A Collection of Recipes by Mount Holyoke Alumnae and Students from, in or in Love with Europe
In times of social distancing, lock downs, and restrictions, many of us turned to cooking and baking for comfort and relief or simply out of dire necessity. In April 2020 the European Alumnae Council issued a call to all domestic goddesses, dedicated bakers and accidental cooks among us and launched a cooking, baking, and drink recipe competition. This competition was later followed by a Festive Edition collecting celebratory dishes from around the world (learn more about this event here). The Festive Edition was not a competition, but instead simply a sharing of celebratory recipes.
Within a few weeks the organizing committee received over 80 recipes from 16 different countries and the submissions included easy family comfort dishes as well as complex and mouthwatering culinary enterprises and most delectable drinks.
All recipes were supported by inspiring and fascinating backstories, illustrating old and new family or regional traditions and often introducing noteworthy family members with a smile.
Our Entries by Category
- All recipes
- Mains
- Appetizers & Relishes
- Baking & Desserts
- Haute Cuisine
- Regional/Traditional
- Drinks
- Pantry / Quarantine
It took the jury weeks to evaluate the recipes, test many of them and exchange opinions and pictures. Everyone took her job extremely seriously and whenever there was any disagreement a recipe was actually tested a few times before the jury could reach a final decision.
Making a final selection was difficult and the jury finally agreed to select 20 winners in 7 different categories, including a special category for “Best Pantry – quarantine food”.
And the winners are…
Home cooking – Main dishes
| Emily Arnold ’12 – United States | Curried Butternut Pasta |  |
| Meryem Puill- Châtillons ’80 – France | Méryem’s Lamb Curry |  |
| Lynn Meins ’70 – Germany | Lynn’s Favorite Fish Recipe |  |
| Laura Aimone ’04 – Italy | Penne in barca con asparagi selvatici (Penne on the boat with wild asparagus) |  |
| Qudsia Ali ’95 – Saudi Arabia | Masala Chicken Bread |  |
Home cooking – Appetizers and relishes
| Elizabeth Taeed ’09 – Portugal | Balsamic Vinegar, Thyme and Caramelised Onion Relish |  |
Home cooking – Baking and desserts
| Rossella Di Palma ‘99 – Italy | Eggplant and Ginger Jam |  |
| Mieke Kamps ’78 – The Netherlands | Dutch Alp d’HuZes Apple -Oat Pie |  |
| Vennie Muenzen ’10 – United States | Homemade Dairy-free Banana Ice cream |  |
| Corinne Morgan ’13 – United Kingdom | Cranberry Orange Sweetbread |  |
Haute Cuisine
| Virginia Ross ’66 – United Kingdom | Crab Soufflé |  |
Regional – Traditional
| Katrina Strikis ’10 – United States | Pīrāgi (Bacon Buns) |  |
| Sarah Poniros ’13 – United States | Yiayia Effie’s Moussaka |  |
| Aniela White ’05 – Poland | Szarlotka (Polish apple pie) |  |
| Deborah Wild ’97 – Georgia | Dresdner Weihnachtsstollen (Christmas Stollen/Cake) (German) |  |
Drinks
| Laura Campbell ’05 – France | Marquisette (Champagne Punch) |  |
| Elisabeth Hansen ’95 – Switzerland | Madeline’s Elderflower Syrup Come True |  |
Special Category – Best Pantry /Quarantine recipes
| May Chen ’21 – China | Mama’s Tomato Fried Eggs |  |
| Laila Kienel ’08 – Belgium | Potato pancakes |  |
| Micha Hellman ’19 – The Netherlands | Homemade Dark Chocolate |  |
| Suzanne Jansen ‘91 – The Netherlands | Healthy Banana Pancakes |  |
All winners received a copy of the cookbook “Repertoire” by fellow alumna and cookbook writer Jessica Battilana ‘ 00 (JessicaBattilana.com)!
To see the winners and recipes from our Festive Edition, click here.
Special thanks to the evaluating committee, which included:
- Victoria Breck ’08 – Belgium – Food blogger – see Kitchenbyvictoria.com
- Marcella Croce ’72 – Italy – Author and food anthropologist – see Marcellacroce.com
- Kate Old-Magnere ’90 – France – Chef and restaurant owner at “Le Monaco” in Paris
- Silvia Maulini ’80 – the Netherlands/European Council – (Slow) food lover and teacher of cooking workshops
- Ellen Whitehead ’11 – United Kingdom – Gin enthusiast and keen amateur baker
Uncommon Kitchens Cookbooks
Since then, we gathered all recipes from these two culinary eevents into two beautiful cookbooks. Learn more and order your own copy here!