Global Recipe Project

I am so excited to get to Middle Eastern Country.  Oh the spices! The national dish is Machbous with is basically a tomato and onion sauce cooked with whatever protein you have (fish, chicken, lamb etc.) I chose fish because I haven't had a fish recipe yet and I was hungry for some Omega-3s. The recipe calls for 9 spices, 3 of which I didn't have in my kitchen so I made a little trip to the local World Market. (Yes, I wish I could have gone to some small ethnic shop where the "locals" buy their food, but alas I didn't find anything in a 20 mile radius.) The recipe I followed was from a fellow food blogger and around-the-world recipe challenger.  Here it is. Rating: 7.5 out of 10. The spices were intriguing but I think it calls for a bit more salt to truly bring out all the flavors.

Micronesia is a federation of small islands that includes Guam, Wake Island, Marshall Island and a few others. There doesn't appear to be a distinctly "Micronesian Cuisine" but there are some notable dishes from the individual islands. I chose Chicken Kelaguen which comes to us from Guam.  The dish is found anywhere you can find Guamanians, they love it and I do too. To be classified as "authentic" one must make the finadene marinade and BBQ the chicken after it has marinated overnight. (Some sources say to use a store bought rotisserie chicken and recommended Costco.--Yeah, I love that chicken too, but last time I checked, there were no Costcos in Micronesia.) Finadene 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup lemon juice 1 bunch of green onions (chopped) 5 hot red peppers (I used dried peppers) Chicken Kelaguen Naan bread (lightly grilled) 1 whole chicken 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 coconut 1 bunch green onions (chopped) 5 hot red peppers (chopped) salt and peppe...

This fourth largest island in the world is up next and so is the national dish romazava over rice. Depending on how the rice cooking goes I may also have Ranonapango (burnt rice drink). Some French family friends went to Madagascar in 2009 and loved it. Since then I've had a secret crush on the island country.   Ranonapango Rating: 3 out of 10. "This takes some getting used to."--Tony. I, however, actually enjoyed the idea of this drink. It's resourceful and you get a flavored drinkable water . (This is very important due to the water concerns on the island and the need to boil just about any liquid you put in your mouth.) Romazava Rating 8 out of 10. Looked awful, smelled reasonably acceptable but tasted wonderful. For an interesting read of most things Malagasy, check out the great blog called, Don't Feed the Lemurs . Ranonapango   1.5 cup of rice 3 cups of water Rinse the rice and set aside. Bring the water to a boil and throw in the rice. Sim...

Since I recently returned from a trip to Nicaragua, I've been hoping a Latin American country would be picked soon from the jar. Luckily Tony managed to pull El Salvador. Dinner: Pupusa con queso y curtido Pupusas are tortillas stuffed with whatever filling you have in the kitchen. I filled mine with queso fresco and green chilies. On the side we had curtido (a cabbage slaw made with vinegar) and black beans. Heidi's Rating: 8 out of 10 [This dish made me feel like I was picking up food on the streets of San Salvador...something your abuelita would make as an afternoon snack.] Tony's Rating: 3 out of 10 ["I'm not excited by this." --The dear husband has enjoyed the journey because of all the newness and intriguing flavors. This dish did not have bizarre spices but instead familiar textures and flavors to Mexican recipes we so enjoy frequently in the Southern California desert.]

The card for Germany accidentally fell out of the mason jar. Weird. Although I'm three weeks late, we're celebrating Oktoberfest today. We've invited great friends for a German afternoon feast. On the lunch menu is: Bratwurst Kartoffelsalat (warm potato salad) Sauerkraut Beer Versunkener Apfelkuchen (sunken apple cake)   When it comes to meat and potatoes I'm sticking with the Germans. Everything was delicious. The kartoffelsalat was wonderful.  I've been conditioned after years of fourth of July parties that potato salad is cold, full of mayonnaise and eggs and boring. Well, not in Germany.  Kartoffelsalat is warm, simple and delicious.  The Sunken Apple cake was a bit dry though I wonder if that was not just a fault in the recipe (or my oven). The sauerkraut came straight from a newly discovered deli and was packed in nothing other than its own juices (ie no vinegar). I then simmered the sauerkraut in bacon fat, white wine, bacon bits, and sliced ...

 (Yeah, I didn't know it was a country either) The dish tonight = chicken with peanut butter sauce and boiled plantains. If you're looking for a non-traditional/non-American carb, grab a plantain. They pack a punch.  They're deceptively starchy and bland. However, if you're hungry and you're in need of carbohydrate replenishment, they're amazing.  They're also pretty good as a side dish to a chicken peanut butter stew. The dish tonight was interesting. The relationship between peanut butter, tomatoes and oregano was incredible. It was a beautiful polygamous marriage that actually worked. Rating: 7 out of 10 [Note to self: Do not overestimate the power of a habeñero. Even though this is the devil pepper the entire thing is warranted in this recipe. Leave some out and you'll regret it.]

We decided that the traditional method of getting through the recipes (alphabetically) wasn't exciting enough so we're pulling the name of each country out of a mason jar.  Tonight my husband pulled Turkmenistan.  Recipe = plov (a lamb pilaf-esque dish). The process of making this dish was quite fun.  I diligently left everything in layers and only poured water through a small hole created by burrowing the end of a wooden spoon through the layers of lamb, onions and carrots.  Here's the recipe I followed. (Yes, I realize the recipe is somewhat Uzbekistani but it seemed infinitely more authentic than the recipes classified as "Turkmenistan"). I thoroughly enjoyed making and eating this dish. However, you must be a confirmed lover of pilaf to truly appreciate it. If you hate the pilaf there is little likelihood of having a different attitude toward plov. My husband is a stanch critic of most rice dishes and thus was not terribly enthused by this one. He proclai...

Since France was such an easy day, I'm calling Zimbabwe my first real stop on this little adventure. On the menu tonight is Sadza ne Nyama ye Huku . The traditional corn meal staple along with a chicken, tomato and onion stew. Let the journey begin.  The recipe comes courtesy of Solomon Murungu the "Sadza King" on the internet. You can find the recipe here . It was delicious and the flavors of the fresh ginger and the scallions were bright and lovely. Solid 9 out of 10. This dish made it to my list of do-overs for regular meal enjoyment after this whole thing is over.

It was definitely an easy place to start. I have most of Julia Child's books, I've seen almost every episode of "Barefoot Contessa" and my father-in-law is a chef at a local French restaurant. All I needed to do was open any of Julia's books, look in the refrigerator and pick up the phone. Since the dog ate a beef steak sitting on the counter and I had recently purchased a package of pork chops, I settled on Côtes de Porc Robert --pork chops braised in fresh tomato sauce. How can you possibly go wrong when the ingredient list includes white wine, fresh herbs (from my garden), tomatoes and onions.  It was good if not slightly under-seasoned. Pork really does need a lot of salt compared to other meats. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes sprinkled with fresh parsley. Julia recommended boiled potatoes but I couldn't possibly see that going over well with the large quantity of beautiful tomato sauce that the pork was braised in. It's almost sacrilegiou...