The Island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
I love cooking. Husband loves eating. Perfect. I love cooking. We love Haiti. Perfect. Let's be honest though, we didn't so much love my version of Haitian cooking. I am glad we experimented and got to have a "cultural" night with our boys–but, we likely will not be dining on the cuisine again. :)
It's amazing how big much of a country's identity is wrapped up in its food fare. We felt like we learned so much more about Haiti simply by researching, shopping for, and cooking the new recipes. I even learned something new about my husband (who knew it was even possible?!)…he has never been a big fan of Haitian food. And…people…that was before he tried my version!
I highly encourage you to pick a culture, a country, or a region and research some of their most popular and traditional dishes. Shop for and prepare them with care–and if you're really brave…invite some friends over to sample your hard work. If you have kids, grab a children's book from the library. It helps them have a more concrete reason for such a strange (to them) meal. Twig1 is still talking about Haiti–and the children we read about in his book.
To be honest, I don't even want to include the recipes. :) They just weren't the most amazing things I've ever had. But, if you are interested in cooking Haitian food–Island Flave is the website I cooked from.