Well, today I was in heaven! We combined two of my favorite things here at the Academy: working with passionate young people and spending a few hours with new and old recipes in the kitchen.
If you can believe it, we convinced the hotel management where we were staying to "loan" us their kitchen for a "National Dinner!" Then, before the participants arrived, we asked them all to find a recipe that reflects the values of their culture and upbringing—something that they love to eat!
After a lot of consultation with mom and grandma, almost all of the participants brought recipes and secret ingredients. On the day of the dinner, a bunch of us went grocery shopping, armed with lists and lists of needed ingredients. This is exactly the kind of adventure that I love!
The result was a feast like you've never seen before! We all had an amazing time, including the really wonderful hotel chefs (who still had a restaurant full of people they had to feed) who took time to help our participants perfect their recipes.
If you want to know more about one of these dishes (or if you prepared it), please post the the blog—names and recipes would be great! And, don't forget that there are hundreds more photos on Facebook, the Common Ground website, and online here.
