Serbia

Serbia (#23) Muckalica (Pork and Rice)

 
This recipe had me at “top with feta cheese”.  This Serbian pork dish was made with a few simple ingredients – boneless pork shoulder, sliced onions, tomatoes, red peppers, paprika and crushed red pepper.  Cover with water and simmer on top of the stove for several hours.   The pork became fork tender and made a nice, flavorful broth for the rice.  I was amazed at how simple and delicious this was.

Curacao

Curacao (#22) Bolo di Rom (Island Rum Cake)

 
While searching for Caribbean island recipes, I found this wonderful rum cake from Curacao.  It was so easy to make and will definitely be added to my dessert repertoire.  There are basic cake ingredients but what makes this unique is 1/3 cup of cornmeal and the Bacardi rum mixed in the batter.  There was also a teaspoon of grated orange peel that gave it a tropical flavor.  So very delicious!

Ecuador

Ecuador (#21) Aguacate Relleno con Camarones (Avocado Stuffed with Shrimp)

I found this recipe on a food blog by a young Ecuadorian woman who currently resides in Seattle.  http://laylita.com/recipes/

This is one my favorite recipes of the 21 I’ve done so far.  It was a little labor intensive to prepare but the next time I make it I’ll do a lot of the prep in advance.  There are so many healthy vegetables in this dish – avocado, red bell pepper, onion, radishes, celery, and cilantro.  The shrimp, vegetables and hard-boiled eggs are tossed with a mayonnaise dressing made of mayo, diced red onion, cilantro, cumin and lime juice.  This salad was perfect for a hot summer day in Arizona. 

Belgium

Belgium (#20) Koninginnehapje (Chicken and Mushrooms in Puff Pastry)

 This classic Belgian dish originated in France where it’s known as Vol-au-Vent which translates as “windblown” because of the lightness of the pastry.  The filling, however, is anything but light.  It is made with cubes of chicken breast, mushrooms, shallots, and lots of butter and crème fraiche, and is really quite rich.  It also included a splash of white wine and a sprinkling of tarragon. 

 

Any Belgian dish wouldn’t be complete without endive.  I discovered that Belgian Endive has its own website http://www.belgianendive.com/.  It is known as “White Gold” and is considered to be Belgium’s gift to the world.  It has been awhile since I have had endive and I had forgotten what a delicacy it is.  I sprinkled the tender leaves with a little bleu cheese and toasted walnuts, and drizzled it with vinaigrette.  I found many other ways to prepare endive such as Belgian endive au gratin and braised Belgian endive, and can’t wait to make them. 

 

Algeria

Algeria (#19) Batata Merhiya (Layered Mashed Potatoes and Beef)

After making that delicious Moroccan dish, I decided to try something else from North Africa, and found a wonderful Algerian recipe.  It’s basically meat and potatoes with a topping of gruyere.  I found the recipe on-line and have since bought the cookbook that was referenced – The Great Book of Couscous.  The book is filled with wonderful recipes from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.  North African cuisine is heavily influenced by the French because of the conquest of Algeria by the French in the early 1800’s.  There are so many recipes from this book I can’t wait to try.

  

                              

Morocco

Morocco (#18) Tajine B'Zeetoon (Moroccan Chicken with Olives)

I've been wanting to make a Moroccan dish for quite some time, and when I recently saw Morocco featured on Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown", I knew I had to make a tajine and couscous.  This was a surprisingly easy dish to make and it was absolutely wonderful.  I sauteed onions and garlic, then added ginger, cinnamon, cumin, paprika and turmeric, and chicken broth and fresh squeezed lemon juice.  Place the chicken in the spice infused broth and simmer for an hour.  I added a combination of Manzanilla olives and Kalamatas during the last 10 minutes or so.  The couscous was made with sauteed shallots and dried apricots, and was the perfect accompaniment to the tajine.

Turkey

Turkey (#17) Izmir Kofte (Baked Meatballs and Potatoes)

This dish was made in one of my brand new "Made in the USA", Lodge skillets.  The potatoes were cut into wedges and lightly fried, then added to the pan with the meatballs and tomato mixture, and baked for 35 minutes.  I added a hint of cinnamon and a splash of lemon to the tomato sauce because I love that combination.  Turkish meatballs are not round; they're more cylindrical-shaped.  I also made a Greek yogurt sauce with finely chopped Persian cucumbers, minced garlic, lemon and fresh dill.  So simple, and so delicious.  All of the vegetables were bought at my local Farmer's Market in Old Town Scottsdale.  I found so many wonderful recipes on various Turkish food websites; this is just the beginning of my exploration into Turkish food.  Kebabs, croquettes, and lamb shanks with root vegetables are some other recipes I can't wait to try.
http://www.turkish-cuisine.org/english/pages.php?ParentID=5&PagingIndex=0