About us
This is a group for people who enjoy cooking and baking and love to eat good food. All skill levels are welcome. This is a great opportunity to hone your gourmet cooking skills, share recipes and learn new recipes, and meet some interesting people who share your passion for good food. I started this group because I'm particularly interested in international cuisine. I miss the selection of great restaurants I used to have when I lived in Washington, DC. The Upper Valley is a bit limited in this area, so let's get together to have some fun cooking our own international cuisine. We meet once a month for a potluck and vary the themes, i.e. Moroccan, Greek, etc. I also try to organize guest speakers and kitchen tours at some of the Upper Valley's finest restaurants. Come join the fun!
Upcoming events
10
Lebanese Potluck
Kilton Library, Community Room, 80 Main St., West Lebanon, NH, USLebanese cuisine comprises the culinary traditions and practices originating from Lebanon. It includes an abundance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat, and when red meat is eaten, it is usually lamb and goat meat. Dishes include copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, and are often seasoned with salt and lemon juice. Chickpeas and parsley are also staples of the Lebanese diet.[1][2][3][4]
Well-known dishes include baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, sfeeha, falafel and shawarma.[5][6] An important component of many Lebanese meals is hummus, a chickpea puree, and many dishes are eaten with flatbread.[7][8][9] A plate of vegetables including tomatoes, cucumber, mint, olives and pickles is always served on the table, and a plate of fruits at the end of the meal with a Lebanese coffee. Well-known desserts include baklawa, sfouf and ka'ak.[10] Some desserts are specifically prepared on special occasions; for example, meghli (rice pudding dessert, spiced with anise, caraway, and cinnamon) is served to celebrate a newborn baby in the family.[11][12]
Arak is an anise-flavoured liquor, and is the Lebanese national drink, usually served with a traditional Lebanese meal. Another historic and traditional drink is Lebanese wine.[13][14][15]
Lebanese cuisine has ancient roots and is part of the culinary tradition of the Eastern Mediterranean. Many dishes in Lebanese cuisine can be traced back thousands of years to eras of Phoenician, Persian, Egyptian, Neo-Babylonian, Roman, Greek, Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman rule.[16][17] In the last 500 years, Lebanese cuisine has been influenced by the different foreign civilizations that held power. From 1516 to 1918, the Ottoman Turks controlled Lebanon and introduced a variety of foods that have become staples in the Lebanese diet, such as cooking with lamb. After the Ottomans were defeated in World War I (1914–1918), France took control of Lebanon until 1943, when the country achieved its independence. The French introduced foods such as flan, caramel custard, eclairs, french fries and croissants.[18]
The Lebanese diaspora who live worldwide has introduced new ingredients, spices and culinary practices into Lebanese cuisine, keeping the cuisine innovative and renowned both beyond and within its borders.[19][20] Chef and writer Tara Khattar describes her style of cookery as 'progressive Lebanese cuisine'.[21]
Hallab baklava is produced in Lebanon
Lebanese cuisine has become engrained as a staple in a multitude of cultures such as in Australia[22] and in Brazil.[23] It has also served both as a source of identity and income for the diaspora across the world,[24] and as an investment opportunity for individuals and corporations wanting to expand and go global.Source: Lebanese cuisine - Wikipedia
1 attendee
Argentine Potluck
Kilton Library, Community Room, 80 Main St., West Lebanon, NH, USArgentine cuisine blends elements from the Indigenous peoples of Argentina who focused on ingredients such as humita, potatoes, cassava, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and yerba mate, and from Spanish cuisine brought during the colonial period. These were enriched by Italian and Spanish immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries, who incorporated many of their food customs and dishes such as pizza, pasta and Spanish tortillas.
