Regional Recipes: JAPAN and GERMANY Round-Ups

So I know what you're all thinking.  It's about time.

For which I apologize deeply.  Life is crazy right now what with Project Food Blog last month and school constantly, etc.  But better late than never, right? And once you see how good these dishes are...I'm sure you'll agree.  So lets dive into Japan AND Germany, shall we?

Janet of Tastespace used these scrumptious Ginger-Poached Soba Noodles with Tofu and Broccoli to carb load before a double imperial century ride.  Now I've always thought century riders were crazy, but double imperial century riders?  That goes beyond diagnostic capacity!

Kim of The Ungourmet likes experimenting with veggies as much as I do.  When she found pea shoots at a market, she knew she had to try them.  And hence this pea shoot and shiitake soba noodle bowl was born.  And man am I glad for that!

I was so happy when Katerina of Culinary Flavors told me she was going to step outside her comfort zone and find a NEW chicken teriyaki recipe to cook this month!  The one she discovered which comes from Jaden of Steamy Kitchen sounds delicious to me!

Kristen of Holy Cannoli found inspiration for this dish in the unlikeliest of places - an anime cartoon!  With a cookie exterior and a bread interior...I'd have to say this melonpan is the winner of the carbohydrate world.

They say great minds think alike, and I definitely agree since Elra and I decided to make the same Japanese Curry recipe!  I truly loved this dish and from looking at this picture, I'm sure I would adore her version as well!

Sweet Artichoke brought this delicious cucumber and wakame salad to the round up!  Little does she know that I order seaweed salad whenever I get Japanese food and have been looking fervently for a recipe!  This one looks perfect.

Ann of Split Pear-sonality relives some of her memories of one of her favorite restaurants though this fantastic beef negimaki.  In my opinion, this dish deserves a multi-starred review.

Not only that, but she sent in TWO entries (because two is always better than one).  This grilled ginger chicken yakitori, along with the negimaki of the previous entry are inspired by a trip she took to Japan.  Jealous!

Since I took so long to post the Japan roundup, Chaya of My Sweet and Savory and Chaya's Comfy Cooking Blog had time to make not one, not two, but THREE recipes!  The first is a simple, delicious, refreshing cucumber salad.  What a way to whet your appetite.

Knowing my love of both peanuts and dessert, Chaya also made some Japanese peanut cookies!  Perfect with a nice cup of tea.

Chaya is possibly the only person I know whose love of salmon rivals mine and so it's no surprise that she made this fantastic Japanese salmon to round out her entries!

When Mary of One Perfect Bite found a strange vegetable hiding among the celeriac, she knew she had to give it a try.  And I'm glad she did because this Kinpira Gobo - a salad made out of burdock root - looks delicious!

One of my absolute favorite bloggers who I miss dearly every day since she had to leave her rotation here at Cornell and go back to med school in New Jersey is Sharlene of Small Town Oven.  Thankfully, I get a little dose of her through these cupcakes, which are full of stellar ingredients.  Black sesame seeds.  Wasabi.  Chocolate.  You know you're intrigued.

I'm pretty sure I had to pinch myself when Heather of Girlichef sent me this recipe for.  Are you ready?  Caramel-coated sweet potatoes or Daikagu Imo.  I'm really glad she came around to sweet potatoes because otherwise I may never have stumbled across these beauts!

Jo of Little House By The Railway Line had to scavenge her local Asian market to find the ingredients for these Mitarashi Dango...little dessert dumplings of delicious, but they look so good that I'm sure it was worth it!

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen made this thin, but highly flavorful Clear Soup with Carrot and Daikon Flowers.  It looks almost too pretty to eat!

Do you believe in destiny?  That's the question that Kelly of It's A Food Life poses before starting her post about Togareshi-Seared Ahi Tuna with Orange Ponzu Cream Sauce.  It is definitely a series of coincidences that came together to allow her to make this fabulous dish.  Be sure to read all about it!

Torview Toronto loves sushi as much as I do and I'm so impressed with her homemade rolls!  The sushi rice she made came out perfectly.

Marisa of The Creative Pot demystified Japanese food (raw fish, miso, fermented bean curd - oh my!) by making a crispy deep fried treat that anyone would love - tempura! I don't know about you, but this is definitely one of MY guilty pleasures!

