Turns out my unassuming Vons store had everything and more. We headed over to our friends' house (who graciously provided the grill) and enjoyed: Arroz Con Gradules Pinchos Bolitas de Queso Also, did you know that Puerto Rico is home to the first pina colada? You're welcome. The rice was very salty though no actual salt is in the recipe.... However, I loved the idea that you throw dried herbs, and sliced olives into the pot before the rice. The pinchos are the Puerto Rican version of chicken kebabs. Delicious. The bolitas de queso were heavenly. Fried cheese balls. A's Rating: 7 out of 10 H's Rating: 7.5 out of 10 M's Rating: 8 (

I was thinking that Laos would be interesting but not terribly exciting. A weeknight country without any fanfare or party planning. Wow, was I wrong. Have you ever had larb? Aaaaaaaamazing. Larb is a meat salad which you can make with nearly any meat or poultry. You eat it with sticky rice or in lettuce cups. It is deceptively simple which, at first glance, leads you to believe the flavors would be boring. Not true. We will make this again. And again. It is the highest rated dish of this adventure so far. Seriously. I read a lot about larb before making the dish. Basically, you have a lot of flexibility with the ingredients but there are some deal breakers--don't use soy sauce, salt, vinegar, dried herbs, or store bought lime juice; ever. Turkey Larb Ingredients 1 lb ground turkey 2 large shallots 1 tbsp rice powder (or rice flour) 1/2 cup chopped cilantro  1/3 cup chopped mint leaves fresh lime juice fish sauce cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes) lettuce lea

In an effort to zip through a few more countries per year...I decided to opt out of trying Mansaf which is the national dish of Jordan. Although it sounds absolutely delicious, it sounds equally time consuming. Instead, I threw together the bright and summery salad, Fattoush. Fattoush Ingredients for Salad 2 pita breads, cut into 1 inch pieces (toasted in a pan with oil) 2 tomatoes, diced 1 cucumber, diced 1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped 1/2 bunch of mint leaves, chopped 2 green onions, chopped 1/2 bell pepper, diced 1/2 head of romaine lettuce, chopped 1 handful of arugula Ingredients for Dressing 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 3/4 cup olive oil 1 tsp sumac salt and pepper Preparation Mix all the ingredients for the dressing except the sumac. Mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Top with dressing and finish with sumac sprinkled on top. Antoine's Rating: 8 out of 10 Heidi's Rating: 7 out of 10 M's Rating: ??? (she refused to eat any vegetable

Oh Japan. You're so cute. I happily vowed to pour my heart and soul into shoyu ramen. It was a three-day affair. It ended well. Very well. I invited some lovely friends and told them to bring empty stomachs and challenged them to bring a Japanese dessert. They obliged and we enjoyed a wonderful Saturday night filled with noodles, sarcasm, sweet treats and sake. Fun all around. I started the dashi on Wednesday evening it was finished by Friday night. Perfect timing for a Saturday party. Shoyu Ramen (loosely following this recipe) Ingredients The following will serve 10 Kombu Dashi And Tare · 2-4 pieces dried kombu · 1 cup soy sauce (shoyu) · 4 tbsp. dry sake · 2 Tbsp. mirin Pork And Stock 3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder 1 1/2 lbs pork belly 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 lbs. chicken necks, backs, and/or wings 2 lbs. pork ribs 2 bunches scallions, chopped 1 1/2 cups of baby carrots 2 heads of garlic, halved horizontally 3 1” pieces ginger