The 40x40 Project

I'm turning 40 in October and I've made a list of 40 dishes which I've never made that I want to cook from scratch before my birthday.  They are based on my personal preferences and I can't explain why I haven't made some of them before now (I'm looking at you, carnitas).  There is only one dessert item because I normally never eat dessert (I don't really like sweets and usually there is no room left after dinner).  There are a million things I'd love to cook, but I'm on a budget which is why nothing on here is particularly expensive.  

Below is the list in alphabetical order along with the country of origin.  If I've gotten a country wrong, please let me know.  I'll post the recipes and photos and link them to this page as I go along.

1.	Arancini	Italy
2.	Arepas	Venezuela
3.	Bagels	Poland
4.	Bún	Vietnam
5.	Carnitas	Mexico
6.	Cassoulet	France
7.	Churrasco Con Chimichurri	Argentina
8.	Cochinita Pibil	Mexico
9.	Coq Au Vin	France
10.	Cornish Pasties	Great Britain
11.	Country Terrine	France
12.	Crème Brûlée	France
13.	Crêpes	France
14.	Dal Makhani	India
15.	Ghormeh Sabzi	Iran
16.	Gravlax	Sweden & other Nordic countries
17.	Hummus With Flatbread	Egypt & other Middle Eastern countries
18.	Hush Puppies	USA
19.	Kimchi	Korea
20.	Mandu Dumplings	Korea
21.	Merguez Sausage	Morocco
22.	Moules Marinière	Belgium
23.	Navarin d’Agneau	France
24.	Osso Buco	Italy
25.	Paella	Spain
26.	Panuchos	Mexico
27.	Pierogi	Poland
28.	Piri-Piri Chicken	Portugal
29.	Pissaladière	France
30.	Pretzels	Germany
31.	Queso Fundido	Mexico
32.	Raclette	Switzerland
33.	Shrimp & Grits	USA
34.	Sopa De Albondigas	Mexico
35.	Spätzle	Germany
36.	Tagine	Morocco
37.	Tamales	Mexico
38.	Tostones	Mexico
39.	Tourtière	Canada
40.	Tsukemono	Japan

P.S. I totally stole this idea from +Amy CookingAdventures ....check out her nifty blog here.