A tall cooling summer citrus drink sweetened with a mint simple syrup. Muddling the juiced shells with sugar creates an intense citrus sugar base for the mint.

A luscious creamy dessert flavored with cinnamon basil simple syrup and topped with berries in the same herbal syrup.

Creamy goat cheese logs marinated in olive oil, herbs and spices. Great slathered on crusty wheat bread as an appetizer or as part of a salad.

A lovely red wine syrup with blueberries and raspberries-a perfectly easy compote to serve over ice cream.

A nut-swirled yeast bread perfect for holidays. Makes wonderful French toast.

A light and fluffy yeast bread, the result of a water roux method created by Yvonne Chen.

A classic shrimp creole served over crisp fried polenta.

Homemade smoked turkey stock, red beans, spicy sausage and creole seasoning slow-cooked to perfection. Serve over rice with hot crusty cornbread.

An easy, yet low fat hash brown dish using grated baked potatoes.

A decadently rich banana ginger cake with a browned butter frosting.

A North African spice rubbed roast chicken served on a bed of cumin spiced rice, Brussels sprouts, carrots and golden raisins.

Comfort food at its best-a spicy chicken green chile pot pie loaded with corn, black beans, and carrots-then topped with a cheesy cornbread crust.

A spicy Southwestern salad of pinto beans, corn, tomatoes, roasted red peppers dressed with a smoky citrus salad dressing and topped with cubes of jalapeno jack cheese and cilantro.

A fragrant sauteed rice enhanced by the addition of a pumpkin seed pesto.

Ripe, buttery avocados drizzled with a spicy roasted red pepper sauce-a perfect beginning to a Southwestern meal.

Grilled pork tenderloin glazed with an orange BBQ sauce, sliced, topped with a spicy coleslaw and served as a slider sandwich

A perfect Fall breakfast or brunch bread, this apple butter bread is similar to an upside down cake with an apple syrup glaze dotted with toasted pecans.

A hearty seafood and sausage gumbo-perfect comfort food!

An exotic chicken curry prepared in the slow cooker. Serve with jasmine rice and homemade naan.

A classic gin and tonic with an Asian twist. Homemade lemongrass simple syrup makes this cocktail a hit!

Hazelnut cookies with a dollop of raspberry jam in the center.

A healthy side dish of crisp potatoes, white beans and fresh spinach.

With just ten minutes prep time, this brisket, flavored with onions, serrano peppers, garlic, bay leaves and black peppercorn, will simmer slowly while you go about your day. Shred the finished brisket and sauce with a piquant chipotle dressing.

Seckel pears baked in a pear cider spiced with cinnamon and bay, then served atop a creamy rice pudding.

A twist on the traditional upside down cake, this cake has juicy red grapes baked in a cinnamon scented batter. Beautiful as well as delicious.