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These Austrian holiday cookies are traditionally made with almond flour and raspberry jam, but they are also delicious with finely ground hazelnut flour and any other jam of your choosing. Photography by Muriel Silva. Makes 24 cookies Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2/3 cup almond flour 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 cup raspberry jam 1/2 cup powdered sugar About this recipe Special tools: A 2-2-1⁄2-inch round cookie cutter with fluted edges, a small heart or star shaped cookie cutter, a small offset spatula and a small fine mesh sifter or powdered sugar shaker for finishing. Note: This recipe can be doubled to make a larger batch for gifting. The baked cookies freeze well stored between layers of parchment or waxed paper in an airtight container. Simply thaw them when you are ready to decorate, and proceed with the filling, sugar dusting and sandwiching steps as above. Instructions Place the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and the almond extract to the mixer and mix on medium-low speed to combine. Scrape down the bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients in two turns, mixing just until combined. Divide the dough into 2 portions, flatten each into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out the dough. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the chilled dough with a rolling pin to 1⁄8-inch thickness. Cut circles out of the dough (you should get at least 24) and place them 1 inch apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. These will be the bottom cookies in the sandwich. Save the scraps to reroll at least once. For the top cookies, roll out the remaining portion of dough and cut 24 more circles. With the small heart or star shaped cutter, cut the centers out of these circles and remove them. Bake for 8-10 minutes, just until lightly browned around the edges. Once cookies are fully cooled, turn the bottom cookies over and spoon 1-1⁄2-2 teaspoons of raspberry jam in the center. Use an offset spatula to spread the jam out slightly towards the edges of the cookie. This will help the top cookies adhere to the bottom cookies and ensure a little jam in every bite. Place the powdered sugar in a sifter or shaker and liberally dust the top cookies with the cut-out centers. Carefully lift the sugar dusted top cookies from the baking sheet and place on top of the jam covered bottom cookies (the small offset spatula is handy for this step too). Store the finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

In 1955, the Alvarez brothers, owners of a Caracas arepera, invented a new arepa inspired by Susan Duijim, winner of the Miss World pageant and the first Venezuelan to win an international beauty contest. They called their creation the reina pepiada, which translates roughly to "voluptuous queen," and it has gone on to become one of the most popular arepa fillings. Cole LoPhotography byCurto. Serves 8 Ingredients For the arepas 11 ounces warm water 1 tablespoon butter, optional Salt, to taste 7 ounces pre-cooked corn flour (P.A.N. brand) For the chicken avocado salad 6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast 1/2 small white onion Salt, to taste 1/2 cup ripe avocado, diced 1 teaspoon minced shallot 2 tablespoons white vinegar 4 tablespoons mayonnaise Instructions To make arepas: Pour water in a small bowl and add butter to melt. Add salt to taste. Sprinkle in corn flour slowly, mixing with a whisk to prevent lumps. Once corn flour is mixed in, let dough sit. It will be soft but will become firmer after several minutes. Add more flour if needed. Divide the dough into 8 small balls. Pat to form the round arepa shape until desired thickness. Oil a griddle or pan and cook each arepa on both sides until crispy. They should have little brown spots but not be burnt. To make chicken salad: Add chicken and onion to small pot and cover with water. Cook over medium heat until chicken is tender. When done, cut chicken in 1⁄2-inch thick strips and shred. Put chicken, avocado and shallot in medium bowl. Gently mix in vinegar and mayonnaise, being careful not to mash avocado. Season to taste. To serve, make a pocket in each arepa, without completely separating both sides. Stuff each arepa with chicken avocado salad.

Accomplished Chef Barry Honan of St. Augustine brings this elegant artichoke recipe to life with a traditional French technique known as barigoule, which is similar to pickling and keeps the artichokes from oxidizing. Photography by Cole LoCurto. Serves 2 Ingredients 4 medium lemons 2 tablespoons salt 2 large globe artichokes For the artichoke vinaigrette 2 cups artichoke stock juice of 1 lemon 1 small shallot, minced 1 large garlic clove, minced 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper About this recipe Barigoule is a preparation that originates from Provence, France and is used to preserve and cook seasonal globe artichokes. The hearts are cured and stored in a pickling liquid and the leaves are used to make a stock. Instructions Prepare for pickling: Fill a medium-sized pot half-full with water. Cut lemons in half, squeeze juice into water, then add salt. Discard lemons. Trim artichokes: Hold stem side down and use a pairing knife to trim away tough outer green leaves from the sides. It helps to turn the artichoke with your hand while keeping the knife in place. Save scraps in a small pot for stock and vinaigrette. Once artichokes are cleaned, use a spoon or melon baller to scrape out the fuzzy choke from the center of the heart. Immediately immerse the cleaned artichoke in lemon water – the acid slows the oxidation process. Pickle the artichokes: Slowly bring lemon water to a boil, then turn off heat. Allow artichokes to cool in the pickling liquid and store covered in the refrigerator for a few days. Make stock: Add artichoke scraps to small pot and cover with water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain stock through a fine sieve. Discard the scraps and cool stock. Refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month. Combine ingredients for artichoke vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine artichoke stock, lemon juice, shallot, garlic and apple cider vinegar. Stir in honey, then whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. To serve: Remove artichokes from pickling liquid. Cut into thin slices or quarters and serve with your choice of greens and other fresh vegetables. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and serve.

