Five Interesting, International Pizzas

The pizza pie is perhaps the most well known Italian import in America (well, aside for Sophie Loren and the Lamborghini), but one may be surprised to learn that pizza can be found just about anywhere in the world.

From the Turkish Pide to the Asian Mizza, there are a literally a world of pizzas available that will tantalize the eyes as well as the palette.

Below are a few exotic pizza pies that will have you updating your passport for a taste of the decadent!

Turkish Pizza

While pide is also the name of Turkish bread is also the title of a scrumptious Turkish pizza. And just might one find on a Turkish Pide?

Depends on the baker, but traditionally, pide can showcase a variety of toppings, from lamb to ingredients like onions, green peppers and cheese. These ingredients are usually slathered on thin bread that is similar in size and flavor to Indian Nan. Spices like sumac and cumin give pide the tradition Middle Eastern flavor that separates this pizza from its Italian ancestor.

The chosen ingredients are spread upon the bread and placed into a fuel burning oven for roughly ten minutes. When it finally comes out, it is served to eager foodies who greatly enjoy partaking in anything different and flavorful.

Asian Pizza

Mizza, a rice crust Pizza that can be found in Taiwan. It's considered a more organic take on the pie. Replacing a dough crust with a thick rice patty, the pizza is topped with the kind of items one may find in an American pizzeria, i.e. mushrooms, green peppers, cheese, etc., etc.

Japan has an even more appealing and exotic take on pizza with shrimp and mayo. Utilizing tasty shrimp nuggets, this pizza combines Asian mayo and cheese in a specialty sauce alongside various Asian ingredients.

Fattening-probably, but then-what pizza isn't?

Mexican Pizza

Actually considered more Tex-Mex than Mexican in origin, a Mexican pizza blends Spanish cooking and ingredients with an Italian foundation.

Typically a Mexican pizza has a corn or flour tortilla base with cheese. Refried beans and salsa often times replaces the marinara sauce attributed to the common pizza. Many people who enjoy Mexican pizza like to add jalapenos or spiced beef to jazz things up.

Another version of the Mexican pizza, called pizzadillas, is essentially a quesadilla with tomato sauce on it.

Indian Pizza

Now, an Indian pizza is really an interesting creation because the variation of the types. Many use the paneer cheese as a base, although few will nod at Italy with mozzarella cheese. The sauces can be found in authentic Indian dishes making for a wonderful ethnic creation that will surely satisfy lovers of Indian cuisine.

For instance, you can obtain a pizza with Marsala, vindaloo or creamy yogurt based sauces. There are even curry sauces that give the spicy umph that Indian food can be famous for.

The wonder of pizza

Of course, you have your better known varieties of pizza, like brick oven, Chicago and New York style. For pizza connoisseurs who are used to these offerings, the above may sound a bit too zany for their tastes. Indeed, it can seem strange when we contemplate eating a pizza with things like shrimp, grapes, or curry on them, especially if we are used to marina based creations.

But the thing that makes pizza special is the fact that it can be expanded upon. The base of a pizza is dough and sauce, and from there it is anyone's guess as to where the pie could end up. This can take us all on fascinating culinary trip that would be well worth undertaking.

Exciting International Grilled Vegetable Recipes

A lot of people fall into a cooking comfort zone and perhaps you are one of them. If you have four or five staple meals you like to rotate and you make the same side dishes to accompany them, perhaps your cooking style is a habit rather than an adventure.

There is nothing wrong with making the same set of recipes for your family if they enjoy them but sometimes it can be nice to try something different to surprise them. International grilled vegetable recipes are one way to try out an unusual flavor while giving your family the nutritious vegetables you love them to have.

If you usually boil or microwave your vegetables you will be really amazed when you taste grilled vegetables and discover how juicy and full of flavor they can be. Using international herbs, spices or sauces adds another dimension to the flavor when you grill vegetables.

How to Grill Vegetables for a Side Dish

There are different ways to make grilled vegetables. You can grill whole vegetables with or without a marinade or spice rub. You can enclose chopped vegetables in an aluminum foil packet with butter, garlic and herbs or you can make vegetable kabobs which are often very colorful.

Any of these cooking methods is great for making either side dishes or entrees and if you are feeding vegetarians you might like to make extra portions of grilled vegetables to serve them.

Recipe for Chilled Japanese Style Grilled Eggplant

Grilled vegetable recipes are usually served hot but in Japan they are often known as "yakinasu" and served chilled. Your vegetables take on all the great things about being grilled, such as the enhanced flavor and the attractive grill marks if they are sliced, but chilling the vegetables after cooking them makes them a refreshing side dish for a hot day.

You can serve this grilled eggplant recipe as a side dish with any kind of meal. You do not necessarily have to serve them with an Asian meal.

Since they are chilled, you can also make them in advance and keep them in the refrigerator to serve a few hours after grilling them. The following recipes makes two servings, so feel free to double it. It is a very simple recipe but really tasty.

You can get dried bonito flakes from an Asian grocery store. Japanese eggplants are actually from China originally. They are small and round, as opposed to the Indian eggplants which can weigh up to two pounds. Use the smaller ones in this recipe.

What you will need:

4 Japanese eggplants
2 tablespoons dried bonito flakes
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Soy sauce, as needed

How to make it:

Preheat the grill to medium hot and grill the eggplants until they are soft and the skins are very charred. Let them cool in water and remove the skins. Dry them with paper towels and take off the stems. Chill them in the refrigerator and serve them with the grated ginger and bonito flakes on top. Add a few drops of soy sauce to taste and serve.

