I have been attending the Festival of Nations(FON) for the last few years. The FON is the largest and longest running (this year was their 80th year) multi-cultural event in Minnesota celebrating cutural diversity with food,music, ethnic dances, Bazaars etc. It is held at the St.Paul RiverCentre,downtown St.Paul, MN during the first weekend of May.

Four days to experience all of these. - Close to 90 odd different ethnic groups around the world share their tradition and food. There are around 35 different ethnic cafes, 60 cultural and educational exhibits, around 70 ethnic dance programs, Bazaar etc.The best thing I like about FON is the food and cultural programs.Each Cafe is an experience in world dining. My favorite food has always been the Tibetan Vegetable Momo which is served with their hot sauce. I can have them for breakfast,lunch and dinner. Another favorite is the Bubble Tea served in the Filipino Cafe.

As mentioned earlier, each country comes up with their own menu. The French cafe had Croissants, Strawberry Tarts and Crepes to name a few. Danish served variety of Danish pastries like Aebleskiver( danish pancake balls).

Cafe Booth – From left – Hungarian( featuring Dobos Tort,Chocolate cream Tort,Hungarian Goulash served over bread), Columbian ( served Chorizo,Empanadas,Arepas,Papa Criolla which is nothing but yellow french fries),Swiss ( served Chocolate fondue,apple fritter,Raclete,Chocolate Fudge),Romanian ( served Sarmale- cabbage rolls,Brownies,coffee cake walnuts),Danish ( the famous Abelskivers and danish pastries),Finnish (Pickled herring,Rye crust pie,Havarti cheese on bread).

I was reminded of Daring Baker’s Challenges when I came across Tiramisu in the Italian Cafe,Baklava - Greek Cafe and Dobos Torte in the Hungarian Cafe. This is the only place where you get to enjoy a variety of food all under one roof. The Chocolate Fondue in the Swiss Cafe caught my attention.

The Indian Cafe introduced a yummy dessert this year – Falooda which was made by mixing rose syrup with cooked vermicelli,basil seeds,jelly pieces along with vanilla ice cream. I also liked the falafels from the Palestinian Cafe and French Fries from the Dutch.

I couldn’t take pictures of the food as my little one was running around and I had to watch her, but somehow managed to take pictures of the Cafes and the ethnic dance performances. Here are a few for your eyes:)

Ethnic Dance – Performance of countries(from left) Filipino,Karen,Turkey,Russian,Venezuelan,
Bolivian,Polish,Armenia and Dutch

The Exhibits are based on a theme every year. This year it was “Festivals and Celebrations”,so people got creative in showcasing the festivities of their respective countries in their exhibit booth. Just got a few shots of Serbian,Mexican,Thai and Latvian Booth.

The international Bazaar offers people multinational shopping experience with each ethnic group selling their artifacts. The Senegalese Pottery caught my attention. There was a live demo of pottery making as well.

It was an eventful weekend. Needless to say the variety of pastries inspired me to get started with baking first thing Monday morning.

My husband been talking about Biscotti which he snacks on at work. According to him in addition to great taste Biscotti’s are neither too heavy nor super light. Just a perfect afternoon snack.

NUTTY BISCOTTI

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoon cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt a pinch
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoon milk( I used whole milk)
1 cup of chopped nuts( pistachio,walnut and Almonds)

Mix the flour,baking powder,salt,ground nutmeg,ground ginger,cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter and sugar at medium speed until smooth.Add the egg and almond extract, beat until yellow and creamy. Slowly add the flour mixture and cornmeal. Use milk only if you feel its too dry,so add little by little.At the end add in the nuts and gently stir them. Transfer into a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Preheat oven at 350F. Using your fingers, work the dough into a long log about 2 inches in width. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.Remove and cool for about 30 minutes.Slice them horizontally into thick slices and place them back on the baking tray. Bake for another 20 minutes or until golden and firm.

Just as he wanted…not too light nor too heavy. Crunchiness in each bite is the best part of it.

I used one jumbo egg and felt the dough was a little dry so added the milk. I also added the cornmeal for extra crunchiness, you may omit that. Try this am sure you’ll like it!

Have a nice day!