Finally, there is my submission of Japanese Chicken Curry.  A sweet yet spicy curry that will leave your taste buds very happy.

Now...for the second half of the round-up!  In honor of Oktoberfest, Regional Recipes went to Germany during the month of October.  Beer, sausages, meat.  What's not to love?

Kathy of Polwig really got into the Oktoberfest spirit with THREE German recipes!  First up is this creamy sauerkraut, which is not only delicious but is full of antioxidants that can help to prevent cancer.  Good stuff.

In a carb-loving spirit, which I highly endorse, Kathy also made a whole slew of pretzels (bresn).  So many shapes and sizes of carb heaven!

What is a delicious German meal without a delicious German dessert?  Kathy definitely came through with this fantastic yeasted plum cake that is rife with memories form her childhood.

Heather of Girlichef included all of the best parts of German food in her Oktoberfest pizza - pumpernickel dough, currywurst sauce, bratwurst, potatoes, sauerkraut...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Faith of An Edible Mosaic, a fellow condiment lover, planned this whole German feast around a jar of mustard that she found in a new supermarket!  The sausages and sauerkraut she made definitely seem like the perfect compliment.

Alexis of Big Momma and Me followed her husband's advice to make these Kartoffelpuffer...I mean potato pancakes for Regional Recipes.  Good call.

Kristin of Holy Cannoli asked her German friend for advice when trying to decide on a dish for Regional Recipes. Well Kristin, your friend is a keeper because this Flaedlesuppe (Pancake Soup) looks fantastic!

Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner...Healthy and Lowfat got her family back for all their picky eating ways with these Chocolate Sauerkraut Cupcakes.  The best part is...her kids had no idea what was in the cupcakes or even that something was amiss until AFTER they'd eaten them.

Katerina of Culinary Flavors dug up this recipe for Gefullte Halbmondchen...err...crescent cookies from her archive of bookmarked recipes.  They may have a mouthful of a name but they sure look delicious!

What do you get when you combine cherries, chocolate, and vanilla sponge cake?  Donauwelle German cake, as Vanessa of Sweet Artichoke shows us.  What a delicious combo.

We all crave French onion soup once in a while but what do you do when you want something just a bit lighter?  Deb of Kahakai Kitchen shows us with this German onion soup!  A lighter version of a soup classic.

Kelly of It's A Food Life chose to commemorate the glory that is Oktoberfest with Rouladen, a serious comfort food if ever I've seen one.

Janet of The Tastesace worked with her grandmother to make these delicious apple strudel.  I am floored by how much love went into these and couldn't be more appreciative of the result.

 Debbie of A Feast for The Eyes cooks up a HUGE Oktoberfest meal every year.  Check out her blog to see the bazillion German recipes she cooked up this time around!

Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice was swept away by the honey almond flavor combination in this German Bee Sting Cake, and honestly, I have been too.  I know what I'll be making for one of the many upcoming holidays...

Elra made up an interesting version of Caramelized Apple Strudel using phyllo dough instead of puff pastry.  Lighter and just as delicious.

 Corina of Searching for Spice spent a year living in Germany during which she got to enjoy all of the wonders that German cuisine has to offer.  One of her favorites was lebkuchen, a spicy gingerbread biscuit that would be perfect for the holiday season, don't you think?

And FINALLY, now that you're all exhausted and absolutely ravenous in every sense of the word, here is my contribution, which is Pork Schnitzel. A breaded pork chop that is perfect for when you want to come home from work to find a good, easy meal.

Alright.  Now.  The moment you've ALL been waiting for.

Next month we are headed to.....Brazil!  Please email me your recipes by December 1st!

Regional Recipes: PUERTO RICO Round-Up

It's September.  Depressing.  But true.

Why depressing, you ask?

Well obviously because that means I'm sitting in a classroom all day instead of wiling away my time on a beach in San Juan, while sipping a pina colada and eating plantains by the fistful.  Yes.  By the fistful.  I really love plantains.

Well, what can you do.  Other than eat away your sadness of course.  Let the Puerto Rico round-up begin!

