Raspberry and Lavender Tiramisù

Name: Laura Aimone
Class Year: 2004
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

In every Italian family there could be only one person with the title of “Tiramisù Master”. In mine, that’s mum. When I was at MHC I was a language fellow and I prepared Tiramisù following mum’s recipe for my students. It was a real success, although I had to drive to Boston to find all the necessary ingredients.

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Cherry Crumble

Name: Patricia Simon
Class Year: 1968
Country of Residence: Germany

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

When I was just out of college and in Germany, I met this young student who was eventually to become my husband. His father was a master baker, and I wanted to impress him with my (very scanty) baking skills. I made chocolate cookies, the kind you roll a ball of dough in powdered sugar before baking. Father-in-law’s judgment: “They taste very nice. Don’t be upset how they look”!!! So I decided to find a German recipe that would be easy enough for me to manage but still meet his aesthetic standards. Voila!

 I always have the necessary ingredients at home and can whip this cake up in a wink if we have unexpected guests.

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Engadiner Nut Pie

Name: Patricia Simon
Class Year: 1968
Country of Residence: Germany

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I first had this in the Engadin (Switzerland) about 40-50 years ago, and I thought I was in heaven. But it didn’t occur to me for decades to try to make it myself. A few years ago I found a recipe in a magazine and, being a MHC alum, thought “why not?”. The rest is history (and hips).

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Atjar Tjampoer (Indonesian pickle)

Name: Georgia (Smith) Regnault 
Class Year: 1964
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Two years ago, our MHC alumnae group in the Netherlands got together for an Indonesian lunch. I originally thought we would just meet and eat take away, which is very popular in the Netherlands.  However, it soon became clear that our gathering would be a cooking workshop for us in preparing Indonesian dishes. 

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English Muffin Bread Loaf

Name: Georgia (Smith) Regnault 
Class Year: 1964
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I am FROM the USA, living  IN the Netherlands and IN LOVE with Europe. But ever since I lived here (55 years), I have missed English Muffins, Thomas’ to be exact. Have tried making them a few times when I was a newlywed, but never very successful.  Just recently during this coronavirus lockdown, a friend sent me a recipe for English Muffin Bread Loaf – and this is almost as good, in fact it is excellent. This is for all the English Muffin lovers in Europe!

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Three Dips

Name: Lynn Meins
Class Year: 1970
Country of Residence: Germany

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

In 1983, a group of 6 of us started a book club.  Not only do we read books, we also cook meals for each other.  For my first evening as hostess, I made dips with vegetables and other finger food.  This was practically unknown here in Germany at the time and was a big hit.  In fact, since then, the other members have insisted that I make dips – whenever I dared try something else, I got the reaction, “That was very good, but next time we want your dips!”  Here are some of the favorites.  (If anyone wants some good book tips, I can provide those, too!)

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Potato Pancakes

Name: Laila Kienel (Buligina)
Class Year: 2008
Country of Residence: Belgium

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This is a recipe I learned from my maternal grandmother who passed away this winter at the age of 95. She was an amazing cook and baker and could whip up the most amazing dishes in no time using very few simple ingredients. Even though she was so good at it, she actually did not really enjoy spending time in the kitchen, and preferred reading poetry or playing the piano when she had the time.

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Shopska Salad (Bulgarian tomato salad)

Name: Krasina Koleva
Class Year: 2009
Country of Residence: Bulgaria

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This is a traditional Bulgarian salad. It is similar to Greek salad but Bulgarian feta cheese tends to be softer. It is also usually crumbled in the salad.  The name Shopska is the old name of the Sofia region.

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Greek Salad

Name: Dimitra China
Class Year: 2016
Country of Residence: Greece

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This is a very common recipe in Greece. We eat this salad every day during summertime at my house and the vinegar is my dad’s addition to make the salad have a twist & taste even better. Please note that the end taste is affected by the quality of the fresh vegetables.

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