Global Challenge Week 2

On the Menu for Week Two

• Falafels-Egypt
• Fattoush Salad-Lebanon
• Guest star-not representing any country Hummus!

This year I tried my first Falafel and I was hooked. I have made them at home a number of times, but with a quick and easy recipe. This time I decided to go all out and (gasp) use dried chickpeas that I had to soak. I only soaked beans one time before and all I ended up with was what I deemed petrified Rabbit poop chili. Not good. With an expert bean soak-er (Naveen) in my mist I gave it my all. It was a success!

I got this recipe from DedeMed-Mediterranean Cooking. It was a bit more work than my previous Falafel endeavors, but worth it! I also did not pay attention to the amount it serves. We will be eating Falafels forever. Lucky me :)

Hummus was not officially on the Global Kitchen Challenge list this week, but really, who can eat a Falafel without hummus?!?

Amanda's Favorite Hummus Recipe

• 16oz can of Chickpeas
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Chickpea juice*
• 3-5 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Tahini (My measuring in this is pretty lax, I usually just take a table spoon and grab what I can out of the jar with one scoop)
  
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt or garlic salt
• 2 Tbsp oil*

Put all ingredients in a blender and Voilà! You have hummus.

*I use the larger amount of Chickpea juice instead of adding oil to the mixture and it still works out beautifully. You can also add more or less chickpea juice depending on the consistency you are looking for. Lesson Learned: Don't put the juice down the drain until you are done!
(This picture is probably the first time used oil in the recipe and I put it around the side like in restaurants to impress the hubby.)


Lebanese Fattoush Salad

This was delicious- even my salad hating husband liked it!
The lemony, garlicky, mint vinaigrette reminds me of summer.

Again, the recipe is from Dede Med.

* I made the recipe without the Sumac because I don't know what it is, where to find it, or when I would ever use it again.

More Before and After in the Bathroom

Here is a little more before and after for y'all to peruse.

When my parents came out last June they helped us with some house projects. A big one on the list was to get rid of the shower doors.

That was all we did in the bathroom that week. Painting came much later-and with that a desire to remove the musical theater dressing room lights that graced our wall engulfing mirror.

The new fixture.

The new paint color with my summer shower curtain.

My before and after pictures really need some work. Good news is I can take all the after pictures I like!

Global Kitchen Challenge Week 1

This is the first official week of my global kitchen challenge. It was hard to choose my starting countries, but even harder to choose the recipes to cook from them. (And of course I had to go to the library and get a Brazilian Music CD to sway with while I challenged my culinary skills.


The Countries/Recipes chosen for my Global Kitchen Challenge

Brazil-Pao de Queijo (Cheese Bread made with Tapioca Flour)
Cuba-Grilled Pork with Mojo Sauce
Panama- Platanos en Tentacion (Candied Plantain Temptation)


I was inspired to make this Pao de Queijo when I had a flashback to January 2007 when my woodwind quintet visited Brazil. This was the first Brazilian food I tried in the airport coffee shop of Sao Paulo. Simply put, amazing!

My Brazilian experiment did not turn out so well. The are nice to look at and easy to make, but I could not get the insides to come out at all fluffy. Pao de Queijo is supposed to be on the chewy side, but this was like a handful of home made play dough and oil mixed with a likeness of fat. Yuck! I was so disappointed that I decided to make another batch with a different recipe and in a different style.

First Attempt-Made in small muffin tins this batch is similar what popovers are like-poofy and hollow inside.



Second Attempt- Different recipe that required the balls of dough to be rolled out. Unfortunately this batch also did not work out well. They look nice, but I am convinced a swamp thing lives within. Some day I will perfect this recipe and share it with all of you so that you may all experience the bites of heaven that I remember from Brazil.



Cuban Grilled Pork with Mojo Sauce

2 pounds pork loin roast
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemonade
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients and marinate pork for 24 hours in refrigerator.Remove roast from refrigerator and preheat grill. Season with salt and pepper and place roast on hot grill over direct medium heat. Grill on all sides until you get a good sear.. Move to indirect grilling and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Let roast cool before slicing.

Mojo Sauce

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, finely minced-you could also use a garlic press (I love mine!)
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and add garlic. Cook until garlic becomes fragrant. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a rolling boil.

*I used the pork to make sandwiches. I toasted some buns in the oven and topped with pork, tomatoes, onion, Swiss cheese, put the sandwiches open face back in the oven and spooned the excess Mojo sauce over the pork and baked until cheese was melted.

Platanos en Tentacion (Candied Plantain "Temptation")

• 3 large plantains
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Vanilla

Hit the plantains on all sides with a wooden spoon to soften. Peel and cut into 5 pieces each. In a large skillet, melt butter and oil on high heat; add plantains. Fry until brown.Be patient and allow Plantains to brown on all sides. Combine sugar, vanilla, and water. Reduce heat to low and pour liquid over plantains. Continue cooking until the liquid thickens.

*I think this recipe would be really yummy served with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Global Kitchen Challenge

The Challenge? To Cook Recipes from Around the World.

I challenge myself to cook one recipe from each of the countries listed below within the course of one year and to share each recipe and experience on my blog.

I Am Crazy So Wish Me Luck!

Afghanistan

Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Costa Rica
Cote d'lvoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon islands
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

The Baked Potato Pizza

*This one goes to 11 on Naveen's scale of Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It home cooked meals.

After my Facebook declaration on the yummyness of this creation I have been hounded by many for the details. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Next time I create in the kitchen I will take a picture sooner so that my blog fans do not have to see the 2 day old refrigeration picture. I apologize.

Drum Roll.................................................................

Ingredients:
1 package pizza crust
5 smallish red potatoes
4 Cloves Garlic and/or Garlic Salt (or to taste--I lurve me some garlic)
3 TBSP Butter or Margarine- melted
Pepper/Red Pepper flakes to taste
3/4 C. Sour Cream
Ranch Dressing Mix or Ranch Dressing
1/8 C.Bacon Pieces
Green Onions sliced thin
1/2 package frozen Broccoli-thawed
Cherry Tomatoes cut into quarters
1 1/2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

The Labor Portion:

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
Roll out pizza crust on a pan and spritz a bit of Olive Oil or butter spray over the top and rub 2 or 3 cloves of crushed garlic over dough. Prick dough with fork a few times to help prevent bubbles. Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until crust is starting to turn a golden brown.

Meanwhile, fork the potatoes a few times each and "bake" in the microwave for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Let cool, then cut into quarters and place in a large bowl. Add butter and 2 cloves crushed garlic and a dash of garlic salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes and toss until potatoes are coated. Give the potatoes a quick mash (Not too much, just enough to break the potatoes apart some so that they will cover the whole pizza crust.)

In a bowl mix sour cream and 1/2 of a Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix packet. Spread over pizza crust.

Add potato mixture and spread out evenly.
Decorate your pizza crust with Broccoli, Bacon Pieces, Green Onions, Tomatoes . Top with Cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Let cool 5 minutes and ENJOY!

Clean Up: Tell the boys to do it....you just made awesome!

Naveen enjoyed his pizza topped with a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of BBQ sauce. Happy Tummy!


* I am not skilled in the writing down of recipes so if anyone has a question or comment please let me know and I will happily be of service.