Our latest attempts at international cookery...

Germany:  Potato pancakes and bratwurst

I figured this would go over pretty good because we all like brats and we all like hashbrowns, so I didn't think the potato pancakes would be too much of a departure from what the kids are used to.  Once I got the hang of recognizing the right time to flip them, they were easy too.  This menu earned       six thumbs up.  Provided I cook the potatoes adequately.

Russian-style filled donuts

Super-easy shortcut recipe using frozen bread dough.  That's my kind of cooking.  Everybody liked these too, and my DH was truly impressed that I had deep-fried them without burning myself.  I have a long and unhappy history with hot oil.  LOL  Another       recipe.  And how can you go wrong with frozen bread dough, really.

Georgia:  (the country in the former USSR, not the state)

This is a cheese-filled bread called khachapuri:

This was really good, even though we didn't seal it up tight enough and the cheese kind of bubbled out.  Thankfully I noticed before it got all over the bottom of the oven.  Oh  and again - frozen bread dough.  My new favorite kitchen shortcut.

shashlik (pork kebabs) and rice pilaf:

Kennady really liked the pilaf.  The boys are not big rice fans, so not a big enthusiastic response, but everyone ate and had enough.  I might make that bread again, if only to see if I can do it without the tragic loss of cheese.

Italy:

This looks terribly bland, but it was what I came up with for Italian night on short notice.  Fresh linguine and grilled chicken.

I served the sauce separately because a couple of the kids really dislike sauce.  This was, I think, the first time my kids had tried fresh pasta instead of the boxed dry kind.  Landon observed before I cooked the linguine that it looked (and tasted) like rubber bands.  Yes I did ask him how many rubber bands he had actually tasted...   By the way, we've noticed that Canadians (DH and I) would have said "elastics" not "rubber bands"  - another quirky Canuck moment brought to you by my random thought processes.

What we were really looking forward to last night was the Italian dessert.  Kennady was so anxious to try this Torta al cioccolato (chocolate cake) so we had that for bedtime snack.  It is most definitely on the Keeper list of recipes from around the world:

Obviously a six-enthusiastic-thumbs-up recipe!        Kennady and Spencer both asked for it for breakfast this morning.... ummmmm... guys, that was made of SUGAR and CHOCOLATE.  Not breakfast.  Clearly dessert.  I made them wait till later in the day.  This also will give me a chance to eat it before they do...   LOL  Very, very rich.  It's basically a sweet chocolate meringue, very little flour.  We got this recipe from the book, I'm the Chef! The Young Chef's Italian Cookbook. 

Don't forget to lick the bowl!