Global Recipe Project

I was so tempted to make the traditional Bryndzove Halusky but since we can't get the bryndza cheese here in the southern California desert --and I'm a huge cheese head and would find it sacrilegious to make a cheese dish improperly--I'm opting for a couple of simple dishes.  Lentil Privarok and Uhorkovy Salat are on the menu tonight.

Tony has this amazing ability to pull the most appropriate country at the most appropriate time....amazing that it's St. Patrick's Day and Ireland was pulled from the jar... Although most folks are having corned beef and cabbage we're not. We've been enjoying the beef and cabbage this since Monday and we're going to another Irish party on Sunday where we'll be able to indulge again in the salty/briny goodness. So, instead I'm making the Irish favorite, calcannon . It's so familiar in Southern Irish homes that there's even songs about calcannon. Seriously. Calcannon is a mashed potato/cabbage dish. I'm serving it tonight alongside grilled sausage and of course Guinness. Calcannon 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced 1 small onion-chopped 4 tbsp butter 1/2 head savoy cabbage-chopped 1/4 cup milk salt and pepper Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the potatoes and cook until tender. Drain them in a colander and then return to the pot ...

Back to Africa tonight for Potjiekos and Oshifima . Lamb stew with porridge. I'm usually pretty enthusiastic whenever a recipe calls for lamb and tonight was no exception.  Lamb, tomato paste, tons of spices and raisins...how can that be bad? Of course I'm not replicating the recipe exactly --Potjiekos is cooked outside in a cast iron, three-legged pot over an open flame.  (I'm pretty sure there are city codes preventing me from this so instead I'm cooking in a dutch oven on the stove.)

Although we're having home-made pizzas and a green salad for dinner, on the dessert menu is Farturas . Essentially they're the Portuguese version of Churros and are enjoyed as snacks or crispy desserts. Farturas 1 cup water 8 tablespoons butter   2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup flour 4 eggs Grated peel of 1/2 of a lemon Sugar/cinnamon mixture for sprinkling frying oil  1.    In a one-quart pot, combine the water, butter, grated citrus peel and sugar.   Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.    2.   When the water is boiling, using a wooden spoon at the ready, dump the flour all at once into the boiling water and stir as fast as you can until the batter is pulling away from the sides of the pot, almost forming a ball of batter.   Shut the heat and remove the pan. 3.   Allow the batter to cool slightly for about one minute while still in the pot.   Beat in one egg at a time into the batter, beating well after eac...

Having Vatican City a part of this project means I get Italian food twice.  Tonight was Polpette with spaghetti.  More traditionally known as spaghetti and meatballs. It is unfortunate that most Italian food has a reputation for being basic and unrefined. I think that is a result of the plethora of Olive Gardens and other establishments that liters the American restaurant scene.  Whenever I've eaten in Italy there was no mistaking the meal for anything served with the bottomless salads and bread sticks. Polpette Polpette Rating: "Solid 8.5" --said Tony.  "The presentation is fantastic and the flavors are so fresh.  Nothing like a traditional meatball from the freezer section of a grocery store."

With all the political unrest and inspiring uprisings of the Middle East I thought it was quite fitting that Tony pulled Yemen.  Today is the beginning of a new era in the Arabic world and I hope for peace and democracy for all who seek it. Lately our schedules have been such that we see each other and our home for approximately 2 hours a day.  Thus, I needed to find a recipe that would fit in with our crazy life and stumbled upon Bint al Sahn . It's a Yemeni (and found in other Arabic countries) cake with honey.   We're enjoying it today for breakfast. Bint al Sahn (courtesy of arabicnews.com) 1 packet dry active yeast 1/4 cup warm water 3 cups flour 1 tsp. salt 4 large eggs, beaten well 3/4 cup ghee (recipe below) Melted ghee or butter , for serving warm honey, for serving Directions : Dissolve yeast in the warm water. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour and salt. Make a well in center of the flour mixture. Pour beaten eggs and the yeast mixture into...

We're heading to some friends for dinner for an "Enchilada Challenge" so I decided to combine my project and the dinner by making the National staple of Nicaragua-- Gallo Pinto as a side dish. Incidentally, these are the same friends that I traveled to Nicaragua with this summer so they know a thing or two about this deliciously simple rice and bean dish.