When my daughter was in high school she had a small business in our kitchen called Little Cakes By Meredith. She made several different flavors of cupcakes and frosted them perfectly with her collection of pastry tips. Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes was the most requested, and she made a lot of them for her customers.

It’s chilly in the Atacama desert at night, but one evening I was privileged to cook with the chef of a guesthouse near San Pedro, Chile. The kitchen was warm from the wood-fired oven as we stood at a large wooden table, making empanadas by the dozens.

I once spent three days exploring Argentina’s stunning region of Mendoza. horseback riding, hiking, and sampling its famous bold red wines. One evening, I attended a dinner where every dish included a Mendoza wine (even dessert). For the main course, the chef served beef short ribs that had braised all afternoon in a pot of Malbec and fresh herbs. He presented it on a bed of potatoes with a drizzle of velvety sauce.

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.

When I visited the city of Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan, India I was introduced to famous dish called “Red Meat” made with mutton and red chiles. The proper name is Laal Maans, and it appears on nearly every menu in Rajasthan. I had the privilege of making it with 3 chefs at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur in the restaurant kitchen.

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.

One of my favorite memories of strolling along the streets of Athens was the smell of grilled meat and vegetables wafting from the souvlaki shops. Inside were open fire pits where men were turning long skewers packed with spicy meat over the coals. As the kabobs cooked, peppers and onions sizzled on iron plates next to the fire, waiting to be topped with fresh bread and seared meat.

This is a dish that is more common in the United States than in Italy. It was likely started by Italian immigrants who craved the flavors of southern Italy where lemons are abundant. I actually had veal piccata at a little trattoria in Positano, a village on the Amalfi coast of Italy.

From tomatoes to onions to heaps of cilantro, it seems every cook has the “secret” to great guacamole. What’s mine? Keep it simple and let the avocados do the talking. With only four ingredients (garlic, lime, salt, and ripe avocados), I trust the freshness of the foursome to carry the flavor. To me, yummy guacamole is less about the flourishes and more about the texture, which I fine-tune in a molcajete (a mortar and pestle made from natural volcanic stone).

When I was in high school home economics class my teacher, Miss Craig taught us how to make fried hand pies. At that time, I thought the only way to get a hand pie was from the supermarket in a commercial plastic bag. That day we made all kinds of berry pies and fried them in hot oil until they were golden brown. It was so difficult to wait for them to cool enough to eat.

In nearly every culture it’s common to use leftovers to incorporate into the next day’s meal or snack. For this popular Spanish tapa, leftover chicken and ham are blended into a thick white sauce. Once the mixture is chilled, it’s formed into little logs that are breaded and fried. When you bite into these little gems you get a crunchy coating with a soft pillowy center. This recipe makes quite a lot, so I freeze them and pull them out to be fried up anytime I need a perfect snack with a cold glass of rosé.

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.

If you’ve ever been on a cruise in Mexico you’ve probably been to Cozumel, the port city known for its Mayan ruins and the Festival of El Cedral, similar to a Mexican state fair. There were fantastic costumes and stalls of many food from all over the island. My friends and I didn’t spend a lot of time at the festival, but we stopped for some mango hand pies made by a beautiful Mexican woman dressed in a colorful dress covered in ruffles and lace.

Chiles en Nogada is often referred to as the national dish of Mexico, and its colors of green, red, and white represent the Mexican flag. It was reputedly invented by nuns in Puebla in 1821 when Mexico gained its independence. It is a chile stuffed with meat and fruit that is fried and served with a pureed walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.

One of my favorite cocktails is a negroni, originating in Florence, Italy at the Caffè Casoni. I was introduced to the negroni by my friend, Gil in Tel Aviv, Israel. It’s his favorite drink and he shared it with me on numerous occasions.

If I could choose a breakfast meal for nearly every morning, I would choose Chilaquiles. In Mexico the tortillas that are left over from the day before are used to thicken soups or fried for dipping into beans or salsa. Chilaquiles is a common breakfast that not only uses leftover tortillas, but also salsas and meat from the previous day’s meal.

I’ve made salsa verde with several chefs and home cooks in Mexico, and each one uses a few different ingredients and methods. I change it up myself when I’m making it at home, sometimes grilling the tomatillos and onions over fire before blending, and sometimes using raw tomatillos for a tart flavor and brighter color.

Biscotti are hard biscuits or cookies that are popular in Italy for dipping into sweet wine or a cup of espresso. Americans tend to dip them into a mug of hot coffee for an afternoon snack or quick breakfast.

The real star of this dish is the brilliant yellow sauce made from roasted yellow peppers. I’ve been making this sauce for many years, spooning it over salmon and grilled pork, always leaving a little on the side for dipping tortilla chips. It’s one of my favorite sauces to put with just about anything, including roasted veggies.

I’ve become quite particular about margaritas, requiring they be made with fresh lime juice and quality spirits. While in Mexico, I tasted a lot of different tequilas and mezcals, and sampled my share of margaritas made with both.