Congo…

Monday, May 21 -

Of all of the dinners that I have made recently, this one is definitely at the top of my list. I’m pretty sure I could have curled up in the warm, comforting flavors of this dinner and simmered a while myself. It was just my Wonderful Boyfriend and me, so it was a quiet, rainy evening with the smell of curry filling the house.

I got three quarters of a pound of ground lamb to add to this recipe, but it would have been just as good made vegetarian. I also chose to leave out the optional potatoes, but they probably would have been great in this as well.

I browned the ground lamb, then added one diced onion and two diced red medium-heat chilies and let them soften. I sprinkled two teaspoons of curry powder, then some salt, pepper, and cayenne over the top and stirred it all together. In next went chopped ginger (about an inch of root), and one diced, salted, squeezed eggplant. Then I put in two diced on-the-vine tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste. On last went just a pinch of sugar and a can of coconut cream. As that simmered for a while I put store-bought naan into the oven to toast.

As I scooped up the curry with the naan and took my first bite, I had to close my eyes to enjoy it. There was spice, sweet, salt, soft eggplant, and browned crispy lamb. Really, I couldn’t have asked for a better dinner.

Congo, “Democratic Republic of the” and “Republic of the”
(recipes borrowed from the cooks at: http://recipes.wikia.com and www.celtnet.org.uk)

Eggplant Curry

•     2-3 tbsp cooking oil
•     2 onions, chopped
•     1-2 tsp curry powder
•     2 cloves of garlic, minced
•     1 tsp grated ginger
•     1-2 hot chile peppers, cleaned and chopped
•     2 large Eggplants, chopped, lightly salted, and squeezed to partially remove moisture
•     3-4 potatoes, chopped (optional)
•     2-3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
•     1 small can or tomato paste (optional)
•     salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)
•     ¼ tsp Sugar (optional)
•     1 cup coconut milk

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Saute onions for a few minutes, then add curry powder, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper. Continue frying over high heat for a few more minutes, stirring continuously.
2. Add Eggplant and potatoes, stir fry until Eggplant begins to brown. Reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste. Adjust seasoning. Simmer until sauce is thickened and everything is tender.
4. Stir in coconut milk. Serve with boiled rice.

Comoros…

Friday, May 18 -

This dinner came with a huge sigh of homecoming. It was nice doing the potlucks and it was nice to have other people bring stuff and have them get creative, but the sense of happiness and peace I get from puttering in the kitchen to cook dinner for a few friends was overwhelmingly heart-warming. Not only that, but making a curry-type dinner always makes me think of home and comfort because of my wonderful parents, and sharing that warmth is priceless. So for this dinner we had Wonderful Boyfriend, Bestie Extraordinaire, MoneyShot, SlotMachine, WingWoman, and Officially Gangster.

So Bestie Extraordinaire and I chopped and diced our way through the prep for this dinner. With seven people for dinner we made nine chicken breasts, two and a half onions, eight on-the-vine tomatoes, eight garlic cloves, and four seed-in jalapenos. I cooked the chicken first, in batches, and then place them into a big stock pot. After the chicken was done I sauteed the veggies with the spices. While those were cooking I put the tomatoes in with the chicken and let it simmer for a while. I blended the two and added all of the yogurt and let it come up to a simmer. The yogurt-to-tomato ratio wasn’t quiet right, in my opinion, so I added a large can of chopped tomatoes. The spicing wasn’t quite right either, so I added some crushed red peppers, salt, and pepper. I also couldn’t find cardamom pods, so I just used the ground kind.

With rice ready to go, the green salad ready (thank you to SlotMachine for bringing it!), and the wine poured for everyone (thank you to SlotMachine and Bestie Extraordinaire for bringing the bottles!) we were ready for dinner.

Just like I hoped it would be, it was warm, spicy, and filling. I would definitely recommend this dinner for someone that’s looking for warm comfort food.

Comoros
(recipe borrowed from the cooks at: www.healthy-life.narod.ru)

Comoronian Chicken Curry (Poulet à L’Indienne)

• 1 large chicken cut into serving pieces
• 2 onions, finely sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cm length ginger, grated
• 8 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
• 4 chillies, finely chopped
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 cardamom pods, crushed
• 300 ml natural yogurt
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• Generous pinch of saffron
• 50 g toasted slivered almonds
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:  Fry the chicken pieces in oil until golden brown then set aside. Place the onions, garlic and chillies in the pan and fry until the onion has softened. Add the cardamom and cloves and fry for a few minutes more. Return the chicken to the pan and add the tomatoes. Mix the yogurt with the cumin and saffron and pour this mixture over the chicken mixture. Season with salt and pepper, cover tightly and simmer gently for 1 hour (add a little water if he mixture dries too quickly). Serve on a bed of rice, garnished with the toasted slivered almonds.

