Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

History : Former French region of Middle Congo that gained independence in 1960 Government : First democratically elected government took office in 1992 Location : Central Africa bordering the South Atlantic Ocean Area : Almost 350,000 sq km; 64th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Montana Noun : Congolese Official Language : French Religion : 48% "animalist" Population : over 4.2 million; 127th largest in the world Capital : Brazzaville Cities : About 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them Budget surplus : 7.7% of GDP; 8th highest in the world Source: CIA Factbook As we covered a little bit last time, the DRC vs Republic of the Congo cuisine was causing me some issues.  They both refer to themselves as the Congolese, and most sites just refer to it as Congolese cuisine.  In fact, there is only one Wikipedia article for both:  Congolese Cuisine .  Most other ...

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...