A Culinary Tour Around the World

This is my dream trip: to travel for an extended period of time, 'living' in each location until I really got to know the culture and meet the people who would invite me into their homes for an authentic sampling of their national cuisine before I move on and take up roots elsewhere. 

However, with the state of the economy, my 2009 worldwide itinerary will begin and end in my kitchen. Looking back, I should have actually taken that trip in 2007. Though I didn't think so at the time, the reality is it was feasible and I would have much preferred to spend money eating-my-way-around-the-world than losing it in the stock market! Well, no crying over spilled milk in this kitchen, but there have been a lot of wine bottles uncorked to calm the frazzled nerves.

My Plan: I'm going to map out my trip and fictionalize my visits on FOODalogue by presenting the meals I encounter along the way (read: cook myself). I may even introduce you to some of the people I fantasize meeting (if that's not too weird). To challenge myself, I intend to research the area and the cuisine and come up with dishes that are out of my repertoire and comfort zone. So, I've decided I won't travel to the Mediterranean, specifically Spain, Italy and Greece because I am too familiar with those cultures. I also won't be going to Mexico or Latin/South America, with the exception of Peru, for the same reason. And I won't be stopping in Alaska for moose burgers.

Promise (fingers crossed): I hope to not spin my culinary point-of-view into the dishes and am planning to actually follow recipes, even if it means more fat or sugar content than I'm accustomed to using...even if it means deep frying...even if it means getting crazy and baking. 

A special message to those of you who read this blog. Over the past year or so, many of us have had to cut back on our discretionary spending but, to the best of my knowledge, we all still have food on the table. Millions of people do not. I am attaching this event to BloggerAid to help promote the effort to fight world famine. We begin with awareness. And, hopefully, awareness will lead to a call-to-action. Where possible, the event will include a glimpse of the culture and economy of the destination as well as a national dish and recipe.  Hopefully, the 'trip' into a culture we may never know will motivate readers to participate in the fight against hunger via BloggerAid or the World Food Programme and other worthy organizations.

The Challenge

To my food blogger friends: Why don't you join me and reach outside your comfort zone? How about meeting me in one of my itinerary stops and presenting your interpretation of the cuisine from that destination to readers? I think it'll be fun and I will be happy to feature you and your post as a guest blogger on FOODalogue. You can send your post to me any time before we reach the next destination, i.e., for Norway, any time between now and 1/19 when I'll be posting for next the destination (Poland).

We all know the rules: 

1. Grab your passport by capturing this 'stamp-out-world-hunger' image and put it on your blog with link to FOODalogue.

2. Post your dish and link to BloggerAid and back to FOODalogue (gives you and BloggerAid 3-for-1 coverage). 

3. Let me know that you've done it and send me a photo of you, your dish and the text of your post by email (info@foodalogue.com). 

Note: If the response is too great, I may have to just do a round-up rather than guest posts. If there's no response...well, it will be the solo trip I envisioned in the beginning, but I'm hoping I'll be hearing from some of you!!!

I'm planning a new destination each Monday. So, how about it? Meet me in Norway on or around January 12?

My tentative itinerary is: Norway, Poland, Germany, France, Portugal. Israel, Morocco, Ethiopia, Russia, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Borneo, Australia, Peru. When I get back to the U.S., I plan to stop in the South and do a Paula Dean thing...which is about as foreign to me as Ethiopia.

1/12 Norway

1/19 Poland

1/26 France

2/2 Portugal

2/9 Israel

2/16 Ethiopia

2/23 Russia

3/2 India

3/9 Mongolia

3/16 Australia

3/23 Peru

3/30 USA (see you at The Lady & Sons in Savannah)

To my non-food blogger readers: No vacation days required, no expensive taxi ride to the airport, no waiting lines. Come along -- and if you're enjoying this series, please express it by doing what you can for the fight against world hunger.