European

This dessert is an Italian takeoff on a classic French dish, Poire Belle-Hélène-poached pear with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Here the pear is teamed with a hazelnut-orange_semifreddo_ (a sweet Italian frozen mousse) and a Frangelico chocolate sauce. For smaller appetites, cut the semifreddo into eight portions and the pears in half.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Pesto made with basil also works beautifully in this dish.

White chocolate custard tops espresso custard in this luxurious make-ahead dessert. It's pretty garnished with fresh strawberries and coffee beans.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 50 min

Nice with grilled fish or chicken, this can also be served on toasted baguette slices as an appetizer.

This bruschetta tastes best with tomatoes fresh from the garden. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

At Valentino, this is prepared with fresh pasta. Wonton wrappers make a convenient substitute.

Zia Maria is a simple but delightful restaurant in Alghero, a popular tourist resort on a part of Sardinia's west coast known as the Coral Riviera. The dining room is very basic; a large fireplace and some antique cooking equipment are the only things to distract you from the traditional Sardinian menu. But that's a good thing, because once you start in on pickled artichokes and mushrooms, wild boar in sweet-and-sour broth, or ricotta ravioli with tomato sauce, you'll appreciate having few distractions. Each dish, like these tangy onions from the restaurant's selection of antipasti, is cooked and presented in straightforward fashion.

The restaurant takes its name from amuse-bouche, a small gift from the chef to "please the mouth." Chicken thighs make a convenient substitute for duck in this pasta dish.

One of Sicily's finest crops is the blood orange with its spicy-sweet flavor. But any variety of orange can be used in this Italian dessert.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Greek Herbed-Spinach Latkes with Feta-Yogurt Sauce. This do-ahead sauce would also be good drizzled over a salad of fresh mixed greens.

In a fresh interpretation of the classic Italian dessert, we've replaced the traditional chocolate and coffee with berries and fruit liqueur. For a garnish, we like the looks of fresh berries, but we used frozen berries in the filling to keep it moist. They're also more uniform in flavor--and less expensive.

It's important to note that the pumpernickel used in this tart should be very dense. Although we prefer the light-brown Danish pumpernickel, the dark German-style variety works just as well. For the filling we've suggested lumpfish caviar, which is readily available in the States; in Sweden, the fish roe called lojrom would probably be used. It comes from bleak, an ocean fish from the Baltic Sea.

This gratin makes a simple accompaniment to roast chicken, pork or even baked eggs.

This hearty dish comes from Havesathe de Havixhorst in the Drenthe Province in De Wijk, the Netherlands.

If you have a set of clay tiles or a baking stone, place it on the oven rack while preheating the oven. It will absorb the heat, and putting a pizza pan or baking sheet directly on top will ensure a crisp crust.

A tangy tomato-herb sauce and Parmesan accent chicken that's cooked in a flash.