European

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but may required additional sitting time. Be sure to lightly oil the grill rack again so that it doesn’t stick.

This sauce is really just another variant of Hollandaise, but it is sufficiently famous to be dignified with a separate heading. The sauce calls classically, for a variety of fresh herbs which may be difficult to obtain. Adequate substitutes and dried herbs solve the problem. The only real problem is tarragon. Do not use dried tarragon. If you cannot obtain fresh tarragon, use tarragon packed in vinegar.

The French dessert that's known as clafouti is a pancake crossed with a fruit-filled custard. It's best served warm, right from the skillet. If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, any ovenproof variety is fine. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

(BRACIOLE DI VITELLO AL ROSMARINO) Romagna is famous for its grilled foods, and the aroma of meats sizzling over a wood fire is common in the countryside. Try this with a local dry red wine such as Sangiovese di Romagna or Gutturnio.

The traditional dish of Trapani.

(Mussels with Garlic Butter) "I can't stand snails of any kind, not land snails, not sea snails. But I'm crazy for the butter that accompanies them." Thus pronounced a shopper who was buying a large sack of shiny black mussels at Marée Daguerre, the fish stand in the shopping street in the rue Daguerre. This recipes is for mussels broiled in the butter that usually accompanies snails. You can cook the mussels in the oven, covered, or under the broiler. Under the broiler, the mussels open quicker and the butter sizzles faster, cooking the garlic. Baked, covered, in the oven, though, they keep more of the mussel liquor. Either way, it's a divine way to prepare mussels.

Miniature Tourtières Every French-Canadian home serves a version of tourtière during the holidays. Various thickeners (such as flour, crushed crackers, or even oats) can be used to bind the filling. Our version is made with flour, and the filling is enclosed in a tender biscuit crust. We decorated our pies with a maple-leaf-shaped cutout.*

A light and pretty treat with intense fruit flavors.

This savory, French-inspired dish is also delicious made with mussels instead of, or in addition to, the clams. Either way, it's good with crusty bread to soak up the broth, and a glass of spicy white wine.

(Arrossejat de Fideus amb Llagosta) This Catalan specialty could be described as a pasta cooked like a rice dish. Arrossejat is Catalan for "golden" and refers to the technique of sautéing noodles in oil until golden brown before simmering them in fish stock. The dish is usually prepared in a glazed earthenware casserole known as a cassola, but you can substitute an ovenproof skillet or saut0an with great results. The base of our intensely flavored dish is a sofregit~©on slow-cooked with tomatoes and often garlic and herbs'% foundation for almost every sauce and stewed dish in the region's cooking. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This moist orange-flavored soufflé is rich with white chocolate. Offer snifters of orange liqueur to sip alongside.

(NIVERNAIS)

A rich, earthy first course or side dish.

This dessert is based on an old-fashioned Russian kissel—traditionally a sweetened fruit purée thickened with potato starch, which gives it a puddinglike consistency. We've left the berries whole in order to achieve a more interesting look and texture and substituted cornstarch for the thickener as it's more readily available in the States.