Regional Cuisine Recipes

Chinese-style roast pork and mushrooms stir-fried with ginger, scallions, soy sauce, and sherry in a glossy cornstarch sauce. Ready in 30 minutes.

A Swiss showstopper: fresh plums caramelized in red wine, kirsch, and honey with pine nuts and pistachios, topped with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Serve warm or cold.

Rehruecken (saddle of venison cake) bakes a German chocolate-cinnamon sponge in a ribbed loaf mold, splits and fills with currant jelly, then glazes with chocolate and studs with slivered almonds.

Chinese cashew chicken stir-fry with snow peas, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and toasted cashews in a soy-cornstarch sauce. A classic takeout favorite made from scratch at home.

Beef bobotie is South Africa's national dish: spiced curried minced beef with raisins and chutney baked under a golden egg custard topping. A sweet-savory casserole classic.

Traditional Persian tahdig rice with saffron, cinnamon, pistachios, golden raisins, and candied orange zest. Fluffy basmati on top, shatteringly crisp golden crust on the bottom.

Buttery brown sugar shortbread pressed into a sheet pan, brushed with egg white, and topped with cinnamon sugar and sliced almonds. Cut into elegant diamond shapes for a cookie platter showstopper.

Greek Christmas bread (Christopsomo) made in a bread machine with whole wheat flour, ground cardamom, golden raisins, and walnuts. A fragrant, festive holiday loaf with warm spice.

Laufabrauð (Icelandic snowflake bread): paper-thin rounds of dough decorated with intricate cut-outs, fried crispy in hot lard. A Christmas tradition from the Westfjords going back generations.

German potato salad with a twist: warm potatoes tossed in a tangy beer-based dressing with bacon, mustard, and a kick of hot sauce for Oktoberfest or summer cookouts.

La Piperade, a Basque pepper and egg dish with sauteed bell peppers, tomatoes, hot chili, and ham folded into softly set eggs. A rustic French-Basque brunch or supper.

Moggy is a traditional Manx and Lancashire sweet bread loaf made with flour, lard, and golden syrup. Crumbly, dense, and faintly molasses-like. Sliced and buttered thick the way the British Isles have done it for centuries.

Homemade muffuletta bread with a sesame seed crust, made with bread flour and kneaded in a food processor. A round, crusty New Orleans loaf perfect for building the classic sandwich.

European-style spice cookies with ground hazelnuts, lemon zest, and warm cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Topped with a whole almond and egg-glazed for a glossy finish.

Mexican restaurant-style fried ice cream with rock-hard ice cream balls coated in crushed cornflakes, dipped in beer batter, and flash-fried at 375°F until golden. Crisp shell, frozen center, the showstopper dessert.

Sanbaizu is a classic Japanese dipping sauce made with rice vinegar, dashi, soy sauce, and sugar. A light, tangy all-purpose condiment for dumplings, sashimi, and sunomono.