Centerstage - Chicago's Original City Guide

Articles Sections >> Arts + Words Bars + Clubs Dating Festivals Fitness Food Lifestyle Music Theater Travel + Tourism Who's Who > View All Best When Drunk Dining Guides The Raving Dish

A global cooking club proves easy to start...and delicious to kick off.

Tuesday Jun 27, 2006.     By Misty Tosh

Food Feed

I don't really know where the brainstorm came from, but all I know is it was stone brilliant. My hardcore foodie pal Lisa and I had decided we wanted to start a global cooking club this summer and completely eat our way around the world right in our own backyards. Once we committed to our decision (commitment is a toughie for girls like us) it was as simple as alerting the posse. Within 24 hours, we had 15 or so equally excited family and friends ready to come on out to share food from our first pick-from-the-hat: the insanely meat-lovin' country of Argentina.

Starting the club was easy-as-pie, with very little rules. Every month we would draw a more "exotic" country, steering clear of popular food havens like Italy, France or Mexico. The host-of-the-month supplies the indigenous liquor of the country, as well as a main course, and every guest brings a native dish: appetizer, entree or dessert. You could also BYOB if you didn't like the liquor being supplied. Menu updates went out once per week all the way up 'til the final menu before the dinner (that way there weren't six empanadas showing face).

But the best part of the deal is the give-back element we added. Every month we'd choose a needy charity in the country of choice and gather books, clothes, shoes or whatever fit and ship it off to the organization. Just a really clever way to get rid of a bunch of stuff you've not touched since '03 and help out a whole batch of folks that needed it. Invites went out, an organization was chosen (we actually decided to send a bunch of shoes to the Katrina victims) and the mouthwatering menu slowly started to take place.

Every week for a month, a short email would arrive with another update about who was bringing what. I was thrilled every time a new message tinged in. Beef and vegetable empanadas, flank steak and cheese roll-ups, seafood and potato fisherman's soup, cabbage souffle with homemade tomato sauce, dulce de leche crepes, and bacon, spinach and potato stew with heavy cream all made their way on the enticing menu. For the cocktail, Lisa planned on whipping up an insanely potent cherry liquor and bourbon concoction. We couldn't wait for the big day to arrive and in the meantime, all we had to do then was gather up some old shoes and stand by.

I arrived a little late at Lisa's to find everyone half-tanked on her cherry bourbon spritzers, of which I immediately poured myself a small glass out of the gigantic pitcher, squeezed on a bit of lime and gulped down a dose of liquid fire. Wow. After doctoring it up with a shot of melon-flavored seltzer, I helped set the buffet table with all the goodies.

We decided this would be the appropriate time to dole out the next few months, pulled from a hat. Thanks to my good solid buzz, I got a little aggressive with my country choices, tossing in places like Comoros, Latvia and every sub-Saharan African country I could think of. Why go with food that everyone already knows how to cook? The goal is to learn something in all of this, not to repeat the same recipes you already know by heart.

After stuffing myself with everyone's amazing dishes (they really all were incredible), we started the drawing process. We were halfway through '07 when we had to put a stop to it. Christ, who can stick to a schedule that's a year out? But, it was great fun hearing people shriek, "Iceland? What the hell do you eat in Iceland besides whale blubber?" and "Haha! You got Mongolia!!"

All in all, the club was a smashing success (who knew all you had to do was invite people) and I can't wait for August, when we get to explore the culinary wonder of India at my place. Samosas anyone?

The Final Rave: Stay away from Ghana and Senegal if you know what's best for you. The whole room broke into an uproar when these two were chosen (clearly, they've never had real African food before).

Keep It Going:

Read it: Eatchicago.net
There are so many blogs in the Chicago area that literally keep my mouth drooling. This is one of the goodies.

Keep up with it: Hungrymag.com
This great local blog has all the restaurants broken down by ethnicity and makes for a perfect tool when on the hunt for global eats around the city.

Eat it: Global Cooking Club
Start your own R-T-W cooking club. All you really need to do is shoot out an email to your closest pals and before you know it, you'll be knee-deep in exotic treats.

Get crazy with it: Intrepid Travel
This is one of the coolest companies out there, offering gourmet-eating trips around the world on a shoestring budget. If I had my choice, I'd be kickin' it in Vietnam come wintertime.

Fatcake Misty Tosh explores back-alley eateries, holes-in-the-wall and seedy ethnic joints as she treks the city in search of the next raving dish. Join her in the quest.