Recipes

"If I have a bad day, I cook," says Jane Reed, whose son Chris started the catering business Bumbu Roux with her to serve the Indonesian food of her youth and the Creole food of his father's. Try an Indonesian recipe from them here. 

“People who go to Senegal say it’s what they remember the most, because it’s easy to remember: yassa!” says Madieye Gueye, the owner of Bronzeville's Yassa African Restaurant. Try a version of the simple Senegalese dish. 

Macaroons are a common treat during Passover, since they don't contain grain and are unleavened. Ursula Siker of the "Jew-ish" deli Jeff & Jude's shares her recipe as well as her love of Jewish delis and inspiraton behind her own. 

Elle Lei of the colorful Chicagoland confectionery SUGOi Sweets has been inspired by the intense seasonality of Japanese desserts ever since she lived there. She shares a recipe for a Japanese treat perfect for spring.

After any service at a Sikh gurdwara, or temple, the free meal of langar is served. Anybody is welcome, and all of the work for the meal is voluntary, an expression of selfless service. Learn about langar and try a recipe commonly served for it. 

Chicago cookbook author and food entrepreneur Anupy Singla shares a recipe for a refreshing drink to celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors that takes place around the beginning of spring. "I like to have options of natural sodas and drinks that everyone can partake in," she says. 

Chicago's Masa Madre combine their co-owners' Mexican and Jewish cultures in their baked goods, including in this recipe for hamantashen with Mexican candy flavors for Purim. 

Uzma Sharif likes to infuse her South Asian culture into the chocolates she sells at her Pilsen shop and the Michigan Avenue Starbucks Reserve Roastery. That's true of this easy cardamom and ginger truffle recipe, perfect for Valentine's Day.

Nin Gou is a traditional Chinese steamed cane sugar-based mochi-like glutinous rice cake with a firmer chew that is often served or gifted at Lunar New Year. Try a recipe for it from baker Jaye Fong of Maa Maa Dei. 

Cranberries aren't just for Thanksgiving, especially when they come in the form of a stunning red tart with an almond crust from America's Test Kitchen.

There are no marshmallows in sight in this savory sweet potato gratin from Milk Street. Instead the excitement comes from the complement of miso, soy, and ginger against the warm sweetness of the potatoes.

Green bean casserole may be a classic Thanksgiving side dish, but in case you want to switch it up from the cream of mushroom kind, Milk Street has a hearty Italian casserole filled out with potatoes and fresh mushrooms.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an Almond Tres Leches cake from Pati Jinich, who explores the coastal Mexican state of Jalisco in her new season of Pati's Mexican Table.

Using green goddess dressing as a marinade for roast chicken, as Cook's Country suggests, is a brilliant idea: bright, fresh flavors complement the chicken, while the acid in the marinade tenderizes the meat and the sugar caramelizes the skin.

Pão de ló is an unusual Portuguese sponge cake that harbors a hidden surprise beneath its browned, creased surface. It's the perfect cake for late summer in its simplicity, or to celebrate the return of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Television.