Meet/5 recipes

Mash-up casserole layering chili beans, green chiles, pimento olives, and roasted red peppers under a fluffy egg-and-cheese custard. New Orleans muffaletta meets Tex-Mex chiles rellenos.

Steamed mussels in a lemongrass, chile de arbol, and white wine broth with napa cabbage, clam juice, and lime. A Thai-meets-French seafood bowl finished with fresh cilantro.

Baked stuffed papayas filled with spiced ground beef, tomatoes, jalapeño, and Parmesan, baked in a water bath. A Hawaiian-inspired main dish where tropical fruit meets savory meat filling.

Kahlua pumpkin pie with coffee liqueur in the custard and the whipped cream topping. Brown sugar and warm spices meet rich, boozy depth for a grown-up holiday pie.

Cucumber salsa is a creamy yogurt and sour cream dip with shredded cucumber, fresh herbs, and cumin. Cool, tangy, raita-meets-tzatziki crossover for tacos, grilled meats, or chips.

Seafood gumbo built on a butter-flour roux with shrimp, okra, tomatoes, chili powder, and Worcestershire, served over rice with filé powder. Where Louisiana bayou meets Texas ranch country.

Fruit tarts with a retro cheese pastry shell filled with orange and pineapple pastry cream, finished with sharp cheddar. Sweet meets savory in this cheddar-apple-pie-school classic.

Grilled Hawaiian fish draped in a silky basil-coconut curry sauce with lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and homemade red curry paste. Island-meets-Thai fusion, fresh and fragrant.

Chicken pot pie meets Thanksgiving leftovers: creamy chicken filling crowned with savory herb stuffing instead of pastry. Easy casserole-style comfort with crispy, seasoned topping. Turkey works great too.

Ensalada compuesta is a Mexican-style stuffed tortilla layered with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, and melted cheddar, then piled high with lettuce, vegetables, and dressing. Hearty taco salad meets enchilada.

Classic double-crust apple pie crowned with a bubbling pecan praline topping made from brown sugar, butter and half-and-half. Cinnamon apples meet candy-store crunch in one Southern-style pie.

Karrysalat is the Danish curry herring salad with pickled herring, macaroni, cucumber, and mushrooms in a curried sour cream and mayonnaise dressing. A traditional Scandinavian smorrebrod topping with a unique East-meets-North flavor.

Carrot raisin cheesecake blends warm spices and shredded carrots into a creamy graham-crusted cheesecake topped with citrus cream cheese frosting. Carrot cake meets New York cheesecake in one springform pan.

Carrot cake meets fresh strawberries in this spiced bundt cake loaded with pecans, brown sugar, and warm cinnamon. Finished with a strawberry cream cheese glaze that drips down every ridge.

Oatmeal cooked with ham or bacon, chilled overnight in a loaf pan, sliced thick, and pan-fried in butter until golden and crisp. An old-fashioned breakfast served with syrup. Think savory oatmeal meets scrapple.

Hot chocolate float with steaming cocoa and a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream melting on top. A 3-ingredient, 10-minute treat where hot meets cold in every sip.