European

These can be cut out the night before, refrigerated unbaked on a baking sheet, and then popped into the oven in the morning. They will be ready in just 20 minutes.

This bean dip is a staple at Fresco — we use it instead of butter with our homemade breads. It will last 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.

PROVENCE This dish is typically made with pitted, brine-cured black olives (Kalamata or Niçois work well), but if olives cassées — the green, fennel-brined olives of Provence — can be found, try them here in equal quantity after draining them. Accompany the steaks with mushrooms sautéed with garlic and herbs. What to drink: A Rhône red, such as a Gigondas, or Syrah.

If you've never thought of roasted squash as a side dish, try this recipe. Just rub pieces of butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until their flesh is tender and roasted to tawny gold. Serve the squash the way it's eaten in country houses in the part of the Emilia-Romagna region where nearly every family makes its own balsamic vinegar. Small bottles of balsamico are set out on the table, and everyone seasons their squash to taste with the vinegar. Try the squash with grilled lamb chops, roast chicken, pork and simple sautéed fish dishes.

Don't be nervous about making these rich and spicy soufflés — they're durable enough to be reheated. And it's normal for the puffy tops to fall when you remove the soufflés from the oven. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr

BURGUNDY Known in France as Côtes de Porc Vigneronnes (Grape Growers' Pork Chops), this provincial dish is typical of the simple yet substantial fare served after a hard day of harvesting grapes. Serve with wilted spinach in cream. What to drink: Red Burgundy or a Burgundian Pinot Noir.

Meatless pasta loaded with bold flavors.

Eremo della Giubiliana is a magical hotel near Ragusa in southeastern Sicily. Housed in a converted fifteenth-century convent and with just nine guest rooms, it manages to combine serene simplicity with modern day pampering. The high-beamed, airy restaurant underscores the feeling and complements the chef's fresh new takes on traditional foods. Each dish of the five-course meal is simple, authentic, and utterly delicious. This orange salad is a wonderful example: Made with the local blood oranges and olive oil, its flavors are both pure and distinctive. Blood oranges make for an impressive and classic presentation, but navel oranges work just as well.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Braised Lamb Shanks .

Vary this yellow cake according to your mood and what's available. For instance, add sliced and lightly sugared fruit on the top of the unbaked batter, or top it with crushed nuts before baking, or split the baked and cooled cake to spread it with a layer of preserves, then dust it with powdered sugar.

This dish from Ciudad in Los Angeles was inspired by the flavors of Portuguese cooking.

In this recipe from Rick Tramonto, chef at Tru in Chicago, chewy pearl barley meets silky European butter in an outstanding alternative to arborio rice risotto. For best results, use Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 hr

Marjorie Farr, Silver Spring, Md.
Use fresh spinach in this dish — frozen will not do. A sprinkle of parsley before serving adds a fresh touch.

"Ever since I tried the polenta with mushrooms at Vinci in Chicago, I've made a point of stopping there when I'm in town," says Colby L. Crabtree of Lexington, Kentucky. "The dish is so popular that the management counts the orders. Every time they hit ten thousand, the guest who requested it gets a free trip to Italy. I’d be happy just to 'win' the recipe."