Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies | #CreativeCookieExchange

These ricotta chocolate chip cookies are so soft and cake-like. They are pretty much little cakes in a cookie form.

While most chocolate chip cookies are either crispy or chewy, these ricotta chocolate chip cookies are tender and soft. They get this way from the ricotta cheese. It's pretty magical.

New Mexico Style Pork and Green Chile Stew

A pork stew with roasted green chiles, onions, garlic, and tomatoes with flavors that remind me of Hatch chile season.

Every summer, usually late July or early August, my favorite Mexican market roasts Hatch chiles outdoors in the front of the store. Customers can buy large bags of the fresh chiles and the store will roast them. The aroma is intoxicating.

Grilled Pork Burger with a Hawaiian-Style Bun

Grilled Pork Burger with a Hawaiian-Style Bun topped with coleslaw and dressed with Cherry Chipotle Sauce.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BBQWeek. I received product samples from sponsors to use in creating #BBQWeek recipes. However, all opinions are mine alone.

This grilled pork burger is not just a burger patty made from ground pork. There's lots of good stuff in the patty, like shallots, garlic, thyme, chiles, chorizo, and bacon.

Cuban-Style Black Bean Soup {Vegan}

This Cuban-style black bean soup may look like a simple bowl of soup, but it is much more complex. The ingredient list is long, but the flavors in this soup make it worth the fuss.

Along with the black beans, this Cuban-style black bean soup is flavored with bell peppers, onions, jalapeños, garlic, cumin, oregano, and Manzanilla olives (the kind you put in martinis).

Thai-Style Shrimp Salad Sandwiches

I'm so happy with the flavors in these Thai-style shrimp salad sandwiches. The shrimp salad only takes a few minutes to make and is so easy to toss together.

The shrimp in these Thai-style shrimp salad sandwiches are lightly dressed in a mixture of mayonnaise, shredded carrots, scallions, mint, soy sauce, lime, and sriracha.

Red Pepper Coques

These Red Pepper Coques are a wonderful Catalan-style crunchy flatbread topped with an intensely flavored mixture of red peppers, pine nuts, and sherry vinegar.

Coques can be found in Mediterranean Spanish tapas bars. They can be sweet or savory, but the unifying factor is a crispy crust, resembling thin crust pizza.

Thai-Style Coleslaw with Chiles, Mint, and Cilantro

This Thai-Style Coleslaw with Chiles, Mint, and Cilantro is a wonderfully light side dish. The bright flavors in this salad pair especially well with rich barbecued meats and ribs.

The dressing for this Thai-style coleslaw is made with lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, coconut milk, and a minced serrano chile. You steep the the chile in the lime and fish sauce mixture before dressing the salad, which mellows the chile yet still preserves its flavor.