Fresh lime juice, lime zest, and an easy-to-make homemade graham cracker crust give this pie much more authentic flavor than store-bought key lime pie. A slice of this cool and zesty dessert is the perfect remedy for lazy, heat-ridden August afternoons.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 6 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tbs grated lime zest
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 4 or 5 limes)
•  1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl.
3. Press into a 9-inch pie pan. Make sure the sides and bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool completely.
4. For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick.
5. With mixer on medium speed, add condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into baked pie shell and put in the freezer.
6. Beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon cream decoratively onto pie. If you wish, you can add decorative lime wedges on top.
7. Freeze for several hours or overnight, and enjoy!

with pistachio nuts on top

This dessert is a take on your more common vanilla pot de creme. It could easily be turned into a creme bruleé by burning some sugar on top. The cardamom and saffron add a unique flavor that is both delicious and unexpected.

Delicious! I was hoping for the pork to be a texture closer to bbq pulled pork, but the big chunks of meat were still very tender. Next time I’m going to try roasting it at a lower temperature, maybe 300º F, for a bit longer. I served this with a Greek-style warm tomato and bean salad.

Ingredients:

• 4 lb pork shoulder
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped oregano
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, shredded
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp chopped dill
• 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• salt and pepper

It’s a bit of a process to make, but warm, freshly baked pita bead is worth the effort! I was hoping for even fluffier pita, and am wondering if I should have rolled the dough out slightly thicker. Does it matter that the yeast I used was about a year old? Not sure. I filled the pita pockets with slow-roasted lamb and lots of tzatziki sauce. Stay posted for those recipes and pictures!

Ingredients:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• Cornmeal for dusting baking sheets

1. In a mixing bowl, combine yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water. Let mixture bubble, about 4 minutes.

2. In a second bowl, stir flours together. Mix 1/2 cup of flour mixture into yeast mixture. Cover with saran wrap and let stand for 40 minutes, or until dough doubles in size.

3. Add remaining flour mixture, remaining water, oil, and salt to dough. Knead dough on floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place ball of dough in a greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

4. Punch dough. Separate dough into 8 balls. On a floured surface, flatten each dough ball and roll disks out with a rolling pin until they are about the size of average pieces of pita bread.

5. Place rounds of dough onto baking sheets dusted with cornmeal. Cover dough loosely with kitchen towels and let sit for 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 500º F. Place dough directly on oven rack and bake for 2 minutes per side.

The more ripe the bananas, the better. If you don’t have any overripe bananas, you can roast them in a 350ºF oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the skin is dark brown. This will help bring out the intense and sweet banana flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup light brown packed sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Cinnamon swirl: mix 1/3 cup sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon
• Streusel topping: mix 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter + 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to combine eggs, brown sugar, butter, bananas, and vanilla. Mix for about 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together.

2. Add batter to greased (12 large) muffin pan, but only fill about 1/3 way up. Distribute cinnamon swirl mixture over muffin batter in pan.Fill the muffin pan with the remaining batter.

3. Sprinkle crumbly streusel mixture over the top of each muffin. Bake for about 25 minutes at 350ºF.

Toasted Sesame + Wasabi Brownies

I came up with the idea of baking sesame and wasabi brownies after eating Vosges Black Pearl flavor chocolate, which has ginger, wasabi, and black sesame inside. Although I used 3 tbsp of wasabi powder, these brownies did not turn out spicy at all! Otherwise, they were nutty, chocolatey, and fudgy. I think that next time I make these, I’ll try using wasabi paste instead of powder.

Adapted from Karen DeMasco’s “The Craft of Baking”

Ingredients:

• 12 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
• 3 large eggs, at room temp
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp wasabi powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven 375ºF.  Grease a square baking dish.

2. Mix butter and unsweetened chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan with 2-inches of simmering water. Stir frequently until melted. Turn off heat, but keep mixture warm by leaving bowl in saucepan.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla. In another bowl, sift flour, wasabi powder, and salt together. Pour warm chocolate into egg mixture and mix together. Pour flour mixture into wet ingredients and stir together until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and sesame seeds.

4. Pour into baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Irish Soda Bread with Raisins

Did you know there is no yeast in soda bread? Without any rising time, this Irish recipe is a quick and simple treat for St. Paddy’s Day! Slather with butter and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Stir together sifted flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Using your hands, mix butter into flour mixture until mixture is crumbly. Add raisins. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg together. Add baking soda to buttermilk mixture. Mix buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until well combined. Form dough into a ball and place in a greased baking dish. Using a greased knife, make a large cross about 1/2 -inch deep on top of dough. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

This recipe makes an enormous quantity, so you may want to cut it in half. It takes a while to make, so I like to cook enough stew to last a few days. The dish is adapted from my step-grandmother’s recipe, the flavors of which come from her years living in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup, plus another 1/4 cup butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 green zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow zucchini, chopped
• 1-2 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, cubed
• 1/2 head green cabbage, sliced thickly
• 2 rutabagas, peeled, chopped
• 2 turnips, peeled, chopped
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 chicken, cut up
• 3 lbs lamb shoulder or shank, cubed
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed, strained
• 1/2 tsp, plus 1/4 tsp saffron
• 1/2 tsp, plus 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/4 tsp, plus 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups couscous
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion, tomato, zucchinis, carrots, butternut squash, cabbage, rutabagas, and turnips in olive oil and 1/4 cup butter for about 10 minutes. Vegetables should be roughly chopped, about 1-inch square.

2. Add broth, meat, chickpeas, 1/2 tsp saffron, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp black pepper, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves and cook with cover over medium-low heat for about 1 and 1/2 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves, any large bones, and extra skin from chicken.

3. Cook couscous according to package instructions, but add remaining herbs and salt to the water. When couscous is finished cooking, add 1/4 cup butter and fluff with a fork.

4. To serve, ladle stew over couscous in large serving platter or in individual bowls.

Carrot Salad with Harrisa, Mint, and Feta

This carrot salad is awesome – the spicy harissa, cool mint, acidic lemon, and creamy feta all balance each other well. I didn’t think of it when I made this salad, but I plan on adding some golden raisins next time I prepare this because the sweetness should be a great addition!

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 4-5 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tsp harissa
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 3 tbsp mint, chopped
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook garlic, caraway, cumin, paprika, harissa, honey, lemon juice, and salt in the olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add mixture to grated carrots.

2. Add herbs and stir until combined.

3. Top with crumbled feta.

I bought Karen DeMasco’s “The Craft of Baking” shortly after tasting her sweet corn budino at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne event last summer. Her recipes are delicious and foolproof. Her biscotti, or twice-baked cookies, are even great before the second round of baking; if you want a softer cookie, try baking them for only 15-20 minutes.

Adapted from Karen DeMasco’s “The Craft of Baking”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
• 1 tsp espresso powder
  
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease baking sheet.

2. Spread out pecans on another baking sheet and toast for 4 minutes. Remove from oven.

3. Combine flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Use an electric mixer on low speed to mix for 3 minutes.

4. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add this to flour mixture and beat until combined. Add nuts and chocolate chips and stir until combined.

5. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 16 x 2-inch log on a floured surface. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, a few inches apart. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250º F.

6. Transfer logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs on a bias into 1/3-inch thick slices. Place slices on the baking sheet, cut side up. Bake for 1 hour.