Serve these tender sous vide short ribs with barbecue jus, red wine-mushroom sauce, hearty tomato or your favorite sauce. Photography by Melissa Marcarelli Serves 6 Ingredients 9 tablespoons canola oil, divided 3 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper 1/2 cup carrots, medium dice 1/2 cup celery, medium dice 1/2 cup onions, medium dice 2 sprigs thyme 2 cloves garlic, smashed 3 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cups red wine Instructions Set sous vide water bath to 144° F. Heat 7 tablespoons oil in sauté pan on high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper, pressing into the meat. Sear short ribs in hot pan and brown each side. Remove from heat and set aside. Keep pan on medium to medium-high heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add carrots, celery, onions, thyme and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and brown for 2 minutes. Deglaze with red wine. Cook for an additional 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring from bottom of pan. Remove from heat and cool. Transfer cooled short ribs and evenly distribute the meat-vegetable mixture into vacuum bag. Seal with vacuum pack machine. If you don’t own a vacuum seal machine, place ingredients in resealable bag and, with the top open, slowly lower beef into water bath. This compresses the air in the bag out of the top. Seal tightly as you near the top of the bag and submerge. Cook in water bath for 36 to 72 hours. Remove pouch from water bath when ready to eat. Slice and serve with your favorite sauce. If not serving immediately, place bag of beef-vegetables into ice bath and chill completely.

Farro is a high-protein, high-fiber ancient wholegrain wheat with a chewy texture and slightly nutty flavor. Be sure to use the semi-pearl variety in this soup. Photography by Justin Snavely. Serves 6 Ingredients 3 pounds chuck roast, trimmed and cubed in 3/4-inch pieces Kosher salt (for seasoning the meat) 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 small yellow onion, diced 2 large carrots, diced 3 celery ribs, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 8 cups beef stock 2 teaspoons beef bouillon or Better than Bouillon paste 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme 1 cup uncooked farro Freshly ground salt Freshly cracked black pepper Minced flat-leaf parsley (optional) Instructions Sprinkle chuck roast pieces generously with kosher salt to ensure a flavorful base. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a sturdy braising pot over high heat. Working in batches, evenly brown the beef on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate. Return pan to medium-high heat and add diced onions, carrots and celery. Cook until vegetables start to color, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and tomato paste and cook 3-5 minutes until tomato paste is caramelized. Pour in the beef stock, bouillon and Worcestershire sauce. Add browned beef and thyme and let the mixture come to a rolling boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 60 minutes or until beef is tender. Add farro to the pot. Simmer uncovered for an additional 30 minutes or until farro is cooked. It will still be firm and chewy. Taste and adjust seasoning with freshly-ground salt as needed. Finish with black pepper and fresh flat leaf parsley to serve.