First up is Sara of the Saucy Dipper who was inspired by all of the Puerto Rican food she ate at a friend's wedding in San Juan.  One thing in particular that left an impression on her was the Puerto Rican dipping sauce that she had there.  Delicious!

My sister from another mister, Mo, over at Food Snob is *gasp* Puerto Rican and *gasp* lost her Puerto Rican food V card just for this round up!  She made arroz con gandules, a Puerto Rican household staple!

Chaya of My Sweet and Savory always puts so much thought into her Regional Recipes entries.  She researches the country in question and then hems and haws over which recipe to choose.  Well, she certainly chose a winner this time with her bunuelos de queso.  YAM FRITTERS WITH CHEESE.  Yes people.  She knows the way to my heart.

Heather of Girlichef, though an expert in Mexican cooking, has never dabbled in Puerto Rican food before!  As such, she thought she would go all-out for this month's challenge.  And make a multi-course meal.  She made Pavochon, Jibaritos, Spicy Pina Vinagre, and Mantecadas.  AKA turkey seasoned and roasted like a suckling pig, a sandwich made with fried plantains in place of bread, spicy pineapple vinegar, and Puerto Rican shortbread cookies.  I'm inviting us all over to her place for dinner.

Daniel of Casual Kitchen, always out to show readers that you can cook good, real food without breaking the bank, shares his recipe for pernil with us!  A great dish to serve to company.  Or to just sit at home eating yourself.  With a fork. Not that I do things like that.  Often.

Sparkling barbecue sauce.  Comprised of lemon-lime soda, ketchup, sweet red barbecue sauce, liquid smoke and black pepper, that is what Kim of Stirring the Pot doused her Puerto Rican grilled pork chops in and man do they look GOOD!

Jo of Little House by the Railway Line and a first-time Regional Recipe-er, excited to start trying new foods, made not one, but TWO dishes.  Her mojo isleno and quimbobo guisado both look flavor-packed and delicious.

Vanessa of Sweet Artichoke really persevered in trying to find a vegetarian recipe amongst all of the pork-heavy Puerto Rican dishes!  I'm glad she did, as her black bean soup looks hearty and satisfying.

Akheela of Torviewtoronto, another first time Regional Recipes participant, submitted her version of caramel pudding or flan.  This eggy custard is one of my favorite desserts and so I'm quite glad that someone took it on!

Rachel of The Crispy Cook shows her adopted patriotic pride for Puerto Rico by making the National Dish of arroz con gandules!  She made her vegetarian version super tasty by adding extra seasoning and more olives.  I like the way she thinks.

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen has been on an avocado kick this month, and quite frankly I don't mind the abundance of avocado recipes that she has been churning out recently.  This cold avocado soup la fortaleza is no exception, as it's creamy lemony and delicious.

This month's regional recipes destination came at the perfect time for Ty's Mommy of The Seventh Level of Boredom.  She recently fell in love with plantains and made tostones with garlic mojo sauce to share with all of us!

Marisa of The Creative Pot and I have an unstated agreement that someday when we both have unlimited time and money, we will travel the world together.  Until then, we'll just cook through the world together.  Her coquito, which looks to be a creamy hypnotically coconutty drink, has thoroughly convinced me that she will be an ideal travel partner.

Kristin of Holy Cannoli must have somehow found out that pina coladas are my favorite iced drink.  Because now her pina colada sorbet is going to be my new favorite iced dessert.  Now if only I could be enjoying it on a beach somewhere...

When Kelly of It's A Food Life went on a cruise to the Caribbean three years ago, her ship stopped at San Juan.  Where was the first place she and her husband went once ashore?  A Bacardi Factory.  No lie.  And so she cooked up a banana bread pudding with rum sauce, which looks like a bread pudding lover's dream.  All I have to say it.  I need to get to San Juan.  With a pan full of this.

Finally, coming in just under the wire myself, I made Pastelon which is basically a lasagna made out of sweet plantains.  It is at once sweet, salty, spicy, and absolutely mind-blowing. I kind of want to eat it every day for the rest of my life.

Which brings us to one of my favorite parts of every month - announcing our next destination!

I never eat take-out.  Ever.  Except for one thing.

Sushi.  I adore sushi.

And so this month we are headed to...JAPAN! Please send your recipes to jhbruno87@gmail.com by September 30th!