European

When you find yourself with day-old bread, make this Tuscan salad, known as panzanella. Coarse-textured, good-quality bread works best. Feel free to improvise by adding olives, anchovies, or canned tuna.

In Italy, prosciutto and melon are combined in a traditional first course. Here, cool, silky bocconcini and torn mint leaves are added to make a refreshing salad—just the thing to begin a meal on a warm summer night.

In this one-pot dish the spinach cooks alongside the pasta. Spoon ricotta and pine nuts onto each serving, and let your guests mix them into the pasta themselves.

Take a break from ordinary tomato sauce with this crowd-pleasing pasta dish. Leaf-Lettuce Salad with Parmesan Crisps (page 27) makes a perfect starter.

Rich and creamy, risotto is Italian-style comfort food. If you like, replace the wine with an equal amount of broth. Arborio rice makes the creamiest risotto, but you can substitute medium-or long-grain white rice.

Niçoise salads are usually made with tuna, but we substituted fresh salmon in this version. You can, of course, make the salad with a couple of cans of tuna; look for Italian oil-packed tuna, which has the best flavor.

A crisp salad dressed with oil, vinegar, and herbs is a light alternative to a side of pasta. The chicken makes wonderful leftovers. Reheat it for 10 minutes, and try it in a sandwich with a little extra sauce on the side.

This classic French sauce also makes an excellent topping for fish, such as seared salmon or trout. For four servings, steam 1 1/2 pounds trimmed asparagus until crisp-tender, toss with butter, and season with salt and pepper, as desired.

This recipe is based on a popular bistro salad. The goat cheese disks can be prepared through step two up to a day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator. Brush the disks with olive oil just before broiling.

From the Friuli region of Italy, the Parmesan wafers known as frico add a crisp and salty counterpoint to the salad.

Depending on the weather, serve this comforting soup hot or cold. You can quickly chill it by placing it into a metal bowl set into an ice bath; stir frequently until the soup reaches the desired temperature.

We use vegetable bouillon cubes to add to the flavor in a lot of our recipes, and they really make all the difference here, adding body and depth to this risotto. Don’t get too concerned about size when you are cutting up the butternut squash. If you have different-sized pieces the smaller ones will soften as they cook and mix in, enhancing the creaminess, and the larger pieces will retain their shape, giving the risotto more texture.

This is the best cheese fondue I’ve ever had—Megan got the recipe when she was in France. You can use most kinds of hard white French or Swiss cheese, but be sure not to use store-bought grated cheese. Those cheeses are tossed in cornstarch so the pieces don’t stick together. If you use them in cheese fondue, the cornstarch forms a hard lump in the pan. Note that this recipe uses a cup of wine—it’s very French to cook with wine—which is one of the things that makes this fondue classic.

Here’s another recipe Jill and I discovered in France (you know how they love their cute little finger foods). These rolls are light and refreshing, making them great for parties, barbecues, or picnics—anywhere you need something that’s easy to transport and fun to eat.

What is focaccia really? Is it pizza? Is it bread? Well, it’s a little bit of both. This version of focaccia is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Just stand back and watch people’s eyes light up as they get the zip from the crushed red pepper. That, along with the subtle taste of the roasted garlic, makes this a perfect food to share—just make sure whoever you talk to eats some of it, too.

I love everything about stuffed shells—love to make them, love the aroma as they’re baking, and even love waiting for the cheese on top to get brown. And, of course, I love to eat them. Here’s the good news: other than the fact that it takes a while to stuff the shells, they’re super easy to make. Plus, you can freeze any leftovers for later.

Everyone who has ever tried this says it’s spectacular. Even my mom, who doesn’t like cheese, likes this soup, which is saying a lot. The soup itself is an awesome combination of cheese and onions. And the soda bread is so nice and crunchy on the outside and squishy on the inside. It’s quite perfect. The only proper way to eat this is to dip the bread in the soup, which means it’s an excuse to eat a lot of bread. This is a great cold weather food, although sometimes in summer I suffer through eating it with the air-conditioning turned way up.