Embrace Other Cuisines

   I'll be the first to tell you that I feel most comfortable cooking French cuisine. It's by far my favorite. Italian a close second. But why? Is it that I grew up in a home and neighborhood that embraced haute French cuisine, my parents cooking through Julia Child, the Italian market near our house? Why not Polish cuisine? My Moms' family is all Polish, yet I know little about the cuisine except for what she would cook and serve at Easter. Why not Irish/German cuisine from my Dad's side? When at Fordham and at the French Culinary, little Italy was steps away. Was that the influence?
    I have nothing against other cuisines or cultures. I find all of them interesting. Hell, I ate grubs, alive, in the outback of Australia. Or is it that we tend to stay connected with what we are most comfortable with?  One of my favorite restaurants in DC is Zaytinya, the Lebanese, Turkish, and Greek restaurant. The vegetable mezza inspire me each time I go. As I eat more ethnic food, my inspiration and wanting to learn more increases. One of my favorite restaurants in Paris was a little cafe on rue Fondary, where I lived, that was Moroccan. For as little as 25francs(in that time $5US) I could eat this wonderful melt in your mouth stew that was so full of flavor. Yet, I rarely make it at home? I have brought influence from those memories into my cooking, the Moroccan carrot salad for  instance. When I was working years ago at Cafe Centro, the chef had influences from North Africa as well. Bastilla and chermoula stand out.(Chermoula on next week's menu)But, I again cook them maybe once a year, if that. Why?
    For this past week with a catering event, I was asked to do an Indian-inspired buffet. (YIKES!) Do not know a thing about Indian cuisine. Crash course! YouTube and the internet were a help(God forbid). Yet as I was watching, reading, studying menus and recipes, it was inspiring to see such harmonious flavors. I was not worried about how to saute a piece of chicken, but did the flavors balance. And it was the act of cooking another cuisine that inspired the menu for this week. The flavors of garlic, ginger, turmeric and curry leaves invaded the kitchen. Pungent, spicy, sweet, sour aromas perfumed the kitchen. Fantastic! Have I been missing something? Or is it just different enough that my imagination can be lead astray?

Menu for the week:
Chicken curry(meat)
Spicy lentils and kale(vegan)
Raita(vegetarian)
Roasted Cauliflower-Tomato and Cumin Salad(vegan)
Piperade(vegan)
Roasted corn soup(vegan)
Romaine salad with pine nuts and tomato(vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free)
Cilantro-garlic sauce(vegan)
Cilantro pesto(vegetarian)
Take a Flyer: Diablo BBQ SAUCE