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Cooking Programs

Do you want to learn how to make pad thai or pupusas?

Take advantage of the thriving food culture of Charlottesville by coming to a cooking program.  Learn to cook foods from all around the world.  The cooking programs are led by volunteers from U.Va.’s international community of students, scholars and families. 

Upcoming cooking programs

Do you have a favorite food that you know how to prepare?

We are looking for individuals, pairs or groups who would be willing to hold a 2-hour cooking session for groups of about 20 students.  It is a wonderful opportunity for you and a friend or two to share your culture in a fun and casual environment.  We cover the cost of all supplies. You may also review our Cooking Programs Volunteer Information sheet to learn more about leading a cooking program. 

If you are interested in leading a program, please complete our program volunteer form.

Please contact us at intlctr@virginia.edu or (434) 924-7983 with any questions regarding teaching and participating in a cooking program.  

 

Visit our Facebook page to view photos from past cooking programs.

Cooking Class Recipe Lists

2013

April

March

February

January

2012

December

November

October

September

  • Island Cooking
    • Jerk chicken, fried sweet plantains, and red pea soup
  • Koyla Grill
    • Skewered creamy chicken, grilled red spiced fish/shrimps, and grilled green lamb/beef cubes
  • Cake Pops

August

  • Korean Food for Special Occasions
    • Bulgogi, japchae, celery salad, zucchini pancakes, and noodles with soybean milk
  • Gluten-Free Brunch
    • Pancakes, fruit salad, homemade sausage, and homemade flavored yogurt
  • Homemade Pizza from Scratch
    • Quick and fast pizza crust, margarita pizza, barbecue chicken pizza, caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza, spinach "white" pizza, peach ricotta dessert pizza, house dressing, and watermelon cooler

July

  • South Indian Cuisine
    • Mung bean pesarattu, tomato chutney, sundal, and South Indian coffee
  • Cooking in the South Bronx
    • Empanadas, American BBQ chicken wings, Puerto Rican stewed beans, and yellow rice
  • Taste of Madagascar
    • Malagasy simmered beef, bambara groundpeas and pork, Malagasy tomato salad, Malagasy eggrolls, and cassava cake

June

May

  • Polish and Spanish Cooking
    • Tomato soup, potato pancakes with goulash, tortilla española, quails in sacramenia way, and ham and cheese and olive tapas
  • Gluten-Free Tex-Mex
    • Spicy black bean salad, spicy grilled chicken, spicy rice, mixed greens salad, cilantro-line vinaigrette, Sudeep's guacamole, and grilled rice tortillas
  • Nutritious Indian Vegetarian/Vegan Food
    • Super kale salad, ginger rice, mung dal, pancit, and paneer with bell peppers
  • Cooking in France
    • Chevre chaud, oeufs mimosas, quiche lorraine, ratatouille, and crepes

April

March

  • La Cocina Mexicana
    • Pollo pibil, red Mexican rice, and guacamole
  • Breakfast Made Simple
    • Homemade buttermilk biscuits, turkey sausage gravy, cheesy scrambled eggs with fresh tomato salsa, and fruit and yogurt parfait
  • Vietnamese Family Dinner
    • Boiled chicken with dipping sauces, Thai eggplants with shrimp paste sauce, fried salmon with pineapple and tomato, and winter melon soup

February

January

  • Soul Food
    • Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and candied yams
  • Micro-Nutrient Rich Cooking
    • Cashew "cheese" sauce, pecan oat burgers, cashew mayonnaise, cauliflower potato salad, power greens, and carob brownie fudge
  • Serbo-Croatian Cooking
    • Spinach pie, meat pie, bean and sour cabbage soup, red beets salad, wheat and walnut cake, and jam rolls

2011

December

  • Easy Baking
    • Layered spinach supreme, magic cookie bars, and blueberry muffins
  • Christmas Eve in Poland
    • Beetroot soup, dumplings, split peas with cabbage, sour soup with beans, dessert noodles, and dried-fruit compote
  • Asian Fusion
    • Korean-style BBQ sliders, salsa criolla Argentina, vegetable egg roll, and zucchini fries with Sriracha mayo

November

  • Cooking with Pumpkin
    • Healthy black bean dip, spicy pepita nut mix, Thai pumpkin soup, salad with pumpkin dressing, northern Italian pumpkin lasagna, and oatmeal choco-pumpkin crisps
  • Caribbean Fusion
    • Jamaican rice and peas, curry chicken, Trinidadian macaroni pie, sweet plantains, and banana fritters
  • La cucina italiana di Giulia
    • Lasagna and tiramisu
  • A Taste of China
    • Minced pork congee with preserved egg, laba congee, scallop with egg custard, and tanghulu/crispy sugar-coated fruit