Columbia… {potluck!}

Saturday, May 12 -

It was so beautiful outside this weekend that we finally got to have a potluck on the back deck. That’s an instant win, if you ask me. Plus we had ZombieMode (guacamole and chips), Bestie Extraordinaire (black bean soup with avocado cumin cream and plantains), CurlyCue (wine), Hot Momma (mojitos), RubsWithLove (wine), Sir VJ (seared beef with onion and tomato stew), and I made shrimp tacos with chipotle coleslaw.

The shrimp tacos with chipotle coleslaw were spicy and delicious. The shrimp were soft and firm, the coleslaw crunchy and spicy, all wrapped in freshly made tortillas from the market down the street. Making this recipe was incredibly easy. If you like shrimp tacos that are spicy, this is definitely a good recipe for you! The black bean soup with avocado cumin cream and plantains served over rice was warm, filling, and a great combination of flavors. The mojitos were perfect for the hot weather, made with crushed raspberries for extra summer-flavor kick. I didn’t get a chance to try the beef with the stew thanks to my crohn’s, but it disappeared very quickly so I’m going to assume it was amazing. It certainly smelled mouthwatering!

The next bunch of dinners are back to the regular dinner format (I cook and guests bring drinks). We don’t have another potluck until we hit the D countries. And… we are almost to a year of doing this! How amazing is that? Come July, this adventure will officially be almost a quarter of the way over. That’s just crazy to think about. And I still love it! (And my honey still let’s me get crazy with our dinners!)

{shrimp tacos with chipotle coleslaw and black beans with avocado cumin cream and plantains}

{guacamole}

{chipotle coleslaw}

{onion and tomato stew with seared beef}

Columbia
(recipe borrowed from the cooks at: www.mycolombianrecipes.com – the other two recipes are made by yours truly!)

Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Slaw

• 24 medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 tortillas
• 1 lime
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Chipotle Slaw

• 3 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 cups carrot, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons grated onion
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 3 teaspoons chipotle pepper
• Salt

Directions

1. To make the slaw: In a medium bowl combine the mayonnaise, heavy cream, chipotle pepper and salt.

2. Add the cabbage, carrots and onions to the mayo mixture and mix well. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl mix the cumin, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat.

4. Place the shrimp in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are cooked.

5. To serve, spoon chipotle slaw on the tortilla, then top with shrimp and fresh cilantro.

Guacamole

•     3 avocados – peeled, pitted, and mashed
•     1 lime, juiced
•     1 teaspoon garlic salt
•     1/2 cup diced onion
•     2 handfuls chopped fresh cilantro
•     2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
•     4 cloves minced garlic
•     pepper, to taste
•     1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions: Hand smash the avocado in a bowl, leaving some chunks for scooping. Mix in the lime juice. Then add finely diced onion and tomato. Mix in the chopped cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper (and cayenne if you’re using it). Voila!

Raspberry Mojitos

• 1 wedge of lime
• 4 mint leaves
• 4 raspberries
• 2 oz. white Rum
• 2 ounces club soda
• ice

Directions: Place the mint leaves and raspberries into a glass and squeeze the juice from a wedge of lime over it. Gently smash the mint and raspberries into the lime juice with a muddler or the top tip of a wooden spoon. Add ice then add the rum and stir, and top off with the club soda.

China… {potluck!}

Friday, May 4 -

To tell you the truth, I thought that there would be more interest in this potluck. Maybe Chinese food is so accessible in this city that it wasn’t as interesting? I don’t know. We had five people this time: ZombieMode (lychee vodka drinks), BestieExtraordinaire (shrimp and veggie stir-fry), GingerNuts (crab rangoon), and NoPoots. I made general tso’s chicken and rice.

Making the general tso’s chicken was an interesting process. First, you coat the chicken in an egg and cornstarch mix. Then you fry them, cool them, and then fry them again (just like regular fried, battered chicken). It was a little deceiving though, because the recipe tells you to watch for it to turn light brown the first time and then deep brown the second time. The cornstarch didn’t really turn light brown the first time, but the chicken did. The second time the cornstarch and chicken both turned a nice golden brown color, so it was easier to tell when it was done. If you aren’t used to frying chicken, that’s definitely something to pay attention to. The sauce was incredibly easy to make, following exactly as the recipe is written. I did change the amounts a little, however, and would probably recommend doing the same. The recipe calls for 1.5 pounds of chicken for one batch of sauce and I made 2.5 pounds of chicken for two batches of sauce – and it was barely enough. I would recommend making double the sauce it says for the same amount of chicken (if you like yours gooey and saucy like I do).

