For the crust:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth and well-mixed. Mix in egg and vanilla then set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ones, mixing until blended.

Spread evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

For the middle layer:
Once the crust is done, remove it from the oven and pour marshmallows on top. Set aside.

Over medium heat in a mid-sized saucepan, melt the chocolate and peanut butter chips in the sweetened condensed milk until you have a creamy smooth pot of loveliness. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes before folding in the peanuts.

Spread this mixture over the top of the marshmallows. Using a spatula, work it out until it reaches all corners and crevices of the pan. You may have to mix it up with the now-melting marshmallows to get the gooey goodness to cooperate and become friends with the entire pan. That’s perfectly okay!

For the top layer:
Whip together the brownie mix as directed on the package. Fold in peanut butter chips and marshmallow bits.

Spread this beautiful batter on top of the middle layer.

Jiggle the pan a little to get the batter to spread out to all the pan’s edges, then place in the oven.

Bake for 40 minutes or until done. Your oven might be more of a flame-thrower than mine, so adjust baking times accordingly!

In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, red chili powder, baking soda, baking powder, chocolate chips and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, oil, egg, both sugars and vanilla. Now add flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix using a spatula till a smooth dough-like texture is attained.

Now using a tablespoon, make round balls about ¾ to 1 inch in size. Space them about 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. Then remove the tray from the oven. Cool for 2 minutes on baking tray and then transfer cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning on each side of the ribs, making sure the ribs are well coated. Carefully pour the water/chicken stock/beer and liquid smoke into the cookie sheet, and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Carefully pick up the cookie sheet containing the ribs and liquid and gently place in the oven. Forget about it for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Once the time is up, remove from the oven, and remove the aluminum foil. Let the ribs cool for about 10 minutes, then slather 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce on each side. At this point, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to grill them! This is a great way to get some of the work out of the way before your Memorial Day party! Get that grill fired up, and place the ribs on the grill just long enough to get those beautiful grill marks, making sure the ribs are thoroughly heated, about 15 minutes.

While roasting snap peas, prepare soba noodles according to package.

To make dressing, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oil, honey, and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds. Taste and adjust flavoring as needed.

To serve, toss noodles, snap peas, and dressing together. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds.

Note: To toast sesame seeds, toss sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium low heat. Let cook, shaking often, until sesame seeds are light brown (if using tan sesame seeds) and are fragrant.

Place the dough-ball in a lightly-oiled large bowl. Cover with a clean towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm place (I place it in a turned-off oven). The dough should double in size in about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into about twenty 2½-inch size round balls (each ball should weigh about 2.5 ounces). Set the balls together on your work surface or a tray. Cover the dough balls with a warm towel and allow them to rise for 30 minutes.

Begin bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Add the brown sugar to the water.

Begin forming the bagels by taking one bagel and carefully, with your thumb and forefinger, poking a hole into the center of the ball. Move the bagel around the 2 fingers to stretch out the bagel. Place the bagel on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining balls of dough.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

When the dough has come to a rolling bowl, place 2-3 bagels in the pot of water. Allow the bagels to cook for about 2 minutes and then flip the bagels and allow them to cook for another minute. With a slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the water and place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels until you have finished pre-cooking all the bagels.

Place the tray of bagels in the oven and bake until they begin to turn a light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the bagels from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Slice, toast, slather with cream cheese or butter, and serve. Enjoy!

These last up to 1 week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is, who adapted it from Food Network and King Arthur Flour.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

These last up to 3 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Re-heat them in a sauté pan with a little bit of butter.

Recipe inspired by Tyler Florence.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder over chicken, to taste. Use about 1 tablespoon of salt for a medium-sized chicken, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (Keep in mind, these recipes call for healthy meals. Reducing sodium is one way of keeping things healthy. Though, you could definitely add more if you like things saltier. Feel free to adjust as you see fit.)

Place the chicken on top of a large Mason jar (or glass bottle), placing the cavity over the mouth of the jar/bottle. Place the jar carefully into a baking dish. Pop chicken in the oven for an hour and a half, or until it turns golden brown.

While the pasta is cooking … Brown the ground turkey in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat, making sure to break the turkey meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon as you go. Once the turkey is cooked, remove it to a plate and set aside for a minute.

Add the olive oil to the pan and allow it to get hot (but not smoking). Then add the parsley and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, until crispy but not browned. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add in the cooked turkey meat, black beans, tomato sauce and salt. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.

Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce and serve. Top each plate with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

(Recipe modified from Quattro’s recipe.)

1. A food processor or blender.
2. A spice grinder for grinding up the cardamom pod … or a flat side of a knife blade or mortar and pestle will crush the pod effectively, too.

Making the chutney:

1. Put the pieces of red pepper and chilies into the food processor and grind them coarsely.
2. Add the garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin, salt, pepper, crushed cardamom and olive oil and process again. The chutney will be textured, not a smooth paste—but if it seems dry, add a few more drops of olive oil and process again.
3. Store the chutney in a sealed jar. It will keep, refrigerated, for about a month.

A suggestion: Hot Cilantro Parsley Chutney is recommended as an accompaniment to Mediterranen Merguez Flatbread which is also posted here in my recipe box or under Quick Breads.

Acknowledgement: Hot Cilantro Parsley Chutney is an adaptation of Anissa Helou’s recipe for Z’houg from her cookbook Mediterranean Street Food (2002).

For mixing the flatbread dough:
1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast with the warm milk and sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes. When the mixture is foamy, add the flour, salt, beaten egg and olive oil.
2. Stir to combine everything well, and once it comes together into a ball, knead until the mixture forms a dough. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it with plastic and let it rise until it has about doubled in size. (The time of the rise depends on the weather and temperature. One hour is a good estimate.)

For making the meat topping:

1. Slit open the sausage casings lengthwise and remove the ground meat filling. Usually the filling comes away from the casing easily.
2. Heat the olive oil in the pan and sauté the onion over medium heat until it begins to turn golden. Add the garlic and sauté it for a minute, stirring. Add the ground Merguez sausage and brown it.
3. Add the cinnamon, cumin, cloves, black pepper, sumac and sugar and mix them well with the meat, onion and garlic. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juice. Cover the pan and simmer the topping gently until the juice of the tomatoes is evaporated and the mixture has thickened.

For mixing the herb topping:

1. Put all the herbs and spices in a bowl and mix them together. This is an herb mixture often used in Middle Eastern recipes. If you prefer not to make it yourself, it is available prepackaged and is called: Za’atar.

For assembling and baking the flatbread:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Oil the pizza pan.
2. Roll out the dough into a circle that’s a little larger than the size of the pan.
3. Spread the dough out on the oiled pan and sprinkle it with 1 tablespoon of the herb topping.
4. Spread the meat topping over the flatbread dough. Sprinkle the topping with the rest of the herb mixture.
5. Bake the flatbread for about 15 minutes, or until it is golden. Slide it off the pan onto a cooling rack.

A suggestion: The flatbread is good with a little of my Hot Cilantro ~ Parsley Chutney, which is also posted here at TastyKitchen. A little of this chutney goes a long way, even for those who like some flame in their food.

Acknowledgements: Mediterranean Merguez Flatbread is adapted from Elizabeth David’s recipe for Middle Eastern Lamb Pizza in her book: At Elizabeth David’s Table (2011). That recipe appeared in the ‘Cook the Book’ feature of the website Serious Eats.