European

Three make a meal, but a bunch make fun party hors d'oeuvres. Look for the rolls at a local bakery.

From chef Alex Seidel at Fruition Restaurant in Denver, a beautiful tarte Tatin with plums standing in for the apples. This can also be served with vanilla ice cream instead of the orange crème fraîche.

The soft, slightly sweet bread called pulla is made with plenty of butter, which results in tender pieces that can be pulled apart, bite by bite.

Guests are always tickled by their own individual desserts, and after a light summer meal, these tartlets are just the thing. A flaky crust cradles plump crescents of fruit accented with almonds and Amaretto.

Dessert dumplings play a cherished role in Hungary. The tender dough, similar to Italian potato gnocchi, forms a pillowy ball around lightly sweetened plums. The finishing touch? A buttery mixture of bread crumbs, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon sugar.

This recipe was created by chef Geraldine Ferraro of the Four Swallows Restaurant on Bainbridge Island in Washington. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

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Why you'll make it: Because it's the tastiest way we know to use up all those ripe tomatoes you've got at the ready. The flavors of cold soup become muted once the soup is thoroughly chilled. Before serving the gazpacho, check the salt and vinegar and then adjust them, if need be.

This can be tossed with a pound of pasta (serve warm or chilled), used as a topping for grilled chicken, or spread onto toasted slices of baguette or focaccia.

This classic "green sauce" (not related to the Mexican tomatillo salsa of the same name) can be used as a dip for crudités, grilled shrimp, or focaccia; or spooned over grilled fish, chicken, or lamb.

Bourbon lends depth to the sauce and extra sweetness to the cream filling, but this dessert is fantastic even without it.

This creamy semifreddo captures the heady flavor of ripe summer peaches. It's also a gorgeous showpiece that's perfect for entertaining, since it can be made well in advance of a dinner party.

A little easy preparation, plus time, yields a gorgeous old-fashioned English dessert that showcases summer berries in the most glorious way. The bread retains a bit of its texture and absorbs all the natural juices exuded by the berries for a cool, smooth intensity.

The vegetables, along with the canned Italian tuna, in this colorful tossed salad create a positively satisfying meal. (Using an imported brand of tuna will make all the difference.)

For this Spanish-inspired pasta, you break the dried noodles and cook them more like rice — the result is a silky mix speckled with crunchy almonds, smoky chorizo, and aromatic saffron.

As in the classic recipe from Richard Olney's Simple French Food that inspired this one, two key innovations ensure a moist, incredibly succulent chicken. First, the birds are spatchcocked, meaning they're butterflied and spread flat so that both the white meat and the dark can be perfectly cooked; second, an herbed-ricotta filling is pushed under the skin, puffing slightly during cooking and extending the meat's flavor in a creamy direction. Actually, you'll notice how much we liked the filling — we call for extra to be baked in a separate dish so that everyone gets a helping. The filling becomes a cross between a popover and a soufflé in texture, with oregano and parsley supplying a suggestion of the Provençal countryside.

• Filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before using. • Pissaladière strips can be baked 3 hours ahead and kept, uncovered, at room temperature.

To turn this starter into a main course, top it with skewers of grilled shrimp.