The lychee vodka drinks were a little sweet for me, but I’m not such a huge fan of lychee flavor. ZombieMode and GingerNuts seemed to like them quite a bit. BestieExtraordinaire was drinking sake and NoPoots and I drank wine. The crab rangoon was good, but by the time we got to eat it they were a little soggy. Unfortunately, GingerNuts lives pretty far from us, so sitting in a Tupperware for the drive wasn’t very kind to them. If they had been crispy, they would have been amazing. Real crab meat in them makes a huge difference! The shrimp and veggie stir-fry was really good. He used rice noodles to make them gluten free, and the texture of the veggies and the shrimp was a perfect combo. And finally, the general tso’s… was AMAZING. That recipe makes the flavor exactly like the best I’ve had at some of the restaurants around here. If you like the flavor of the sauce, I would highly recommend saving this one. I will be making it again soon with sauteed chicken rather than fried. Double yum!

Like last week, I was taking these photos as quickly as I could so people could eat. I apologize for them being so hurried. Food quality before photo quality in my house, so if you want to enjoy the full experience you will just have to come over! The next dinner will also be a potluck for Columbia (Sat. 5/12). Hopefully more people will come to keep the potluck idea alive for some of these dinners. Stay tuned for more amazing dishes!

{general tso’s chicken}

{shrimp and veggie stir-fry}

{crab rangoon}

{crab rangoon with sauce, shrimp and veggie stir-fry, general tso’s chicken, and rice}

China
(recipes borrowed from the cooks at: www.allrecipes.com)

General Tsao’s Chicken II

•     4 cups vegetable oil for frying
•     1 egg
•     1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
•     1 teaspoon salt
•     1 teaspoon white sugar
•     1 pinch white pepper
•     1 cup cornstarch
•     2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•     3 tablespoons chopped green onion
•     1 clove garlic, minced
•     6 dried whole red chilies
•     1 strip orange zest
•     1/2 cup white sugar
•     1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
•     3 tablespoons chicken broth
•     1 tablespoon rice vinegar
•     1/4 cup soy sauce
•     2 teaspoons sesame oil
•     2 tablespoons peanut oil
•     2 teaspoons cornstarch
•     1/4 cup water

Directions:

Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.

In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

Chile… {potluck!}

Saturday, April 28 -

Chile was done as a potluck because there were too many delicious recipes to even begin to only choose one. So there were twelve of us total for this dinner, and everyone brought something to eat and/or drink: ZombieMode (aka Wonderful Boyfriend) {prosciutto wrapped kiwi and cucumber}, Roommate Extraordinaire {rabbit in orange sauce}, Mr. Hero {cilantro chicken}, BabyBear, MoneyShot {naan}, SlotMachine {wine}, WingWoman {salmon with lemon butter sauce}, LightsOn {fish with mango habanero sauce and corn salsa}, RubsWithLove {sangria}, Ser VJ {Chilean sea bass ceviche}, SpicyLady {salsa and chips}, and me {pork empanadas and lemon dill yogurt sauce}.

The prosciutto wrapped kiwi and cucumber was an interesting combination of flavors, slightly salty with the sweet and crunchy textures in the middle. I’m not sure I’d chose to make them again, but they were fun to try. The rabbit in orange sauce was rich, sinful, and delicious. The rabbit was salty but tender and the sauce was a creamy gravy with orange tones. While he was making it our whole house smelled amazing and it didn’t disappoint when it was done. The cilantro chicken is a dish I would make for dinner any time. The chicken was tender, the sauce was the happy medium between thick and thin – just gooey enough to want to smack your lips while you’re eating it. So were the salmon, corn salsa, and the fish with mango habanero sauce. The salmon was buttery and flaky. The fish with mango habanero sauce was surprisingly spicy (in a good way) but if you weren’t ready for it the sauce probably would have been too much. The corn was a good cut to the sweet and hot flavors. The sangria was sweet with a bite at the end – just the way I hope sangria will be every time. The ceviche was ridiculously good. The fish was buttery with buttery avocado with hints of other veggies and flavors. The homemade salsa was super spicy but I kept going back for more. My empanadas were on the dry side but the flavors were ok. If I had to do it over again I would slow cook the pork and cook them for slightly less time. Once I had made the yogurt sauce to go with them they were much better.