Beef is a large part of the Argentine diet due to its vast production in the country's plains. Argentine annual consumption of beef has averaged 100 kg (220 lb) per capita,[1] approaching 180 kg (400 lb) per capita during the 19th century; consumption averaged 67.7 kg (149 lb) in 2007.[2]
Beyond asado (the Argentine barbecue), no other dish more genuinely matches the national identity. Nevertheless, the country's vast area, and its cultural diversity, have led to a local cuisine of various dishes.[3][4]
The great immigratory waves consequently imprinted a large influence in the Argentine cuisine; after all, Argentina was the second country in the world with the most immigrants with 6.6 million, only second to the United States with 27 million, and ahead of other immigratory receptor countries such as Canada, Brazil, Australia, and others.[5][6]
Argentine people have a reputation for their love of eating.[3] Social gatherings are commonly centred on sharing a meal. Invitations to have dinner at home are generally viewed as a symbol of friendship, warmth, and integration. Sunday family lunch is considered the most significant meal of the week, whose highlights often include asado or pasta.[3]
Another feature of Argentine cuisine is the preparation of homemade food such as French fries, patties, and pasta to celebrate a special occasion, to meet friends, or to honour someone. Homemade food is also seen as a way to show affection.[3]
Argentine restaurants include a great variety of cuisines, prices, and flavours.[3] Large cities tend to host everything from high-end international cuisine to bodegones (inexpensive traditional hidden taverns), less stylish restaurants, and bars and canteens offering a range of dishes at affordable prices.[3]Source: Argentine cuisine - Wikipedia
1 attendee
Puerto Rican Potluck
Kilton Library, Community Room, 80 Main St., West Lebanon, NH, USPuerto Rican cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes original to Puerto Rico. It has been primarily a fusion influenced by the ancestors of the Puerto Rican people: the indigenous Taínos, Spanish Criollos and sub-Saharan African slaves. As a territory of the United States, the culinary scene of Puerto Rico has also been moderately influenced by American cuisine.
Puerto Rican cuisine is a product of diverse cultural influences, including Taíno Arawak, Spanish Criollos, and Africans.[5] It is characterized by a unique blend of Spanish seasonings and ingredients, which makes it similar to Spanish and other Latin American cuisines.[6][7] Locally, it is known as cocina criolla.[8][9]
The roots of traditional Puerto Rican cuisine can be traced back to the 15th century. In 1848, the first restaurant, La Mallorquina, was opened in Old San Juan.[10] The island's first cookbook, El Cocinero Puerto-Riqueño o Formulario, was published in 1859.[11]
Traditional cooking on the island uses more fresh and local ingredients such as citrus to make mojo and mojito isleño and especially fresh herbs, vegetables and peppers to make recaíto and sofrito.[25]
The base of many Puerto Rican main dishes involves sofrito, similar to the mirepoix of French cooking, or the "trinity" of Creole cooking. A proper sofrito is a sauté of freshly ground garlic, yellow onions, culantro, cilantro, red peppers, cachucha and cubanelle peppers. Sofrito is traditionally cooked with tomato paste or sauce, oil or lard, and cured pork. A mix of stuffed olives and capers called alcaparrado are usually added with dry spices.[26] Adobo in Puerto Rico most traditional refers to a wet rub known as adobo mojado (wet seasoning) of Caribbean oregano, salt, black pepper, garlic, shallot, vinegar, citrus juice and zest.
Adobos come in two forms: dry (adobo seco) and wet (adobo mojado). Both use the same garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, lippia (orégano), and citrus. While adobo seco uses dry ingredients and the option of citrus zest, adobo mojado uses fresh ingredients mixed with olive oil, vinegar, and citrus juice. Both of these forms of adobo are typically rubbed on meats and fish. Adobo seco is considered more of an all-purpose seasoning used for most typically Puerto Rican dishes.
Sazón, like adobo, is widely used in Puerto Rican cuisine. It is traditionally made with cumin, salt, annatto powder, and coriander seeds, with the option of paprika, turmeric, crushed bay leaves or avocado leaves.
Sorfito and recaíto are used in the same way but with minor differences, as recaito is heavier on the herb culantro known as recao on the island thus giving its name recaito. The base is a puree made with a large amount or both cilantro and culantro, green bell peppers, garlic, yellow onions or scallions, oregano brujo, cachucha and recently parsely.
Annatto oil is made from steeping annatto seeds with oil or lard with olive oil used mostly and sometimes steeped with bay leaves. It is used for signature dishes adding a bright yellow-orange color and smoky peppery taste to pasteles, arroz con gandlues, alcapurrias, arroz junto, used to sear meats for stews and soups.Source: Puerto Rican cuisine - Wikipedia
1 attendee
Past events
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