Roasted Crispy Cricket Tacos and Plantain Empanadas share the menu with traditional Jalisco favorites like Corn Sopes, Beef Barbacoa, and Cochinita Pibil. Such is the assortment of inventive dishes that have become the trademark of El Arrayán restaurant.

Pecan pie. Bananas foster. Red velvet cake. Lemon meringue pie. Doctor bird cake?!

Desserts in the South are well known for their sumptuous ingredients, bright flavors, and a dash of flare. And yet one dessert seems to stand apart—Doctor birds cake, more commonly called Hummingbird Cake.

I first heard of--and sampled--this sweet concoction a couple years ago in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. The combination of ripened bananas lapping up the sweetness of crushed pineapple gives the cake its signature sweetness, and dense yet airy texture.

LIVE from ITALY: Online Cooking Class Sunday, January 26, 2014

Want to make the most delicious chocolate, ever? You'd be surprised at this - it's got dark chocolate, sea salt (naturally), candied ginger, and... pomegranate?! Yes! I, too, was skeptical when I first saw this recipe at the New York Times food section (I've adapted their recipe, in this article).

Living in a city like New York, I’ve grown used to being able to order practically any type of food that strikes my fancy, at any time. Since I’ve started traveling so much, my food choices have become limited, and if I crave any food that’s foreign to the land I’m visiting I have to make it myself. Because I really don’t know much of anything about preparing foreign foods (my specialty is eating them), I’ve been taking every chance I have to learn.

When my [Mexican] husband and I first started dating over five years ago, I was a bit nervous to try Mexican food—especially with all the jalapenos and other ingredients that I saw prepared in the food. However, one summer, our godchildren came for a visit and they taught me how to make authentic Mexican chicken enchiladas with salsa verde (green sauce).

We're in Ireland, and loving it (needless to say). And yes, the rain is ubiquitous.