A Look at Different International Soup Recipes

French onion is one example of an international soup which is popular all over the world but there are more. India is famed for its lentil soups, Japan's miso is unique and delicious and most of us are familiar with the healing properties of Jewish chicken noodle is another example.

Scotch broth, which is barley and mutton, and cullen skink, a smoked haddock soup, are renowned in Scotland. In Eastern Europe you will find borscht, a meat and beetroot soup, and goulash, which is a paprika and beef stew which used to be a soup.

The American South gives us chicken, meat, seafood and okra gumbo soups and in the Middle East a chickpea, lamb and lentil combination is the perfect snack for breaking the Ramadan fast. In Italy you will find minestrone and many other varieties of pasta and bean types and Greece is home to delicious lemon and egg soup. Spanish gazpacho is a wonderful example of a famous chilled version and Lebanese cucumber soup is just as refreshing.

How It has Evolved Through History

Soups vary from chilled to piping hot, as well as from water thin to thick and creamy. The word "soup" can be traced back to the word "suppare" which in Latin means to soak, and this refers to the way vegetables or meat is soaked in cooking liquid to make a soup. Soup used to known as "pottage" which means cooked in a pot, or "broth" which means brewed.

"Bouillon" is French for boil and a bouillon is a stock. The word chowder comes from the Breton word "chaudree" which means cauldron and chowders are rich, thick soups from the American northeast and New England areas. A chowder might have a creamy base, a tomato base or a clear broth base.

A bisque is a thick soup which is thought to come from the Bay of Biscay near Spain. Bisques used to feature game birds and poultry but now most are made with seafood such as crab or lobster.

Soups used to be basic combinations of meat, vegetables and water but international soups developed in their own way and today there are many types of soup recipes and lots of different flavors and ingredients you can add to soup to recreate famous international soup recipes like French onion soup and more.

Recipe for Greek Egg and Lemon Soup

This delicious soup is called Avoglemeno in Greek and the tangy lemon, chicken, rice and egg combine to make a wonderfully aromatic soup. For a tangier soup you can add more lemon. For a more filling soup, add more rice. This recipe serves four people.

What you will need:

2 diced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1 1/2 cups raw instant rice
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it:

Bring the broth to a boil, then add the chicken and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the rice. Beat the lemon juice and egg and slowly stir this mixture into the soup. Cook for 5 more minutes and serve hot.

International Protocol and the BRIC Countries - How Important Are They to America's Business Future?

If you're in business and not aware of BRIC, you might think its material for building a structure - it's not. It is, however, a possible building block for American companies looking to the future.

"Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050" is an economic study released in 2003 by financial giant Goldman Sachs. The report focused on four developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. It predicted that these four BRIC nations' economies could grow to be bigger than the entire Group of six (G6) leading industrialized countries, which includes the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy.

The report went on to suggest that the BRIC countries would become not only the primary source of manufacturing and the major suppliers of commodities, but also significant consumers.

Anyone in business can see the considerable importance of this last statement and its impact on the potential growth for American companies that are thinking "global".

A company which has the ability to understand and appreciate another's culture and customs will have the most success in today's international arena. The training of employees, from senior management down to the person who answers the phone, must include an understanding of culture and customs to maintain the highest levels of customer service for its international clients.

An American businessman in Brazil, thinking he was showing his approval, gave the "OK" hand gesture to a client. Later he was told that hand gesture is considered terribly rude in Brazil! It's also considered rude or insulting in Russia and Germany, but has a whole different meaning in France and Japan.

Never underestimate the importance of protocol in dealing with another country. "Know before you go" and act in accordance with their culture, customs and religious observance.

Listed below are some things to consider before doing business with a BRIC country or with any international client.

Cultural Awareness
Is the country a monochronic or polychronic culture?
These are basic cultural preferences in how life is approached, how time is perceived and how business is done. All BRIC countries would be considered polychronic, meaning they take the time to build relationships before they do business. For Americans, who are monochronic - straight down to business, this is especially important to know in contract negotiations. A deal could be lost just because the international client was put off by the approach.

Handshakes
Customs differ around the world. In Brazil, it's a warm handshake (but not a "wet noodle"); the Russian's prefer a firm handshake along with direct eye contact. In India, the traditional greeting is the Namaste: palms of the hands pressed together in a praying position and held about chest high, accompanied with a slight bow forward. China uses a nod or slight bow; they do not smile when being introduced, or the American handshake is acceptable.

If you're unsure of what to do, it's generally acceptable world-wide to use a toned-down American handshake.

Business Customs and Terminology
Appointment times, date annotation, and units of measurements can vary widely. A meeting in the U.S. may take place at 1:00 PM, while in other countries it would be 13:00 hours. The U.S. writes 8/12/08 or August 12, 2008, as opposed to 12.8.08 or 12 August, 2008. Measurements in the U.S. are in gallons and inches, while many other countries use liters and centimeters. These may seem like small idiosyncrasies, but they could cause misunderstanding and confusion within a developing business relationship.

Some other things to be aware of are body language, introductions, gift giving and the importance of rank and status.

Research is the key to successfully acquiring and maintaining international business relationships. Fortunately, there are many books and government websites available for different countries for those who wish to do it themselves. But today, businesses are starting to rely on highly-trained etiquette consultants on international protocol to educate them on the many and sometimes subtle cultural differences.

Learning about another culture is not only a key business strategy; it is the single most important skill in building a long term international business relationship. Mistakes made at the start can delay and or even cost a company business. So learn before you go, act well and you will do well.