149 mark recipes

Homemade BBQ sauce with orange juice, crystallized ginger, molasses, honey, and chili powder. Sweet, tangy, and smoky with a ginger kick. Makes 5 cups that keep for two weeks in the fridge.

Asparagus and beef stir-fry with Chinese fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, and oyster sauce. A classic Cantonese wok dish that comes together in under 5 minutes once the prep is done.

Battered eggplant slices deep-fried until crispy and drizzled with a spicy Sichuan sauce of chili bean paste, black vinegar, ginger, and tomato paste. A vegetarian Chinese dish with serious crunch and heat.

A fiery Cajun shrimp sauce piquant loaded with three types of pepper, jalapenos, the holy trinity, and tomatoes simmered in seafood stock. Spooned over rice, this Louisiana classic brings serious heat and soul.

Here's a recipe for Chow Mein which is a pretty classic application using pan fried noodles.

Cucidati, the traditional Sicilian Christmas fig cookies, with a rich filling of figs, raisins, nuts, chocolate and rum wrapped in tender pastry, shaped into slashed horseshoes and dusted with sugar.

Instead of pumpkin pie, try this coconut pumpkin tart.

Sweet potato pecan pie with a buttery brown sugar streusel topping. Two Southern holiday classics in one pan, with a silky custard filling and a crunchy crown.

Shredded chicken breast stir-fried with bamboo shoots, zucchini, and bell peppers in a bold chili bean and dark soy sauce. A fiery Chinese-inspired main dish ready in 45 minutes.

Overnight apple-orange coffee cake: a yeast-raised cake topped with juicy apples, raisins, and orange zest, then drizzled with orange glaze. Mix the night before, bake fresh in the morning.

Nothing is more fascinating and delicious than eating at the open- air street hawker centers in Asia, particularly in Singapore. Each stall serves a specialty, typically an honest, unpretentious, home-style dish for $1 to $3 a plate. This rice noodle dish is hawker food at its best. If done right, its fragrance will tell you how good it's going to be as soon as it arrives at your table.

Jerk-rubbed pork loin stuffed with a tropical rice filling of crushed pineapple, ripe banana, dark rum, and Jarlsberg cheese. Caribbean flavors packed into every slice.

Kung Pao chicken stir-fry with charred dried chiles, roasted peanuts, bell peppers, and a soy-vinegar-sesame glaze. Wok-cooked with ginger and garlic in under 10 minutes.

Vegetable lasagna layered with zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, and a red wine tomato sauce. Make-ahead and lighter than meat lasagna, with cottage cheese standing in for ricotta.

Tender bundt cake layered with cinnamon-walnut streusel and studded with dried apricots, finished with a sweet almond glaze that drips down the ridges.

Browned chicken thighs simmered in a Cuban-inspired sauce of dark rum, orange juice concentrate, cumin, and oregano, served over lettuce with black beans, pimentos, and citrus garnish.