Image from The Daring Gourmet
My first goal was to look inward at my own heritage by making chicken paprikash for the first time. I was warmed by this dish from the inside out and pondered what it means to be from somewhere.
I discovered a new favorite dish, pescado sudado, solely because I needed to eat fish on a Friday and was in a pinch. These fresh, light flavors renewed my spirit and convinced me that spring was finally coming.
Image from Natasha's Kitchen
I journeyed to an unfamiliar part of the world to determine why every culture has their own take on a dumpling. Instead, I found that I am completely unable to wrap a dumpling correctly.
I faced my immense distaste for olives in this traditional Louisiana sandwich, finding a new appreciation for balanced flavors and respect for the history and culture of New Orleans.
Is French cuisine truly the best of the best in the culinary world? To take a stab at that question myself, I made coq au vin. The dish proved to be both delicious and terribly difficult to pronounce.
Excited to explore West African cuisine, I attempted to make fried bean patties, a common breakfast and street food. Instead, I found myself pleading with a deep fryer and facing a complete kitchen catastrophe.
I recreated my boyfriend's go-to Indian order, found that it was actually pretty easy to make cheese, and tried to answer a tricky question: why is South Indian cuisine so underrepresented in the United States?
What a beautiful country, and what a tragic history. My decision to explore this Southeast Asian country resulted in a dish with sharp, pungent flavor, and an optimistic take on the rise of Cambodian cuisine.
My complete lack of knowledge about Oceanic countries prompted me to make a Tongan dessert of dumplings in caramel sauce. Not only did I love the dessert, I was re-inspired to use familiar ingredients in new ways.
A weird food hack video on social media helped me stumble across this creamy dessert. I jumped into making melktert, a delicious traditional South African sweet, and found comfort in the familiar flavors.
Originally, I said I'd hit every continent "except for Antarctica, obviously." I then looked into this researcher-inhabited area. Instead of mimicking an existing recipe, I've presented the most comforting dish I know.