I love mixing both fresh fruit and dried fruit in salads and desserts. The dried berries offer a tart flavor and chewy texture while the fresh fruit is juicy and sweet. While cooking with Chef Nir in Tel Aviv, we prepared fish with a salad of chopped cabbage and ripe blueberries from the Carmel Market. We set a table on the balcony of our friend, Inbal, which had a view of the Mediterranean Sea.

In Italy no bread goes to waste.“Day-old” bread is commonly put into soups and salads to absorb all the flavors it comes into contact with. I prefer to grill or toast the bread before adding it to this summery salad, vibrant with ripe tomatoes and peaches.

This traditional Lebanese salad made from bulgur wheat is a refreshing way to enjoy fresh vegetables and herbs that are in season. I've eaten tabouli in Israel, Greece, and Turkey. Some cooks prefer to use less wheat, while some use a variety of herbs, including cilantro and dill. Combine the ingredients you like the best, and make it your own recipe!

If I’ve made a favorite recipe among my peers this year it would be this salad! I had a similar version in a high-end restaurant in Tel Aviv, and I could not wait to make my own version. The spice mixture za’atar is a middle eastern spice that is not easy to find, so you can substitute with dried oregano and sesame seeds. I prefer to use ricotta and yogurt from my farmers market because it tastes so fresh. I use metal rings to assemble this salad for parties, and the layering is so much easier and a beautiful presentation.

I never became a big fan of Kale until I had a chopped kale salad in Dallas. It was so good, I went home and created my own version with a dressing flavored with sesame oil. The key to making this salad perfect is to really chop up that kale!

When summer ends, and fall squash is in season, I crank up the oven and go into roasting mode. It's my favorite way to cook butternut squash and other "winter squash" like acorn, pumpkin, and kabocha. Harvest salad combines crispy lettuce, buttery squash, and sweet apples and pomegranate with the easiest dressing you'll ever make (just 3 ingredients). Put this on your autumn table and watch it disappear!

I’ve eaten Wedge Salad at a lot of restaurants around the country, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had it as good as this recipe. Sometimes I make it with butter lettuce instead of iceberg, and it’s just as good. You might want to make a double batch of candied pecans because it’s too hard to save them all for the salad without snacking on them until they’re all gone. Trust me on this.

Potato soup is one of the easiest soups to make, and I because I love a loaded baked potato, I make my soup with all the toppings I would use on a loaded baked potato, including cheese, bacon, and chives. If that isn’t enough, I add chopped tomatoes and a dollop of sour cream.

I’ll never forget the narrow alleyways of Lyon, France where small restaurants called bouchons were crowded with small tables and chairs teetering on the cobblestone street. People were eating sandwiches, soups, and the frisée salad that was named after the city.

My maternal grandmother, who we affectionately called “Nina”, was an incredible artist. Her passion was painting canvases with brightly colored flowers. She could also throw fabulous dinner parties for her friends, where she served food on hand painted tablecloths with place cards sketched with each guest’s name. When I asked my family what Nina’s specialty was in the kitchen, everyone mentioned her chicken and homemade noodles.

When I was in Peru I fell in love with ceviche, a simple dish made with fresh fish. One night at a restaurant in Lima I saw “vegetable ceviche” on the menu and ordered it. It was so different and tasty I decided to design my own version. Tiger milk is a sauce for ceviche that is made with minced white fish, but I use coconut milk for this vegan version. I actually won an award in a chef competition with this recipe, and I’ve been serving it at my “Around the World” dinners for the past year. It requires a bit of preparation with so many ingredients, but it is worth it, I promise!

In the south of Bali there is a beautiful volcano called Mount Batur that is surrounded by lakes and lush green valleys. While driving nearby, my friends and I stopped at a coffee shop. The shop had a gorgeous balcony where we sat and gazed at the gorgeous mountain surrounded by clouds floating in the sky.

When I was a kid my mother often made fruit salad for special holiday dinners. I remember how laborious it was to peel and slice the fresh fruit, juices running all over the cutting board. She added marshmallows in the salad for extra sweetness.

At the end of the summer I stock my freezer with loads of corn kernels from the farmers market, and I’m often looking for creative ways to use it. Especially in winter months I like to make this salad, which reminds me of the warm tropics of Indonesia.

I’ll never forget sitting in the exquisite courtyard of the Alfonzo Hotel in Seville, Spain. I was surrounded by tall arched windows flanked with hand painted tiles. The hot sun was beaming into the room, and I ordered a refreshing bowl of gazpacho. The server told me that her mother makes it at home to cure any sickness, sadness, or hangover.

The city of Chimayo, New Mexico is known for growing some of the best red chiles in North America. Chimayan chiles get their earthy and pungent flavor from the unique soil in the fields surrounding the historic city north of Santa Fe. I purchase bags of the ground chile powder when I visit, and one of my favorite ways to use it is in this Caesar salad, both in the dressing and the garlicy croutons.

Every island in the Caribbean seems to have its own variation of soup, depending on what they grown and the traditions they hold. Back in the days of slaves and indentured servants, the workers would put on a pot of soup in the morning so it could simmer until their lunchtime break. They blended their traditional African foods with what was grown on the islands. The calabaza squash grows in abundance throughout the Caribbean, and is often cooked into rich soups.

There’s nothing quite like hiking through the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. We were the first to enter the gate one drizzly morning, and the clouds covered most of the views. After hours of walking and climbing, the sun finally peeked out and the clouds drew back, as if they were a curtain revealing a most spectacular stage set. The long day of admiring such beauty ended in the bar at the Sanctuary Lodge nearby, where I took a pisco tasting lesson from the elegant bartender. He presented 13 piscos for me to try, each different in its own way. The chef brought a steaming bowl of corn soup for dinner, which was a perfect pairing to the piscos.

When I visit Tel Aviv, Israel, I get up early in the morning to walk through the Carmel Market. I love to watch the merchants set out their colorful fruits and vegetables, stacking them in perfect formation next to wooden crates full of nuts and dried fruits. Spice merchants scoop mounds of pungent seeds and pods into paper bags for early morning shoppers, many who are chefs in the city. I’ve taken home several bags of nuts and spices, saving them to put into scrumptious salads, stews, and sauces. I call this salad “autumn salad” because it reminds me of the colors of fall, orange from the squash, red from pomegranate, and hues of green from lettuces.