Research by Dr. Leslie Kaplan and her class of Honors First year students, with data analysis and graph provided by Ezekiel Rodriguez Shoppers at Riverside Arts Market participated in blind taste tests with both carrots and bell peppers to see if people could tell a difference between a locally grown vegetable and one purchased at Publix. Listen up food lovers! Are you tired of purchasing overpriced produce at below average quality? Locally grown food gives you the opportunity to experience produce with a fresher taste and at a similar price to your traditional supermarket, without paying extra for “organic.” Buying local means avoiding corporate stores like Publix, Aldi or Walmart. This means either buying produce grown on local farms (like at a farmers' market) or grown globally but sold at locally-owned retailers (like our flea markets, ethnic stores or other family-owned groceries). Either way benefits the community economically by recirculating money locally. Buying locally grown food from a local retailer doubles the impact of your money. This is because both the farmer and the retailer live locally, and so are spending their income back in the community.   A team of student researchers at the University of North Florida investigated the taste and price of local food in Jacksonville. They spent two weekends at the Riverside Arts Market, conducting blind taste tests with both carrots and bell peppers to see if people could tell a difference between a locally grown vegetable and one purchased at Publix. Over 175 people tried one or the other of the vegetables. In both tests, over 80% of the people preferred the local option over Publix without knowing which was which. Participants said the local product was fresher, crunchier, tastier and juicier. Locally grown food just tastes better. The students also made systematic price comparisons. Over the last three years, students visited the whole range of stores from national chains like Walmart and Aldi to regional chains like Publix and Winn Dixie to locally-owned places like flea markets and ethnic grocery stores. The results were unexpected: Every year, the cheapest places to shop for produce are the locally-owned flea markets and ethnic stores. Shopping at the farmers' market was a bit more expensive than buying conventional produce at a corporate chain, but less than buying organic. Sometimes items were cheaper than even conventional items. Chart created by Ezekiel Rodriguez. From the budget-friendly options at locally owned stores to locally grown produce's unmatched flavor and freshness, choosing local is a win-win. It's a flavorful investment in the community that won’t break the bank.

Grab a designated driver and set out to explore the local makers of beer and spirits. Illustration By Ryan Newhouser NE Florida boasts enough breweries and distilleries to fill a year of weekend explorations. Set out on a spirited adventure and explore Northeast Florida's breweries and distilleries. In addition to a range of craft beer on tap and in cans, some flavored by seasonal ingredients, you'll find locally made vodka, gin, whiskey and other alcoholic beverages. Our list of breweries and distilleries includes 50 stops, enough to spend a year imbibing the region's best beers and spirits. Cheers! ******** Fernandina Beach/Yulee Amelia Island Brewing Co. ,   @ameliaislandbrewingcompany First Love Brew Pub ,   @firstlovebrewing Marlin & Barrel Distillery,   @marlinbarrel Mocama Beer Co. ,   @mocamabeer SJ Brewing Company ,   @yuleebeer Jacksonville/Jax Beach/Atlantic Beach Aardwolf Brewing Co. ,   @aardwolf_brew Bold City Brewery ,   @boldcitybrewery Bottlenose Brewing ,   @bottlenosebrewing Burlock & Barrel Distillery ,   @burlockandbarrel Engine 15 Brewing Co. ,   @engine15brewing Fishweir Brewing Company ,   @fishweirbrewing Four Fathers Distillery ,   @fourfathersdistillery Green Room Brewing ,   @greenroombrew Grey Matter Distillery ,   @greymatterdistillery Historically Hoppy Brewing Company , @historically_hoppy Ink Factory Brewing ,   @inkfactorybrewing Intuition Ale Works ,   @intuition_ale_works King Maker Brewing ,   @kingmakerbrewing Legacy Ale Works ,   @legacyale Manifest Distilling ,   @manifestdistilling Reve Brewing ,   @revebrewing Ruby Beach Brewing ,   @rubybeachbrewing Southern Swells ,   @southernswells Strings Sports Brewery ,   @stringssportsbrewery Tepeyolot Cerveceria ,   @tepeyolotbeer Veterans United Craft Brewery ,   @vubrew Wicked Barley Brewing Company ,   @wickedbarleybrewing Clay County Black Creek Distilleries Cultured Collective Brewery ,   @culturedcollectivefl St. Johns/St. Augustine 2nd Bay Brewing ,   @2ndbaybrewing Ancient City Brewing ,   @ancientcitybrewing BOG Brewery ,   @bog_brewery City Gate Spirits ,   @citygatedistillery Dog Rose Brewing ,   @dogrosebrewing Old Coast Ales ,   @old_coast_ales Sailbird Distilling Co. ,   @sailbirddistilling St. Augustine Distillery ,   @staugustinedistillery Alachua/Putnam Azalea City Brewing ,   @azaleacitybrewingco Blackadder Brewing ,   @blackadderbrewing Cypress & Grove Brewing Co. ,   @cypressandgrovebrewing Daft Cow Brewery , @daftcowbrewery First Magnitude Brewing Company ,   @fmbrewing High Springs Brewing Company ,   @hsbrewing Swamp Head Brewery ,   @swamphead

