Joulutortut: Finnish Jam Pinwheel Pastries

Joulutortut: Finnish Jam Pinwheel Pastries

As we pursue to make traditional holiday dishes from around the world, I doubt that any will look as aesthetically appealing as joulutortut does. It certainly requires a bit of extra finesse in order to get the joulutortut into its pinwheel shape, but a finished joulutortut pastry, especially with the color contrast between the golden pastry and the dark purple prune … Read more

Melomakarona: Greek Honey-Dipped Christmas Cookies

Melomakarona: Greek Honey-Dipped Christmas Cookies

Over here at Arousing Appetites, we take our holiday seasons very seriously. It’s a fantastic time to get together with friends and family and to reflect and express gratitude on the year that was. Of course, it’s also a great time to eat. Cuisines around the world each have their own special (and delicious!) holiday traditions, … Read more

Gibanica: Serbian Cheese Pie

Gibanica: Serbian Cheese Pie

One thing I love about our little project to internationalize our upcoming holiday meals is how and from where recipe inspiration can come from, literally anywhere. For example, I had no idea about any type of dishes from Serbian cuisine, but we were really pleasantly surprised to learn about how many amazing recipes are out … Read more

Fattoush: Lebanese Sumac Lemon Salad

Fattoush: Lebanese Sumac Lemon Salad

With the holiday season coming up, Heather and I both thought it would be fun to find ways to “internationalize” our upcoming holiday meals with our friends and family. Not that we don’t love what you’d traditionally find around the Thanksgiving table (trust me, we do), but this seems like it will be a really fun challenge. … Read more

Mapo Tofu: Chinese

Mapo Tofu: Chinese

As two folks invariably obsessed with cooking at home, we don’t normally order Chinese takeout. But when we do, mapo tofu is one dish that I’d be hard pressed not to ask for. It’s my addictively spicy yet savory, “always leaves your mouth buzzing thereafter” guilty pleasure. And why I was really excited to learn this dish. … Read more