At the end of the evening, Sir VJ inspired everyone to try a Chilean specialty – tiger’s milk. This is where you take vodka and the juice from the ceviche and you make a shot out of it (picture is below). I didn’t work up the courage to try it, but they kept going back for more so it couldn’t have been too awful!

I know the photos below don’t do this dinner justice, but I was trying to take them quickly before everything was devoured! The next two dinners will also be potlucks: China (Fri. 5/4) and Columbia (Sat. 5/12). So stay tuned for more amazing dishes!

{Chilean sea bass ceviche}

{tiger’s milk – vodka with ceviche juice}

{salmon with lemon butter sauce}

{corn salsa}

{rabbit in orange sauce}

{mango habanero sauce}

{spicy salsa}

{cilantro chicken}

{pork empanadas}

{prosciutto wrapped kiwi and cucumber}

Chile

(recipes borrowed from the cooks at: www.foodnetwork.com and chileanrecipe.com)

Piggy Pie Spicy Pork Empanadas

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (12-ounce) pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 1/3-inch medallions
• 1 serrano chile, minced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 6 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder

Dough:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup masa harina (cornmeal)*
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick)unsalted butter, melted, cooled
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

For filling: Heat oil in large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add pork, serrano, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, cinnamon, and allspice to the skillet and stir for 3 minutes. Add raisins and lime juice, bring to a boil and cook until almost all liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Mix in the almonds and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cool.

For dough: Butter 2 large baking sheets. Mix flour, masa harina, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in melted butter. Whisk water and 1 egg in a small bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture; knead in bowl until smooth pliable dough forms, about 2 minutes. Working with half of dough at a time, roll out on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. Reroll scraps and cut out additional rounds for a total of 12 rounds per dough half. Whisk remaining egg in a small bowl to blend. Place 1 tablespoon filling in center of each dough round. Lightly brush edges with egg. Fold dough over, pressing edges with fork to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap; chill. Note: dough can be made 1 day ahead.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush empanadas with beaten egg. Bake until light golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Kiwi-on-a-Stick

• 4 large kiwi fruit,peeled
• 1 small diameter cucumber (yield 12 slices) washed with end removed
• 3 oz. Proscuitto, 6thin slices, cut in half lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 garlic powder
• 12 short 5 or 6-inch skewers

Methods:

1. Stroke kiwi fruit and cucumber lengthwise with fork to decorate. Carefully slice in slices of equal thickness. Kiwi should yield 6 slices each, cucumber 12 slices.

2. Stack one slice of cucumber in between two slices of kiwi fruit, matching diameter of slices. Carefully wrap each kiwi stack with a half-slice of proscuitto and mount diagonally on the tip of a skewer. Proceed with remaining skewers.

3. Brush all with combined lemon juice and garlic powder mixture and allow to chill, covered, until ready to serve.

Chad…

Wednesday, April 15 -

Most of the time when I’m cooking dinner for people (not really with these blog dinners) I know that the dishes will go well together. I plan flavors and textures, sometimes even densities so that I get the satisfying “mmmmmmmmhmmmm” or even better, the silence when everyone is shoveling food into their mouths so intently that they can’t even bring themselves to comment. With these dinners, however, I quite often grab dishes from different sites and pray that the flavors will complement each other. This dinner was one of those that sounded really good, but I just wasn’t quite sure. Luckily, everything worked out just fine.

It started off as a fish dish lightly accented with garlic. In my mind that turned into “let’s make the entire house smell of simmering goodness.” And so I did. I took the fish fillets and literally stuffed every possible inch with quartered garlic cloves. Can’t even wrap your mind around that? Check out the photo. That’s serious garlic business, right there.

Before I cooked the fish I put together the veggie dish. It was a black-eyed peas/potato/coconut mix that sounded like it was going to be sweet and savory at the same time. So I chose to use yam as the potato (because it didn’t specify) and shredded coconut instead of getting a whole coconut and shredding it myself. Start with sauteing the spices, add the coconut, peas, and “parboiled” potatoes. (For anyone that doesn’t know what that means, it means to partially boil your potatoes so that when you cook them they won’t be charred on the outside and raw on the inside. The recommended time is about 5 to 6 minutes and then drain and rinse to stop the cooking.) Next was the lime juice, a little bit of stirring, and then I put the lid on and let it sit at a low temp.

