me
Hi everyone! My name is Linda Monach and I’ve been cooking since I was tall enough to reach the stove. My mom worked full time and my sister and I were enlisted to “get dinner started” on a regular basis. I think I was 12 or 13 the first time I tried a totally new recipe that my mom had never made (a recipe I still make from time to time) – and from there I was hooked. I wish I liked staying up super late and working my ass off and never being home when my husband is home, I would definitely have become a chef if that were the case.
Instead I went to business school and worked my ass off in corporate America for 20 years. In 2010 I had my second child and decided to step out of the race. Now, I focus on what I love – my family and cooking. I don’t have any official credentials, I just cook, eat, and love food. One of my favorite food related movie quotes is from Ratatouille – “anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” I’m still afraid of live lobster and fish heads, but other than that, I’m pretty fearless, you’ll have to be the judge of how great it all turns out.
Great job!
A few questions – is there anyway to make “grill the naan….” in the Afghanistan Burger receipe look more like the directions instead of an ingredient? And are “black raisins” regular raisins?
Also, if I’m not mistaken the “Spicy Ketchup” was good enough to bottle – you might want to mention that.
thanks mom – the formatting is still driving me nutty, so i don’t think i can fix the “grill the naan”. black raisins are regular raisins that aren’t gold 🙂 you can comment that the ketchup was good enough to bottle, i’m far too modest
Very nice site, Linda. Love the newest burger and I can’t wait to try making it.
~L
thanks Lori – I’m looking forward to hearing from folks on how the recipes turned out. Algeria should be up by Sunday!
You know that you have a bestseller in the making there? I hope you’ll make it all the way to Zimbabwe! 🙂 (fingers crossed)
Thanks – I’m looking forward to Zimbabwe!
Hi, I want to wish you the best in this endeavor.
One suggestion: I read about this site on a blog called A Hamburger Today, where they mentioned Afghani burgers. It took me a while to locate that article one I landed here. How about listing *all* your entries to the right rather than “the latest.” That way latecomers will be able to easily catch up on your earlier offerings.
Unfortunately, though I’ve traveled extensively while I was employed (now retired), I usually sought out local cuisine rather than look for hamburger wannabes, so it will be interesting (and educational) to see what you have to offer here.
All the best,
-Tod
Here’s an article I wrote about a long-gone one-of-a-kind burger:
http://www.ecphorizer.com/EPS/site_page.php?issue=51&page=855
hi Tod, i took the liberty of moving your comment to the section you indicated was correct. i love your idea and will make the change to the index today. i hope you enjoy the burgers and your retirement (lots of time for grilling)
What a great idea! I will definitely be following your world burger tour 🙂
You might want to make a rabbit burger once you get to “Malta” in your list of countries, since rabbit is a definite favourite in this country 😀
I’ve never cooked rabbit before, but that’s part of the adventure. Rabbit is duly noted for Malta. Thanks Patrizia
Way to go Linda! Really great content and recipes. I’m hooked.
Thanks Jan! I’m having a blast, great to have you join the adventure!
Nice bio, Mrs. Monach. Makes me glad I know you personally.
thanks Sarah – I am lucky to have met so many interesting people over the years. I can’t wait to read your blog when it goes live!
Holy smokes! What a project! I’m so impressed, I’ve been reading for the last hour when really I should be writing my masters thesis. I hope you won’t give up on this project, it’s fantastic! And I don’t even eat meat! This site is now duly bookmarked 🙂
Thanks Eva – glad to have you join the adventure – now get back to work on your thesis! 🙂
And don’t worry, I’m not going to stop until I get to Zimbabwe.
Wow Linda, Paul told me I should check out your site but I had no idea that you could elevate burgers to such a culinary art form. Your recipes have my mouth watering. I cannot wait to see what you do with India. Thank you for quoting Ratatouille, the movie that I am actually constantly asking my kids if we can watch, rather than the other way around!
Thanks Kerri – if you have any thoughts for India let me know, I’d love any ideas you have.
Hi Linda,
I just found your website tonight, and I love it!
I have decided to make a burger a month for my wife, and I really love different cuisines. If you could choose one, what do you think would be your favorite burger here?
Thank, Kevin.
Hi Kevin,
I’m so glad you’re going to join the burger adventure! I highly recommend making the burgers alphabetically – it really helps randomize the flavors and gives you lots of surprises. I can’t really choose a favorite – while I don’t love them all equally, I do love them all – and too many of them are “favorites” to count (after all, I’m only publishing them if I think they are really tasty). So, try a few and let me know what you think. For a few of my favorites from the A’s, B’s and C’s take a look at my response to Kevin in “about me” comments (are you the same Kevin?).
Cheers
L
Hi Linda,
I just found your website, I love it.
If you could choose, which burger do you think is your favorite?
Thanks, Kevin
Hi Kevin,
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the website. So many people have asked me what my favorite burger is, I really should have a pat answer, but I don’t. With over 65 recipes, I can’t pick a favorite. Here are a few that I remember well and come to mind, but I’m probably missing a few…
Afghanistan – the first burger and still a family favorite
Benin – spicy and a little exotic
Argentina – my first foray into grinding my own meat – great clean flavors, simple, classic
Albania – feta, caramelized onions, corn bread – impossible to go wrong
Brunei – sweet chicken curry, mmmm, I loves me some curry
Bangladesh – spicy korma sauce that is delicious
Belize – one of the best fish cake recipes
Bhutan – super spicy, surprisingly good
Cyprus – fried cheese, enough said
Cuba – sliders with shoestring fries on top, why don’t we have these here?
Columbia – messy and wonderful, lots of sauces that some how come together
ok, I’ll stop there, you get the idea. If you ask me my favorite fish burger or my favorite spicy burger, I can narrow it down a bit, but even then I’ll probably get down to a few options, but out of all of them, I can’t choose.
Let me know if you can!
Hi Linda!
I’m looking at the recipes and drooling. I didn’t realize I was so hungry 🙂 Just stopping by to say YUM!
Thanks Michele – so cook a burger and try it out! I miss you and hope that life is treating you well.
Hi Linda,
I have tried a number of your recipes. They have all been great. you state that you do not have any any official credentials, you don’t need them. Your comment “anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great” You are one of the fearless and hence great.
Steve
Hi Steve,
I’m sorry I’ve been away from this project so long – thank you for the kind comments. My goal is to get back to cooking this summer. Stay tuned!
Best
Linda