Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Sometime in high school (maybe?), my friend Bill decided that we should all get together and make Greek food.  There may have been precedent for doing an ethnic food day, I don't know.  All I remember is that somehow I, who didn't know much more than boiling noodles and making frozen pizzas, was picking out a recipe called something like "Athena Pudding" to make from scratch. The only thing I remember about the recipe is that there was orange zest in it.  I was really weirded out by putting the outside of my orange in a dish.  I didn't like the end result.  His mom said she did.  I am still suspicious. Bill made some kind of meatballs and they were good.  I believe Amy may have made something too.  It was a long time ago.  But I guess the seeds of ethnic cooking were set? This time I avoided the pudding and skipped the meatballs.  I decided to go all out with what I thought of as Greek: lamb.  Not only that, but lamb with a cu...

Background : The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries Location : Southeastern Asia Area : Under 6,000 sq km; 172nd largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Delaware Borders : Malaysia Population : Just over 400,000; 174th largest in the world Capital : Bandar Seri Begawan Per Capita GDP : Over $50,000; 9th largest in the world Unemployment : 3.7%; 32nd smallest in the world Drugs : Some drug crimes are serious offenses and carry a mandatory death penalty Source:  CIA World Factbook Ambuyat is the national dish of Brunei.  The main ingredient is sago rumbia, which is something that returns foreign language sites on Google.  Not very easy to find.  Strike one.  Additionally, eating glue  is not my idea of a good time.  Strike two.  And I didn't want to make it.  Strike three.  More searching! I didn't have to look much farther than this site , and one thin...

Background : Was in turmoil for much of the 1990's, breaking off from the former Yugoslavia and engaging in ethnic wars Random : The warring parties initialed a peace agreement in Dayton, Ohio Location : Southeast Europe Area : Under 52,000 km; 128th in the world          Slightly smaller than West Virginia Population : Over 4.6 million; 120th in the world Birth rate : 8.9 births/1000 population, 212/222 in the world Capital : Sarajevo Borders : Still some disputes with Serbia along the Drina River Bosnian cuisine : Many spices in moderate quantities Source:  CIA World Factbook ,  Wikipedia Most of what I know about Bosnia and Herzegovina comes from one source: Zlata's Diary .  I can't be the only person with this memory, can I?  The specifics are eluding me, but considering I devoured books in grade school the fact that I could even recall this was about Sarajevo means it made an impression. The national dish of ...