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.

Causas are a unique layered potato dish that is served chilled as an appetizer or light meal. I first had them in Lima, Peru and I loved the artistic presentation and slightly spicy flavor in the different layers.

The Italians made lasagna famous with their hearty dish layered with rich ragu and sheets of pasta. But the Greeks’ ziti and spicy meat sauce tastes equally outrageous. It is a savory pie wrapped in pastry that originated in Italy but was adopted by the Greeks in the 1800’s by a chef who created his own version using cinnamon and cloves in the meaty layers.

While I was in Bali I spent a day cooking with a woman named Nina. Her kitchen was outside, covered with a tin roof and surrounded by coconut trees. Next to the house was a huge pile of dried coconut shells the family used to burn for fuel to heat the house. One of the dishes we made was grilled shrimp satay, which is marinated shrimp on a skewer grilled over fire.

It had been raining all day in Barcelona, and it finally let up at nightfall. The streets were filled with people strolling and enjoying the evening after a late-night dinner when I spotted a line of people standing in front of a small stall where a woman was filling paper cones with hot fried churros. As she handed out the bundles of fried dough her daughter poured hot chocolate sauce into small cups for dipping the churros. I learned that churros and chocolate are not only a treat for ending the day, but they’re often enjoyed for breakfast.

Thanks to the Chinese, noodles and stir frying have become a fixture of Indonesian cuisine. Many Chinese immigrants traveled to Indonesian, carrying with them the ingredients and traditions of their homeland. You can find fried noodles many places, and they may include only vegetables or the addition of chicken, shrimp, or pork.

Galettes are one of my favorite things to make! They’re like a pie without the pan, and you eat it like pizza. This one is a savory gallette that is perfect as a vegetarian meal or as a side dish with dinner. It’s also good for brunch! 

The island of Java in Indonesia is often best known for its coffee plantations, which is where we get the term “java” for our coffee. But they are also known for their food, which is rich with spices that are also grown on the island. During my visit I saw cinnamon trees in full bloom, covered in pink blossoms. We carefully carved the bark from the tree, which would later curl into a scroll to become dried cinnamon.

A tagine is a not only a cooking vessel from Morocco, but it’s also the name of the actual dish that’s cooked slowly, and flavored with lots of spices and flavorful liquids. This tagine dish is made with marinated chicken, preserved lemons, and olives. I make my own preserved lemons, but if you can’t find them, you can add some lemon zest at the end of the cooking process. It won’t taste exactly the same as preserved lemons, but will have a brighter citrus flavor that is still delicious. Serve this dish over couscous or buttered rice. Although, in Morocco they would simply eat it with crusty bread.

Lahmacun is similar to pizza, and is a popular dish in Turkey, Syria, and Armenia. It generally does not have cheese on it, and is often eaten rolled up. It is a traditional street food in Istanbul, Turkey and I at a lot of it while I was there. You can make the topping a day or two before making the pizza, which makes it a great dish to serve for a dinner party.

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!

This Italian dish is traditionally made with veal, but I like it with chicken the best. Saltimbocca means “jump in the mouth” in Italian, and I think you’ll agree when you make this recipe. The salty prosciutto and fresh sage add so much flavor to the chicken, and the sauce is so good you might be tempted to eat it before you serve it on the chicken!

This dish just sounds like fall, but you can certainly make it any time of year. I always grill the pork over wood or charcoal which gives a great smoky flavor, but you can sear them in a hot skillet, if you prefer. The sauce is made from one of the world’s most delicious spirits, Calvados.

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.

Samosas have a diverse history as a popular snack that was carried by Asian traders traveling across the world, eventually settling in India where they are most well-known. Samosas are different all over India, depending on the area and region. Some are filled with meat and chiles, some with paneer, and others with potatoes and peas.

In the southeastern part of Mexico City there is a small town called San Pedro Atocpan, which is known for the National Festival of Mole. The people there take their mole very seriously and during the festival they present their special dishes to the public to honor the delicious sauce that comes from their chichimecas heritage. I visited San Pedro Atocpan and strolled the streets that were filled with small “mole shops” where people from all over Mexico City get the ingredients for mole.

This is a delicious smoky dip that is from Lebanon, but common in most middle eastern cuisines. It is used to spread on bread, meats, or vegetables. Some of the best I ever had was in a small bar in Jordan near Petra. It was a cave that had been converted into a bar with the most delicious snacks.

Chichilo mole is one of the seven famous moles from Oaxaca, Mexico. It requires the chilhuacle dried chiles that are very typical of Oaxaca. When I was in the market in Oaxaca City with Chef Irving Herrera he took me through the maze of stalls, each selling a huge variety of fresh and dried chiles. He shopped in the market every day for his restaurant and had his favorite vendors where he bought the ingredients for each day’s menu.