October

  • Czech Cuisine
    • Farmer cheese fruit dumplings and sauerkraut soup
  • Plant-Based Sushi
    • Sushi rolls, oriental dressing, nut mayonnaise, tofu eggless salad, old-fashioned baked pumpkin pudding
  • Konkan Cooking
    • Crispy fish fry, malvani chicken sagoti, coconut fish curry, French beans and coconut, kokum sol-kadhi, and sheera/semolina halwa

September

August

July

  • Vegan Homemade Pasta and Sauce
    • Home-made pasta, porcini and mushroom cream sauce, potato salad, cashew cheese sauce, raspberry dressing, and pomodoro e basilco sauce
  • Summer Salads
    • Vietnamese cucumber salad, Ashley's tropical black bean salad with mango, and Mama Drake's salad
  • Dominican Cooking
    • Moro, tostones, ensalada tipica, BBQ wings with Dominican twist, and BBQ chicken wings with Sofrito

June

  • Colombian Cooking
    • Plantain soup and platano calao
  • French Bistro
    • Steal with red wine sauce, peas braised with vegetables, potato puree, and upside-down apple tart
  • Taste of Korea
    • Rice and vegetable medley, sweet and nutty dried anchovy, sweet and spicy dried squid, chicken drummet with sweet soy sauce, seaweed soup, and watermelon juice
May

April

  • Bermudian
    • Bermuda ginger beer, chilled avocado soup, weeping onion pie, peas n rice, baked wahoo with basil, and Bermuda loquats tarte tatin
  • French
    • Light French dressing, chicken in a creamy sauce, cherry flan, and chocolate mousse
  • Tee und Kuchen
    • Black forest cake and German apple cake

March

  • Nicaraguan
    • Traditional Nicaragua beef stew
  • Gluten-Free
    • Quinoa-stuffed peppers and grilled pineapple with coconut sticky rice

February

January

  • Costa-Rican
    • Empanadas and stuffed plantains
  • Balkan Cuisine
    • Musaka with potatoes, baklava, baked beans in sauce, baked sauerkraut, urnebes salad, and torshi

 

2010

December

  • Vegan Brunch
    • Potato wedges, scrambled tofu, banana waffles, fruity cream sauce, carob fudgicles, and apple crisp
  • French Cafe
    • Croque monsieur, petits pains au chocolat, and cafe au lait

November

  • Thanksgiving Pies
    • Pumpkin, apple, chocolate bourbon pecan, and hot apple cider
  • Canadian Desserts
    • Sucre a la creme, Canadian butter tarts, maple cookies, nanaimo bars, and hot mulled cider
  • Polish
    • Yellow pea soup, vegetable salad, and faworki
  • Nigerian
    • Rice, beans, and plantain with chicken

October

  • Mexican
    • Tinga poblana, salsa roja, salsa verde, and agua de Jamaica
  • Italian
    • Ragu alla Bolognese, bucatini all'Amatriciana, and linguine with Sicilian pesto
  • Pakistani (Karachi)
    • Chicken karachi, raita, and chapli kebab
  • Kathmandu Kitchen
    • Nepali dumpling with tomato chutney and fried Nepali rice

September

  • Oktoberfest
    • Pretzels, Bavarian creme, and bratwurst with sauerkraut
  • Indian Mughlai
    • Biryani, shami kebab, boondi raita, and sharbat e RoohAfza
  • Vegan Japanese
    • Tofu and zucchini kushikatsu, sushi cake, adzuki and edamame ice cream, and stuffed daikon
  • Brazilian
    • Feijoada, pao de quejo, moqueqa de peixe, brigadeiros, and guarana

July

  • Quick and Healthy
    • Ratatouille twist, chipotle salad, seafood and beef pasta, marbled fruit meringue, and pine-orange punch
  • Chinese
    • Traditional Chinese spring roll, marbled meat, beef, and brown egg, and Tingzai Chou

June

  • Algerian
    • Bourek bel kefta, Algerian crushed wheat soup with lamb, chicken with olives tagine, and ghrebia louze
  • Quebequois
    • Tomato salad, apple crust, and pate Chinois

May

  • Dalmatian Coast
    • Fish pate, Dalmatian vegetable casserole, seafood risotto, chicken breasts with Apricot-Tarragon cream sauce
  • Lebanese
    • Kibe, hummus, and rice with lentils
  • Japanese
    • Miso soup, smoke salmon sushi, and braised meat and vegetables