In the pan for the fish I heated up the oil. Then I slid the fillets in flesh side down. I let them cook until they were barely starting to brown. Then I flipped them over, added the salt, pepper, and chili powder, and then placed the tomatoes around the fillets. The recipe said to cut them in half but my pan isn’t that big, so I cut them into sixths and hoped it would be close enough. Then I flipped them back just long enough to take the skin off, flipped them up again and called dinner as served.

Our guest for this dinner, RubsWithLove, brought a bottle of wine and a a wonderful salad to share. It was a bright, sharp flavor that cut right through the fish and starch of the potatoes. Excellent choice for this dinner!

The fish was tender, flavorful, and garlicky. If I had the chance to do it again I will roast the garlic first so that the softness of the flesh of the fish isn’t interrupted with chunky bites of garlic. The potatoes were soft, flavorful, savory, and sweet at the same time. If I had to do it over again I would add just a splash of coconut milk to it so that the spices were creamy rather than dry on the outside. The coconut and black-eye peas were a perfect match with the spices.

Things I have learned: I now know what parboiled means, and so do you! Also, stuffing garlic into fish is definitely a good idea, and I need to repeat it soon!

Chad
(recipe borrowed from the cooks at: www.tchad.org and whatscookinginyourworld.blogspot.com)

Broiled Fish

•     6 medium-sized fish
•     2 cloves of garlic
•     2 tablespoons of flour
•     5 tablespoons of oil
•     3 tomatoes
•     salt, pepper, or chilli powder

1. Cut the fish into pieces, after having washed and wiped it dry.

2. Spread small pieces of garlic as deep as possible into the flesh of fish.

3. Dip the pieces of fish in the flour.

4. Heat the oil in a cast iron pan and place the fish in it once the oil is very hot.

5. When the pieces are golden brown, add the tomatoes, sliced along the middle, add salt, and the other spices, and cover the pan.

6. Let it simmer at low temperature for about 40 minutes. Check to see when it is ready, and add a few spoonfuls of water if necessary. Serve very hot, fresh off the fire.

Black Eyed Peas and Cilantro and Coconut

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup black-eyed peas, cooked
• 1 cup potatoes, diced and parboiled
• lime juice or lemon juice to taste
• 2 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
• salt

Directions:  Heat the oil and sizzle the garlic together with the chili powder for half a minute. Next, add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and cilantro leaves. Cook for another minute or two, stirring often to blend. Add the coconut and mix this in too. Add the cooked beans and potatoes. Season and then pour in the lime or lemon juice. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until everything is blended together and then serve with green vegetables.

 

Central African Republic…

Monday, April 9 -

There were only three diners with me this time: MudFlaps, RubsWithLove, and FuFuMan. RubsWithLove and FuFuMan brought two dishes and I made one. They brought a pork with groundnut sauce and fufu, which is really just mashed plantains with a little bit of seasoning. I made a vegetable stew and chose to add lamb to it to give it some protein. I also had naan for the dinner, but accidentally left it toasting in the oven. Oooops.

The stew was easy to make, simple to cook, and delightfully delicious. I started with a little olive oil and started cooking the onions, garlic (four cloves, of course), and the white ends of the chard. Once they had started to soften, I added the sliced chard leaves. Then went in the yam slices, garbanzo beans (drained), raisins, a large can of whole peeled tomatoes (not drained), and salt and pepper (a fairly liberal coating). I let that cook down a little, stirring only a couple of times so it didn’t get mushy. Then the recipe says to make a well in the middle and add the rice, which I did. But there wasn’t enough liquid to look like the rice was going to cook all the way. So I added about three quarters of a cup of broth that I had in the fridge. I didn’t measure it, I just poured until the rice looked good and soaked. On went the lid and the timer was set for 25 minutes.

I cooked the ground lamb separately, making sure it was starting to brown all over. Then I took off the lid to the stew, dumped the lamb and juices in on top, and put the lid back on. I let that simmer until it was five minutes to being done and I stirred it to check on the done-ness of the rice. And voila! It was definitely done. The rice was fluffy, the meat was tender, the veggies were cooked just enough… perfect. I would recommend this dish as a warm-your-innards-on-a-cold-day dish or a easy-to-make-for-family-dinner dish. Definitely a keeper!

The pork and groundnut dish tasted like peanut soup with chunks of pork in it. Not magical, but not bad either. If you really like peanut sauce you would probably like it. The fufu tasted like plain mashed plantains. It was better with the stew than with the peanut sauce. If you want a healthy starch that isn’t potatoes, this would definitely work for you. It doesn’t taste like much on its own, so you’d definitely have to have something like the stew to go with it.

