Chow Fun - lemongrass sausage, pea vines, mint

Created by James Beard Best Chef-nominee Rachel Yang, who with her husband, Seif Chirchi, owns three restaurants in Seattle (Joule, Trove, and Revel) and one in Portland (Revelry). My Rice Bowl - Korean cooking outside the lines is a cookbook with recipes taken from her Korean upbringing, but then influenced by various cultures and cuisines that she's been exposed to from around the world. She has taken the food memories from her childhood in Korea and added the global flavors she loves, as well as the culinary influence from her previous restaurant work (Per Se, Alain Ducasse). This has resulted in a unique and authentic fusion of food. In My Rice Bowl, she thoughtfully combines different flavors together and results in making Korean flavors more accessible to everyone: “It’s all about how I kind of take my traditional Korean palate and knowledge and then how I make it my own here in America…We like to think of it as unexpected and delicious first, and Korean second (or maybe even further down the line).” In the cookbook you’ll find favorites like the restaurants’ kimchi recipe but, also dishes such as seaweed noodles with crab and crème fraîche, tahini-garlic grilled pork belly, fried cauliflower with miso bagna cauda, chipotle-spiked pad thai, Korean-taco pickles, and the ultimate Korean fried chicken (served with peanut brittle shards for extra crunch). This book exemplifies cross-cultural cooking at its most gratifying, such as this take on Chow Fun. From the lemongrass sausage to the pea vines to the fresh mint. It's sure to satisfy your stomach and dazzle your taste buds.From the author: "With their light texture, rice-based chow fun noodles (sometimes spelled shao fen) are a natural match for the springy, green flavor of home made lemongrass sausage. Tossed with a loose mint and cilantro pesto, baby peas, and pea vines, this Trove favorite is the antithesis of a heavy noodle dish. We top it with our version of togarashi, the traditionally Japanese spice mixture that we blend with dried orange zest, to add just a hint of heat.Look for the wide, flat chow fun noodles in the produce section or the refrigerated section of a large Asian grocery store. Although they're sometimes sold already cut into half-inch strips, look for the kind that are packaged uncut, so you can cut them yourself into slightly wider strips, if possible. (They're impossible to tear apart when cold. If you purchase them refrigerated, reheat them in the microwave for about ten seconds at a time, until the noodles are soft and pliable.)If you'd like to break up the work for this recipe, make the sausage, pesto, and togarashi up to a day before serving, and refrigerate the first two, covered, until ready to use. We always assemble each serving individually at the restaurant, but at home, it's easier to do in two big batches in a large wok, using half the serving ingredients for each batch."

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Summer Fruit Papillotes and Lavender Ice Cream (Papillotes de fruits de l'ete et glace a la lavande)

Food is considered by the French to be one of life's greatest pleasures, and author Béatrice Peltre celebrates that with her beautiful blog and cookbooks. In her cookbook, My French Family Table, she definitely takes advantage of spring and summer produce to make gorgeous salads and desserts. Here's a unique take on the traditional en papillote, but turning it into a stunning dessert instead.From the Author: "Use the same technique as for a savory papillote but add sweet ingredients instead; the result is something irresistible. This papillote uses a medley of luscious summer fruit that, once the parchment paper is torn open, displays a palette of bright colors that is completely seductive. I love it served with a scoop of lavender-infused ice cream melting slowly right in the middle."  

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French Macarons

Food is considered by the French to be one of life's greatest pleasures. Béatrice Peltre celebrates that with her beautiful blog and cookbooks. Her latest cookbook, My French Family Table, focuses on everyday foods that you can share with family and friends. She features healthy and creative meals that use whole grains, spices and vibrantly colorful fruits and vegetables. Bonus? They all happen to be gluten-free, too. These French macarons are no exception. Perfect for a gathering or special occasion...or just because you're craving something chocolate, you'll want to make these again and again.From the Author: "While these macarons are not complicated, they do take some time to prepare. You will feel a deep sense of accomplishment when you master them."

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Roasted Cauliflower Soup

This Fall roasted cauliflower soup will certainly grace our table more than once this season. It fills the need for belly-warming comfort without being too heavy, reminding us that Summer is just barely over and will thankfully come again. The soup was on the table in under an hour, with little active time. It would make a perfect soup-shot to begin a Thanksgiving or holiday feast, and is easily adaptable to other seasonal vegetables and seasonings.

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Dukkah Scones

I love reinventing the scone with new flavors, especially savory ones. Dukkah is an exotic spice blend, traditionally used as a dip for bread with olive oil. In these scones, it adds just a hint of hazelnut and a bold boost of cumin and coriander, plus some herbal accents. Fresh dill and shaved parmesan round out the flavor profile, with a touch of flaky salt on top. These hearty Dukkah scones are wonderful for brunch, snacking or in a weekday lunch box.

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Easy DIY: Spiced Hot Fudge Sauce

Want an easy DIY project that you can take from start to finish in under an hour? This is your post. But beware! Once you start gifting this hot fudge sauce you won't be able to stop... my sister has been asking for it every holiday since 2004. Our favorite formulation combines bittersweet chocolate with Kashmiri Garam Masala and uses maple syrup as the sweetener, but you can switch up the spice and sweetener in all kinds of creative combinations. Chinese Five Spice with agave nectar is another one of our favorites. A decadent dose of sweet and spice will make your holiday extra nice. This recipe makes 2 cups, but double up if you want to make more for gifts

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Walnut Rosewater Wafers

These sublime wafers are the perfect treat if you are looking for a sweet to satisfy without over-doing it. The lofty texture of these delicate wafers owes itself to the flourless dough, and the ethereal flavor comes from our Advieh spice blend and its rosewater complement. Try them as a light dessert with cardamom coffee, with your afternoon tea or as an apertif.

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Bejeweled Spice Cake

The holy trinity of baking spices: ginger, cassia-cinnamon and allspice combine in this traditional medieval spice blend called Poudre Douce. It makes this upside-down fruit cake an essential for the winter holidays -- and it's a table-top stunner, too! We made a festive selection of dried fruits over the classic pineapple to allow the spices to shine through. Less sweet than those pineapple upside-down cakes of our childhoods, we like this cake at brunch as well as for dessert!

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Indian Coriander Energy Bars

Sometimes I get so busy doing things that I forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch. I know, I shouldn't do that, but I do. I've tried various power or energy bars, but I found them to be too sweet, lacking in flavor, or really just not very healthy. So I made my own.For this recipe, I set out to make an energy bar that tasted good, was high in all of the "good" stuff we're supposed to be eating every day, and was full of things that I loved, like Indian Coriander Seed. I'm also a huge fan of chia seeds, and using them eliminated the need to use oil or eggs in the bars. Chia seeds are full of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, calcium, iron, fiber, and are a source of natural extended energy. I will admit to sometimes putting chocolate chips in them, but chocolate is good for you, too, right?

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