April

  • Italian
    • Gnocchi, tomato sauce, and pizza dough
  • Argentinean
    • Ham and cheese empanadas, beef empanadas, and crepes
  • Persian
    • Chicken kabab, koobideh kabob, barg kabob, khoreshte gheime, baghlava, yogurt salad, and fresh vegetable salad
  • Mexican
    • Dry noodles, tortilla soup, and pico de gallo

March

  • Spanish
    • Croquetas and Spanish omelette
  • Gluten-free
    • Chocolate hazelnut torte with raspberries, pumpkin quick bread, coconut meringues, and sweet muffins
  • Tunisian
    • Couscous with meat, grilled salad, and tajine with beans and potatoes
  • Uzbek
    • Hanum

February

  • Mumbai Snacks
    • Curried vegetables with bread, onion fritter, spiced tea, and potato-based burger
  • Vegan Polish & Romanian
    • Eggplant spread, polenta, stuffed grape or cabbage leaves, pierogie, sunflower seed spread, nut spread, cucumber salad, and tofu cheesecake

 

2009

December

  • Central European
    • Bulgarian mixed salad, German potato salad, Serbian potato salad, borstch, leeks with olives, Romanian mushrooms in tomato sauce, tempeh paprikash, and Belarus kutya
  • Indian Sweets
    • Nevries/karanje, spiced Indian chai, gajjar ka halwa, and kheer/sevaiya

November

  • Vegan Thanksgiving
    • Roasted fingerling potatoes, braised brussel sprouts with vinegar and dill, spicy mashed sweet potatoes, vegan pumpkin cheesecake, gluten-free mushroom gravy, and brown and wild rice lentil pilaf
  • Mexican
    • Chilaquiles rancheros and green enchiladas
  • Thai
    • Thai pork stir fry with basil and deep-fried fish with celery
  • German
    • Laugen pretzels, obatzda, onion cake, and crepes

October

  • Russian
    • Pirozhki with cabbage or rice and fish filling, vinegret salad, and almond rings
  • Korean
    • Hard-boiled chicken with soy sauce, beef-pork patty cake, and sugar sweet potatoes
  • Goan
    • Goan sausage, prawn/shrimp pulao, Goan chicken curry, Goan coconut filling pancake, and banana lassi
  • Portuguese
    • Bread with chorizo, dry cod with cream, and sericaia

September

  • Vegan Hispanic
    • Tamales, vegan cheese, enchiladas, basic guacamole, salsa fresca, bread pudding, and tofu custard
  • Brazilian
    • Chocolate candy and seafood stew

August

  • Italian
    • Stuffed tomatoes with salsa verde, pasta alla panna e limone, and Martin sec al vino

June

  • Vegan Asian-Inspired
    • Oven-baked spring rolls, rice paper spring rolls, chapchei stir-fry noodles, gyoza dumplings, and tapioca pudding

May

April

  • Spanish
    • Paella and gazpacho
  • Greek
    • Vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, phyllo-cheese pies, baklava, spinach-phyllo pie, cucumber-yogurt appetizer, and eggplant appetizer
  • Persian
    • Yogurt salad, fresh vegetable salad, chicken kabab, khoresht fesenjan, Persian rice, and baghali polo
  • Filipino
    • Pancit bihon and lumpia

March

  • Austrian
    • Schnitzel and Austrian potato salad
  • Chinese
    • Pumpkin/sweet potato pancake, rice cake, tofu and egg appetizer, dumplings, fried eggplant, spicy beancurd, fried eggs with tomatoes, and pork and vegetable soup

February

  • Indian
    • Raita, basmati rice, chicken curry, and mango lassi
  • Indian
    • Paratha, papad, sago/sabudana papad, potato salad, fried eggplant, fried fish, bundi raita, pea pulav, Indian lentil curry, chicken tandoori, and mango lassi

January

  • Japanese
    • Sushi cake, dragon roll, and temari sushi
  • Chinese
    • Assorted side dishes, dumplings and won ton, sour sweet soup, and vegetable fried rice

 

2008

December

  • Thai
    • Thai soup, tom yum soup, sauteed shrimp, pork omelet, and bean sprouts
  • Desserts
    • Chocolate cake, brownies, New York cheesecake, and apple crumbles

November

  • Thanksgiving Sides
    • Apple pie, stuffing, cranberry relish, candied yams, mashed potatoes, and Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich

September

  • Cuban
    • Ensalada cubana, tostones, ropa vieja, and arroz con gris