739 dark recipes

Cuban black bean stew with ham, rum, and oregano served over rice. Dried beans soaked overnight and simmered until creamy, thickened by mashing a cup of beans back in.

Wok-fried ginger crabs with garlic, scallions, rice wine, and a light-dark soy sauce blend. A fast Chinese-style crab stir-fry that goes from wok to table in minutes.

BBQ shrimp marinated 24 hours in a spicy sauce of chili sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce, garlic, and lemon, then skewered and broiled. Bold New Orleans-style flavor.

Praline pumpkin pie with a buttery pecan-brown sugar layer baked beneath the spiced pumpkin custard. Topped with whipped cream and buttered pecan halves.

Southwestern chicken with a brown sugar, lemon zest, and cayenne dry rub, finished on the grill with a beer-mustard basting sauce. Overnight-marinated bone-in chicken with deep smoky char.

Chinese barbecued spareribs marinated in hoisin, dark and light soy sauce, honey, chili oil, and Marsala wine. Oven-roasted with a sticky, lacquered glaze basted every 15 minutes.

Pinto bean salsa with three dried chiles, dark beer, blackened tomatoes, and caramelized onion, pureed and re-fried in smoking-hot peanut oil. A deeply smoky, complex Mexican condiment.

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.

Velveted shredded chicken tossed with toasted sesame seeds, dark soy, rice wine, and Sichuan peppercorns. A classic Chinese stir-fry with silky texture in every bite.

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.

Beef satay skewers with a homemade curried peanut dipping sauce. Sirloin cubes broiled on bamboo skewers and served with a rich, spicy peanut butter sauce.

The Chinese believe three is a lucky number, as it symbolizes prosperity. This recipe features an interesting contrast of textures and flavors, with marinated flank steak stir-fried with bok choy, mushrooms, and red onion in a flavourful dark soy and sherry sauce.

A two-layer pie with spiced butternut squash custard on the bottom and a gooey pecan pie filling on top, sweetened with maple syrup and dark brown sugar. A Midwest Thanksgiving stunner.

This one isn't for the barby, but I thought I'd pass it on anyway. Don't be deceived by the simplicity of this recipe. It's one of the very best sweet and sour rib recipes I've run across as well as being one of the easiest. The taste of the ribs shines through rather than being overwhelmed as it often is with more complex sweet and sour recipes.

Giant pork meatballs with water chestnuts and ginger, fried until crusted and braised for 2 hours on napa cabbage in a clay pot. A classic Shanghai comfort dish that melts in your mouth.

Bite-sized cream cheese pastry cups filled with walnuts, chocolate, and egg custard, served with rum-spiked whipped cream. These elegant tassies are a holiday cookie tray must-have.