All in all it was a very starchy dinner (very, very filling) and most of the flavors were pretty good, and the stew was definitely a win. Thank you to RubsWithLove and FuFuMan for bringing two of the dishes for this dinner!

Things I have learned: Not all meat-with-peanuts is scary. I was a still a little traumatized by the chicken/peanut butter balls and it was good to have something with peanut sauce that wasn’t terrible.

Central African Republic
(recipe borrowed from the cooks at: recipes.wikia.com)

African Vegetable Stew

•     1 Onion (very large) -chopped
•     1 Swiss chard bunch
•     1 can Garbanzo beans -(known also as Chickpeas)
•     1/2 c raisins
•     1/2 c rice, raw
•     2 yams
•     Several fresh tomatoes -(or large can)
•     1 garlic clove -(or more to taste)
•     salt and pepper,-to taste
•     Tabasco sauce, -to taste
•     {added: Lamb (cooked with ginger, garlic, and pepper)}

Directions: Fry Onion, garlic and white stems of chard until barely limp. Add chopped greens and fry a bit. Either peel the yams or scrub them well with a vegetable brush, then slice them into thick slices. Add garbanzos, raisins, yams, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook a couple of minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture in the pot. Put the rice in the well and pat it down until it’s wet. Cover and cook until rice is done, about 25 minutes.  Add Tabasco sauce to taste.

Special Post: Award Time!

Wednesday, April 4 -

In case you didn’t know (or care much), there is a whole world of blogs out there. Crazy, right? Most of them have a small following, just like mine. And apparently there is an award that you can pass around to your fellow bloggers to show how much you love them! How awesome is that?!? I feel all squishy inside just thinking about it. Not only that, but someone loved me enough to send me an award for MY blog, and so I get to not only say thank you to my great friend and cooking buddy Amine Chef, I get to also pass the award along.

The Liebster Award is about recognizing new (under 200 followers), awesome blogs, and sharing your favorites with others.

Rules of the award:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and Paste the Award to your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the word and love to other bloggers.
5. Have fun.

So without further adieu, here are my favorite 3 new, small blogs (I know it’s supposed to be 5, but most of the blogs I follow have either a great following or a HUGE following and so they don’t count):

Low Amine Recipes

On Top of Spaghetti

Blossom and Glow

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog and enjoy this amazing adventure with me. Love you all!

Cayman Islands…

Monday, April 2 -

Dinner last night was… well… expensive. And the flavors were… kind of bland. I’m having a hard time writing this one because most of the people who came to join us for this really, really loved it. Let me tell you about it, and then we will see where my tastes would have preferred something a little different.

First, let me say thank you to everyone who came over: Wonderful Boyfriend (AKA MudFlaps), Roommate Extraordinaire, CurlyCue (AKA PoopyHands) Hot Momma, Mr. Hero, MoneyShot, SlotMachine, and GingerNuts. Not in attendance (but got a take-home dinner) was Grandpa Bear and Baby Bear. As you can tell by the AKAs, the nicknames I’m giving people might start evolving. Each dinner there are more terrible funny stories and jokes that drive the names. So by the end of this adventure I will build a chart of the names, who they are attached to, what they have changed to, who they really are, and how they are connected. Should be really entertaining after four and a half years of this! I also want to say thank you to everyone for bringing wine. It was wonderful to have everyone come together, eat, drink, and be ridiculous merry.

On to the dinner – It started on a wild lobster chase, turned into a four-person veggie chopping workshop, and ended with sauce and beet juice all over my kitchen. Epic, right? So Roommate Extraordinaire and CurlyCue chopped, grated, sliced, and diced all of the veggies for this recipe (keep in mind we tripled the amounts to have enough food for all of the dinner guests). GingerNuts washed the stack of dishes I was making as I whipped, folded, and poured my way through the cake and salad recipe.

The cake was extremely easy to make and baked at the same temp that the beets were in the oven. The mascarpone, gelatine, raspberries, and cream made for a beautiful topping that went into the fridge to chill.

Then Roommate Extraordinaire, CurlyCue, and I de-shelled and de-poop-veined the shrimp (hence the PoopyHands name). We were ready to cook! Except we had too much food to cook all on one stove, and so GingerNuts and I cooked the lobster and shrimp with the sauce and also the noodles for the patties upstairs. Roommate Extraordinaire and CurlyCue cooked all of the veggies downstairs. As the sauce was simmering I peeled and diced the beets and got the salad ready. The veggies were done, and food was ready to be served. (Writing this whole adventure didn’t take very long, but it took about three hours for all of this to happen. Eek!) Because we were running so late, I decided not to fry the noodles. I figured that we could pour the sauce on just the same and it would work out alright.

