European

Once primarily available at farmers’ markets and gourmet groceries, fennel is available in most supermarkets these days (depending on where you live it might be labeled anise). Its mild licorice flavor has a special affinity for pork and for chicken. This dish is very light and clean, with no thickeners or cream to mute the flavors.

Traditionally saltimbocca is made with veal cutlets, rather than chops, but a thicker cut of meat makes for a heartier dish. When you sauté the chops the prosciutto forms a great, salty crust on the outside and the lemon gets caramelized, making a yummy, savory package.

What cooks more quickly than thin chicken cutlets? No wonder they are a weeknight mainstay in most homes. With the addition of saffron, though, they become elegant enough to serve to company. Saffron is a pricy ingredient but it adds a beautiful color; and if you store it in a tightly sealed container it will keep for a long time.

Intimidated by roasting and carving a whole chicken? This dish is just as aromatic and comforting, but is a lot easier to handle and serve. Everything cooks together in one pan, including the sauce.

Here’s an osso buco everyone will love. Consider this a nontraditional Thanksgiving meal; you’ll get both dark and light meat without having to cook a whole turkey. Using a gremolata to spark up the flavor of a long-cooked dish like this one is a very traditional Italian touch that makes a huge difference in the finished dish.

Ground lamb is now very widely available, and it makes a nice change from the usual beef ragù once in a while. This is thick enough to serve in shallow bowls over rice or simply with some nice bread, but you could also increase the amount of marinara sauce to four cups and serve it over pasta.

When you roast tomatoes along with beef it gives the dish a slightly acidic edge that cuts the rich, unctuous quality of the meat. The softened tomatoes go straight into the food processor with some vinegar and parsley for a sauce that is both lighter and tangier than the typical brown gravy. Serve with buttered egg noodles.

I love to prepare and serve stuffed peppers because they make such a beautiful presentation; when you cut into them and the delicious filling spills out, it’s like getting a present. My mother is also partial to stuffed peppers, which she fills with vegetables, meat, pasta—almost anything.

I’ve made this a lot. Even though it’s completely vegetarian, it tastes very full-bodied and complex, with a deep, winy flavor that even meat-lovers will enjoy. I serve it often when I am cooking for a crowd and don’t know how many vegetarians may be in the group.

Roasting brings out the best flavors in fall vegetables, and it’s a super-easy way to cook them, as well: just cut them into cubes and let the oven do the rest. Once puréed they become a warm, mellow sauce that collects in the tubular pasta, so that when you bite one the flavors explode in your mouth.

This recipe comes from a beachside cafe in Capri. Prawns are very popular in Europe, where they are abundant, but here they are a bit harder to find and a little more expensive. Feel free to substitute extra-large shrimp in their place—or leave them out altogether. It will still be a very satisfying, hearty meal. The squash makes the most luxurious, velvety sauce imaginable, with a beautiful orange color.

This variation on my favorite arugula and shrimp salad—served over pasta—tastes as good as it looks. If you keep frozen shrimp in the freezer, a practice I always recommend, this is actually a quick pantry meal, perfect for those late winter/early spring days when everyone wants to start eating a bit lighter.

Creamy, lemony, and delicious, either as an entrée or a side dish. For a fun, elegant touch, serve individual side-dish portions in a hollowed-out lemon cup (see Note). It would make a pretty, festive accompaniment to almost any springtime meal.

I first tasted a risotto similar to this one in South Africa and though at first the idea of adding vanilla to a savory dish sounded a bit odd, I found the flavor combination irresistible. The vanilla adds a lovely aromatic finish but not a lot of sweetness. I consider this the perfect fall dish.

This dish is real comfort food without the meat. It’s great for Sunday family dinners, as a side or a main course, and an equally great way to sneak some greens into your diet. You’ll need a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip for this recipe.

Orecchiete are like little spoons that cup the ingredients and ensure you get a little bit of all the flavors in every bite. This is a particularly fast dish to put together.

This dish is comforting yet elegant, which is why I like to serve it at gatherings during the winter holidays. Best of all, it’s a very quick and easy go-to recipe for when you’re short on time and need to deliver something special.

My brother and sister and I craved this dish so often as kids that we finally learned to make it ourselves; it is actually one of the first dishes I ever made for myself. These days I consider it special-occasion food, not everyday fare, and it’s especially good for Sunday brunch. Add champagne and a fruit salad and you’re done. The basil aioli keeps for up to a week in the fridge and it works as a dip for veggies, or as a sandwich spread.

In my family, baked pastas were always the crowd-pleasers, and I still love them—especially the crusty, cheesy tops. Full of cream and butter, this is a rich indulgence. Put it together a day ahead of time and bake it just before serving if you like.

Todd loves frozen peas and he loves sausage, so this is his kind of recipe, and I created it with him in mind. When you smash the peas, they release their starches into the sauce, making it thick and creamy. To make life a little easier, use a potato masher to smash the peas.