Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Photo courtesy of user pushreset on Flickr Location : Central Africa, between  the Republic of Congo  and Equatorial Guinea Area : Over 260,000 sq km; 77th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Colorado Noun : Gabonese Official Language : French Population : Over 1.6 million; 153rd largest in the world Capital : Libreville Economy : Per capita income four times higher than most other sub-Saharan African nations Source: CIA World Factbook So, guys, it has been a while.  Since I last cooked we moved 551 miles, took a trip to the other coast, bought a house, and started new jobs.  Mine involves me reading a lot of books to Brendan.  Doesn't pay well but I get to work from home.  :-) A long long time ago (AKA December) I got an e-mail from the Gabonese embassy. It read: Good afternoon Ms. Hetzel,  My name is Kate and I work for the Ambassador in the Embassy here in Washington; I’m so glad you took t...

Photo courtesy of user --Tom S-- on Flickr Background : This section in the CIA Factbook mentions the word "Viking."  Can't fail to mention that. Location : Northern Europe, on a peninsula north of Germany plus several major islands Area : Over 43,000 sq km; 134th largest in the world          Slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts Borders : Germany Natural hazards : Flooding in some areas of the country Nationality : Dane Population : Over 5.5 million; 110th largest in the world         Note : About 25% of the population lives in the capital Capital : Copenhagen Government : Constitutional monarchy Chief of State : Queen Margrethe II Source:  CIA Factbook It is usually a good sign that there will be plenty of recipes out there for a country if their cuisine has  a Wikipedia page.   Sometimes, it also makes it a little overwhelming.  There were so many options out there for Denmark! ...

Location : Southeast Asia, between Bangladesh and Thailand Area : Over 675,000 sq km; 40th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Texas Population : Almost 54 million; 24th most in the world Capital: Rangoon People living with HIV/AIDS : 240,000; 25th most in the world Name : Military authorities in Burma promote the name Myanmar instead Diplomacy : The US and Burma do not have ambassadors to each other Per capita income : $1400; 203/228 in the world Source:  CIA Factbook When I  e-mail the embassies, I have no idea what will come back.  It is often an "address not found" or "mailbox full," but usually just nothing.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I received this from Burma (I have edited only some of the spacing) : Dear Mr, Danielle, Thank you for interesting our Myanmar food recipes. We have four or five Myanmar restaurants around Washington DC. Here are the list and address – Even though the...

Yes, that's right!  We are into the B's!  I feel like I need to do a retrospective on the A's or something because there were so many.  Definitely won't happen for every letter, unless we really want to think a lot about Qatar. In no relevant order... Best recipes! Austria - Most for the wonderful Erdapfelschmarrn, but also the Wiener Schnitzel Argentina - Yay empanadas Algeria - A lot of flavor in the couscous dish Afghanistan - Tumeric chicken is a good way to start this thing Not-so-great recipes! Azerbaijan - Grape leaves and Danielle do not mix. Antigua and Barbuda - Overcooked.  :-(  Someone has to try this one and tell me how it actually tastes Angola - Just kinda bland chicken Albania - Who knew that veal could be that bad? That's probably not what you came here for, although I would love to hear your opinions if you tried any of these or questions you have.  It is nice to know if people are reading.  :-) The Bahamas "Di...