Jacksonville's Filipino chefs demonstrate that their culinary heritage involves more than lumpia. Jacksonville's Filipino chefs cook with a mission to share their traditions. Photo by Agnes Lopez. If one were to speculate which big city in Florida has the most immigrants from Asia, places like Miami, Orlando or Tampa might come to mind. It may come as a surprise to know it is actually Jacksonville, home to the state’s largest Filipino population, with over 13,000 residents according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community survey. The presence of the U.S. Navy bases in Jacksonville plays a significant role in the size of the Filipino population. Because of the historical and military ties the U.S. has with the Philippines, many Filipinos were able to enlist in the Navy and move to the States. Additionally the city’s health care industry has provided opportunities for the Filipino medical community. Even as they adapted to their new culture, retaining their culinary heritage has been important to Filipino families, and many second generation children have grown up eating traditional dishes at home. Eating meals together is a social staple in the Filipino community. "Cooking is always important to us," said Chef Melanie Cuartelon, chef at Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. She is a second generation Filipino, her parents having migrated to the U.S. in the late 1960's. "If you go to a Filipino house, even if it's just to go and say hi, you are either going to eat something while you're there or you're going to leave with food,” she said. Every family meal is a bonding moment, an important celebration of spending time with one another and being thankful for not only having the ability to nourish themselves, but also to share with others. "I don't think I'd be a chef if I wasn't Filipino," said Calli Marie, co-owner and baker at BREW Five Points. Although she doesn't normally cook or bake Filipino dishes in her job she gives all the credit for her career to her Filipino heritage. "I think that being Filipino in general was the thing that inspired me to cook. Food was always at the center of my life. I just grew up sitting on my grandma's counter squeezing calamansi (a type of citrus similar to lemon) for lemonade. It was something we always did." Now that millennial Filipino-Americans have grown and adapted to both cultures, they're excited to branch out even further and share their culinary experiences. Chef Jojo Hernandez, chef and owner of Abstrakt Filipino Essence Cuisine, was five years old when his father enlisted in the Navy and transferred to America. Prior to his culinary career, Hernandez thought he would end up in the medical field like many first and second-generation Filipinos. "I finished medical school, but I was working in the kitchen. I worked in the doctor's office and then the hospital and I didn't really like it," he said. He ended up landing an apprenticeship back at his old job in the kitchen and having his culinary school paid for by his employer. Family also played a key role in Chef Hernandez's passion for cooking. "That's the only reason I'm cooking now, because of family. I love feeding my family. Every time I go to the restaurant, every time I get to serve my food, I'm serving with my family. That's always in my mind," he said. Hernandez and Cuartelon are part of a growing group of Filipino chefs making their way through the burgeoning culinary community in Northeast Florida, slowly but surely blending traditional dishes with other global cuisines to create new flavor profiles in dining rooms across the area. As they advance in their careers, the hope of the Filipino chefs is that they can take the food they grew up with and introduce it to more and more people. "Now that you have a lot of mature Filipino-American chefs, they're willing to take a chance on their heritage and bring it out to the American food scene," said Chef Wesley Nogueira, chef-owner of Khloe's Kitchen, a local catering company. “I think that's the reason why Filipino food is trending,"Nogueira said. Recognition of the growing influence of Filipino chefs has become a pet project for editorial and food photographer Agnes Lopez. As a result of a life-changing trip to the Philippines, she became inspired to publish a book on Filipino chefs in the community. The chefs she met, including Nogueira, Hernandez and Cuartelon, were so passionate and excited that she brought them together to create a group called Jax Filipino Chefs. What was initially conceived of as a book quickly grew into a documentary scheduled to come out in October, during Filipino American History Month. Producing the book and documentary is a way that Lopez feels she can utilize her professional skills to help put a spotlight on the local chefs. "I have this skill set to give them a voice,” said Lopez. They can't brag about themselves, but I can." The documentary will feature Filipino chefs from restaurants all over the region, including Chef Rick Laughlin, the former Chef de Cuisine at Salt, an award-winning restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island. Although his dishes there don't always involve a Filipino twist, his half-Filipino, half-Irish background is what really drove him into the culinary arts. Who was his biggest influence growing up? "My mother," he said as he looked back on her home-cooked meals during the holidays. "Every chef goes back to their childhood." Laughlin is excited about his contribution to Jax Filipino Chefs, not just for himself, but for all the chefs in the group. "I think everyone's bringing something different. Filipino cuisine is the next new thing. It's much more than [lumpia] and such a melting pot of different cultures," he said, which explains why the hashtag for their Instagram page is #MoreThanLumpia. While the buzz around local Filipino cuisine in restaurants is indeed exciting, Lopez hopes that one outcome of her project is to encourage more second generation Filipinos to learn how to cook traditional meals at home. “They grew up exposed to Filipino food, and now it is their turn to continue on with the culinary heritage,” she said. “We don’t want to lose that knowledge.”