We set the salad stuff out for people to dish up themselves. And then I plated the noodles, veggies, seafood, sauce, and raw veggies on top for everyone. Dinner was served!

The noodles were a little overcooked because we didn’t have enough hands to make all of the different dishes turn out at that large of amounts of food. The sauce was bland and runny – probably because I didn’t have time to let it simmer down and thicken properly. The seafood was a little tough for me. The veggies were good but almost too much for the dish. And the salad was good except I still don’t like beets. This was just my take on it, anyway. Fortunately, most of the people at the table really liked the flavors and ate until they were stuffed.

Now, if I got to do it all over again, here is what I would do. I’d only make these dishes for four people maximum. I would make the cake and salad and set them aside, just like I did this time. Then I would have steamed the shrimp and lobster and set them aside. I would have sauteed the veggies that went with the shrimp and then made the sauce in that pan. Then right when I was ready to serve everything I would gently mix the seafood back in. (Spending that much money just to make tough lobster was pretty much a tragedy.) I also would have actually made the fried noodle cakes instead of leaving them loose. I think it would have changed the texture enough to make me like it more.

The dessert on the other hand was simply incredible. The cake came out the texture of a molten chocolate cake. The mascarpone and cream were light, fluffy, and plate-lickingly good. That was by far my favorite part of this evening.

Things I have learned: Trying to triple a recipe like this made it a disaster (at least to me). Next time a recipe calls for that many steps, just keep it to a very minimum number of people. Also, trying to eat a dish that had a cream base absolutely killed my crohn’s. It was a miserable night for me after having only a mediocre dinner. I’m super glad that most people loved this food more than I did! Also, I learned that it is “mascarpone” not “marscapone” like I have been saying it for years. Good to have the right name for things, even if it takes you years to get it right.

Cayman Islands
(recipes borrowed from the cooks at: www.caymanrestaurants.com)

Aragosta Di Buba

• 1 1/4 lb lobster tail
• 1 lb peeled shrimp
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 zucchini
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 tsp dry or fresh chopped tarragon
• 3 oz brandy
• 3 oz dry vermouth
• 16 ox heavy cream
• 2 green onions

Julienne the following vegetables:

• 1 carrot
• 1 red pepper
• salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
• 4 vermicelli cakes (see below)

Cut lobster into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in large pan. Sear lobster and shrimp in pan for 3-5 minutes, add garlic, shallots and sauté. Add ketchup, seasoning, deglaze with brandy, vermouth. Add cream. Reduce. When sauce becomes thick, taste and re-season if necessary. Add julienne of vegetables and chopped green onions. Toss. Serve on a vermicelli cake. – serves 4

Vermicelli Cakes

• 1/2 lb vermicelli pasta
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 roasted red pepper, chopped fine
• 1/2 white onion, diced and sautéed
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook vermicelli and cool slightly. Add the remainder of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form cakes, using your hand. Let cool. In a hot pan (preferably with a nonstick surface) fry cakes until golden brown. – yields 4 cakes

Goat Cheese, Beets and Arugula Salad

• Goat Cheese – 1 Lb. [crumbled]
• Beets – 5 each [roasted or boiled]
• Arugula – 1 lb
• Pine nuts – 1 cup [toasted]
• Apple Cider Vinegar – ½ cup
• Olive Oil – ½ cup

Method: Wrap the fresh beets in aluminum foil and bake in oven for 1 hour at 350º F. Let cool, peel skin and quarter. (Or Boil in enough salted water to cover for an hour or till cooked.) To make the dressing: Combine apple cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, add salt and fresh cracked pepper and whisk well. Place beetroots in large bowl, toss with the vinaigrette. To Serve: Arrange the arugula in the centre of the plate. Place the beets on it and sprinkle the goat cheese over it. Spoon the left over dressing over it and garnish with pine nuts.

Chocolate Triangle

• 4 oz bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
• 5 oz milk chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz unsalted butter
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 oz egg white
• 3 oz egg yolk
• 3 1/2 oz granulated sugar

Melt chocolate, butter and vanilla bean (only the inside). Whisk egg yolks and 3 oz sugar and add to the chocolate mixture. Whip egg whites and 1/2 oz sugar and fold under the mixture. Spread into pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350° F.

