Olympic-Inspired Recipes

I always look forward to watching the Olympics; even as a kid I would plop myself in front of the television and watch every single event that aired. Still today, I really enjoy every aspect of the coverage beyond the actual sporting events — from the history of each athlete to the highlights of the host country — and no matter what the coverage, my mind keeps racing back to food.

Click here to see 10 Olympic-Inspired Recipes from Milisa

During the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 games, I got to thinking about how many of my recipes are inspired by the different countries that participate. I dug through some of my past posts, and even some my most recent, and I was surprised at how many there actually are.

I don't really consider myself as a culturally diverse cook. I live on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, which is not exactly the melting pot that you will find in New York City or other metropolitan areas. We don't eat out much, and, of course, beef-centric dishes are our mainstay. Just to give you an idea, I was excited to try authentic Indian food for the first time only last year.

With all that being said, my collection of culturally-diverse recipes is small, but I was delighted watching the Olympics to recall almost every single one of them. I'm sharing some of the recipes that were inspired by quite a diverse range of countries that are participating in the 2012 Olympics. Just as the Editors of The Daily Meal have, I've gone and gathered recipes for desserts, sandwiches, pasta, wild game, condiments, and even some dishes from everyone's favorite take out menu, to share with you. These recipes help me recall the diverse countries they're from, not to mention ones that are making some major strides in this summer's games. Take a look and I hope you will be inspired to create some great food for your family to enjoy throughout the year.

Milisa Armstrong is a mother, a cook, and a blogger. Read more of her posts on Miss in the Kitchen.