Cooking The World: Global Gastronomy

So I need your help. Starting July 2006, I’m going to be cooking. A lot. More so than I do now. The idea is to cook a traditional family recipe from someone’s country. I’d like to represent as many countries as I can. I want to learn more about other cuisines but at the same time, I also want to go in search of new ingredients in New York City. I don’t have a name for the project yet so I could use some suggestions for that, too. Send me an email with your family recipe and I’ll add it to my list. If you can attach your personal story with it, that would be great. I’d like to understand where it’s coming from.

Update: Thank you for all your suggestions and recipes so far. Keep them coming!

A lot of you suggested naming this project The World on a Plate but after some Googling, I found out that the name is already being used. I also like the Around the World idea but I’m keeping the category name to group the entries under it as Cooking the World–for now–because I wanted the verb “cook” in there. Someone else suggested Global Gastronomy and even though gastronomy is such a huge word, it gave me an idea to add my own notes and research to each of my entries. I’ll be studying and learning at my own pace throughout this project, too, so I think all the interdisciplinary activities involved in gastronomy might apply.

I honestly don’t know where this will go but join me as I search for recipes from all over the world and listen to the stories attached to them through friends and acquaintances.