Super creamy with a great graham crust, lightly orangey filling, and an almost stained glass-like caramelized orange topping, this cheesecake was almost as good to look at as it was to eat. More

Whether or not you're in freezing temperatures, this Grilled Cilantro Chicken with Pickled Tomato and Avocado Salsa is a winner. The bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts are marinated in a Mexican-inspired mix of chopped cilantro, lime, and cumin for about an hour. The garnish is a tomato and avocado salsa spiced with a supercharged combo of spices and chiles, more than enough to turn even the blandest winter produce into something thrilling. More

These gin-based Herbaltinis are like a California-fied Tom Collins, all gin and citrus with bright green herbal notes that carry through the cool, refreshing drink. Adapted from The Sunset Cookbook, this is the kind of cocktail I imagine mixing up if I had a gorgeous Southern California backyard filled with citrus trees and bushy patches of fresh herbs. But even when mixed up in the dead of winter from supermarket produce and herbs, this cocktail was fresh and light, a sort of winter pick-me-up thanks in equal parts to the citrusy summery flavors and the gin. More

Since the second week of January isn't exactly prime fruit and vegetable season, I scoped out the market first before choosing this recipe from The Sunset Cookbook. Apples and oranges were abundant (no big surprises there) but the crates of persimmons and Asian pears at my local market came as a pleasant surprise. Then I remembered this Asian Pear, Persimmon, and Almond Salad. More

I don't think that there is anything remotely Chinese about the Chinese Chicken Salad. Originated sometime in the mid-1980s by Wolfgang Puck, it's California cuisine through and through. And although it's available in many airports throughout the nation and at just about every fast-casual eatery out there, there's something that remains quite appealing about this chicken salad. More

Great grapefruits and creamy avocados are always lovely together but the magic of this salad comes from the fish sauce vinaigrette that dresses it. Similar to the sauce for the insanely awesome Momofuku Brussels Sprouts, this vinaigrette mixes sugar, vinegar, and ginger with pungent fish sauce, giving all the flavors in the salad a blast of sweet-salty umami. More