149 dark recipes

Belgian beef stew braised in beer with sauerkraut, green olives, marjoram, and a finish of cream. A carbonnade-style oven braise with tangy, complex flavors.

Millionaire Chicken: Chinese cold chicken salad with Shantung cabbage, tossed in a spicy hot-oil dressing of Sichuan peppercorns, hoisin, and honey. Make-ahead friendly.

Shaker honey almond cake bakes a spice-warmed honey-sour cream batter under a crown of almonds, then ripens 2 days for deeper flavor. Heritage New England keeping cake.

Grilled chicken breasts marinated in soy sauce, honey, lime, and cayenne, topped with fresh mango salsa and caper mayonnaise. Three components, one stunning summer plate.

Bermuda's national dish from The Reefs resort in Southampton. Firm fish like grouper or wahoo simmers in a rich, tomato-laced broth spiked with dark rum and fiery sherry peppers. Hearty, warming, and unmistakably island-born.

Silky Chinese eggplant braised with chili bean sauce, garlic, and ginger in a savory-sweet soy glaze. Ready in 45 minutes with just a wok and a handful of pantry staples.

Tender sliced pears baked beneath a rich cocoa batter with dark brown sugar and golden syrup. This British-style chocolate pear pudding serves 8 and comes together in about an hour.

Pepsi-Cola cake with broiled peanut butter frosting: a Southern sheet cake made with a cup of Pepsi and melted marshmallows in the batter, topped with a bubbling brown sugar peanut butter frosting toasted under the broiler. Retro comfort baking at its most over-the-top.

A nice dessert, there are three great toppings on the top, mixing very well!

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.

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.

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.

Charcoal-grilled pork loin marinated in oyster sauce, soy, and whiskey, sliced thin and piled over steamed sticky rice with fresh cilantro and chilies. A Thai street food feast worth the wait.

Crispy deep-fried dessert wontons with three tropical fillings: coconut-lemon, macadamia-ginger, and banana-honey. Hand-rolled dough twisted like candy wrappers and dusted in powdered sugar.

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.