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.

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.

When I was in Cuba every bartender claimed to make the best mojito. Some were sweeter than others, some had a bit more mint, and others had tropical fruit juices added in. I soon became quite particular about my mojitos and I did my best to perfect it when I returned home.

The name of this recipe comes from the 2 basic ingredients, water and chile. It can be as spicy as you like by adding more or less chiles. I learned to make it while cooking with my friend Alondra in c, Mexico on the Pacific coast. Although we made it with shrimp, I also had it with fresh tuna in a nearby beach café.

Paneer is a cow’s milk cheese from India that has very little flavor on its own. Because it doesn’t melt, it absorbs all the flavors from the sauces and marinades it comes in contact with. It’s often added to curries and stir-fry, but I like to coat it in a spicy masala marinade and grill it over a hot fire.

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.

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).

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.

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.

This is a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes. I just add an egg and some garam masala, which is a spice blend available in your supermarket. I fry these little cakes and serve them at parties as a savory appetizer, but they’re also a nice accoutrement to a leafy salad.

Every table in Mexico is laden with bowls of salsa, ready to be spooned onto any dish that is presented. There are many variations of salsas, using both fresh and dried chiles, but my favorites are those whose ingredients have been fire-roasted, giving the salsa a smoky and earthy flavor.

In Athens, near Monastiraki Square, the streets are lined with restaurants serving gyros, kebabs, and platters of grilled meats. I’ve spent several afternoons sitting in wooden chairs at small tables eating platefuls of grilled lamb topped with French fries and tzatziki, the yogurt sauce flavored with garlic and fresh dill.

The Vines resort is nestled in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in the Mendoza region of Argentina. While staying there, I spent hours wandering around the outdoor kitchen area where numerous open fires were being tended to for preparation of the evening dinner. Under the portico there was a grill set between two brick walls where an iron grate laid across. At least a dozen whole fish were sizzling over the sparkling flames. The young chef proudly tended the fish, careful to cook them perfectly while I watched and asked questions of their preparation. He explained that the key to grilling fish is to keep the grates oiled well and watch closely to make sure they don’t burn.

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.

Argentina boasts some of the best steaks in the world, mostly due to the way they raise their cattle. Very happy cows graze in the lush pastures called “Las Pampas”, resulting in lean and very flavorful meat. The city of Buenos Aires has countless parrillas steakhouses where cuts of beef are grilled and seasoned with nothing more than salt.