Mascarpone Cream:

• 10 oz Mascarpone
• 4 oz sugar
• 2 oz whiskey
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 sheets gelatin
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Whisk Mascarpone, sugar, whiskey, and lemon juice together, then add softened gelatin. Whip heavy cream to soft peaks and fold into the mascarpone mixture. Take a triangle mold and lay out this mold with the chocolate cake, fill half with the cream, place raspberries in the center and pout the rest of the cream over. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Take the triangle out of the mold and coat with a chocolate ganache and let it set. Garnish with fresh berries marinated in simple syrup and Grand Marnier.

Cape Verde…

Friday, March 30 -

This dinner was one of the easiest to make so far from this project. Anything that you can make all in one pot is good and easy in my books! There were five of us for dinner: Wonderful Boyfriend, Roommate Extraordinaire, Sassy Country Girl, and WingWoman.

We started with mojitos – supplied by the amazing Sassy Country Girl. We had them a bunch of different ways: raspberries, blackberries, sprite, ginger ale, club soda… they were amazing. It’s was a great change from our normal red wine with these dinners.

While we were enjoying our cocktails, I got started on the dinner. I took thinly sliced chicken breasts and sauteed them in a little olive oil, letting them start to brown on both sides. Then I threw in some sliced onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. After the onions were translucent I added the paprika, chili paste, and a large can of whole, peeled tomatoes. Then I added the water and the rice, covered it and let it simmer.

Roommate Extraordinaire was also very helpful by picking up some naan from the store (two different kinds even!) so that we would have something to scoop up the stew with. Once we were all ready to eat it was a simple dish to scoop and serve.

The flavors were good, not too spicy, not too sweet, not too salty, not too bad! It ended up more as a casserole texture than a stew – not a lot of left over liquid. The naan was a great addition, and it was hard to pick which flavor was better (garlic or herb).

The dessert was a little ridiculous. Coat banana slices in corn meal batter and then fry them? Um, yes. Ok. I can do that! They were so good I had to make everyone wait just a moment to get a photo of them, or else they would have been gone before I had a chance. Our brilliant taste buds decided that they would be much better with peanut butter – so we heated some up and scooped away. I don’t even want to know what kind of calories that might have been, but they were definitely tasty (and gluten free!)!

And… I finally have a map update! Hooray! I spent Sunday morning pinning and connecting threads to catch up to today. I had to trim off the extra white space on the note cards or else I would run out of room before this project is over – so they might look a little less orderly now. I will be filling in the blank spots as I go.

As you can hopefully see in this close-up shot I took, I’m making each letter a different color of thread – A’s are orange, B’s are green, and C’s are pink.

That’s all I have for today – but tonight is Cayman Islands so I’ll have another story for you tomorrow!

Things I have learned: I tend to reach into ovens with no protection on my hands to grab things like toasting naan. It’s not so smart, but I’ve been doing it as long as I can remember. I need to work on remembering hot gloves so I don’t burn my hands (again).

Cape Verde
(recipes borrowed from the cooks at: www.food.com and www.celtnet.org.uk)

Canja de Gahlinha (Cape Verdean Chicken Stew)

• 1 whole chicken (about 2 kg)
• 300g rice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tomatoes, blanched and peeled
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• sage leaves, to garnish
• chili paste, to taste
• salt, to taste

Method: Clean and wash the chicken then cut into serving pieces. Add to a pot along with the salt, garlic, onion, oil and bay leaf. Mix together, cover and allow to marinate overnight. The following day place the pot on the heat and cook until the meat has browned. Add about 600ml water and bring to a boil then add the tomatoes paprika and chili paste along with the rice. Stir to mix thoroughly then return to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 25 minutes. By this time the rice should have cooked and absorbed all the water. Spoon the stew onto serving platters and place in the center of the table. Decorate with fresh sage leaves and add more chili paste, if desired.

Fried Bananas

•     olive oil (for frying)
•     1 cup cornflour
•     1/4 cup sugar
•     1 tablespoon butter
•     1 egg
•     1/4 tablespoon salt
•     2 tablespoons white rum
•     2 tablespoons milk
•     4 ripe bananas
•     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•     2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Directions:
1    Heat oil in a dutch oven or deep fryer to 375°F.
2    Mix the corn flour and sugar together in a bowl.
3    Add the butter, egg, salt, rum and milk, stirring constantly until you have a thick batter.
4    Peel the bananas, cut them into quarters, and sprinkle them with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
5    Roll the banana quarters in the batter and dip them into the hot oil a few at a time.
6    Fry them for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, turning once until they are golden brown.
7    Drain on absorbent paper and dust with the cinnamon sugar.
8    Serve warm.