European

This simple feast brings together all my favorite flavors from a short, sweet stay in Bordeaux.

Ah, April in Paris! Word of advice: pack a parka! I have been in France twice in April, once to Paris, once to Bordeaux. Twice I froze. Oh, well. The hot ham and cheese tastes better then.

Tartines are open-face sandwiches that are especially popular in Belgium. This one is great for B or D: Brunch or Dinner.

A pretty basic version to get you started.

This is a mix-up of pasta e fagioli and minestra. Again, my indecisiveness is at play.

This dish can be made 100 ways. It’s one of the first dishes you eat as an Italian kid: macaroni with butter and ricotta cheese. Once you grow up, you add stuff in, but the base remains the same. I’ll try to limit myself and just give you my top five versions.

This dish is one buttery, delicious, edible ode to spring. (Also, the flavor is so sexy, it could bring on some serious birds-and-bees action!)

I had these mini versions of stuffed cabbage, meatballs in radicchio, in Rome, near the Spanish Steps at Enotec’Antica (Ancient Wine Bar), which is a real haunt of mine when in the city. This is a total guess at their recipe, but it’s really tasty—try it, soon! It’s closer to you tonight than Rome is, I bet!

Eat well, eat more! Chew this one until you bust!

Some great flavors, two entirely different ways to serve them.

If you don’t groove on the shrimp, use 1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenders, 20 large sea scallops, or even 8 pieces of calamari, 2 per person, and grill in the shrimps’ place.