European

Parisians love chocolate, and cooks in Paris might make this with Valrhona, one of the best French brands. Begin preparing the dessert a day ahead.

Florentine summers are hot and sticky — no time to even think about eating a plate of hot pasta. So, when Torquato Innocenti, whose produce I seek out in my local market, mentioned cold garlic pasta I raced home with his vague hints and produced the following dish. As we compared notes the next day, I realized that Torquato's garlic sauce, and not the pasta, was cold. But no one at my table complained. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

(BAGNA CAUDA) The name of this warm dip of melted butter, olive oil, anchovies and garlic means "hot bath." It is usually accompanied by raw vegetables. Pour a dry white Arneis or a Gavi with this.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Bacon and Root Vegetable Stew)

Lavash, a Middle Eastern flatbread, comes in a variety of sizes and textures, from crisp rectangular crackers to large folded pliable rounds. It is the latter called for here. To form the lavash into cups, you'll need a pan with 12 mini-muffin (1/8-cup) molds, each about 1 3/4 inches across the top and 3/4 inch deep. Caponata is a piquant Sicilian dish of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and capers, generously laced with olive oil; this variation is much lighter-and contains no added fat-because it omits the oil, anchovies, and olives.

Called limpa in Sweden, this impressive bread is flavored with a combination of molasses, orange peel, crushed aniseed, and caraway and fennel seeds.

These sweets are enjoyed with coffee or tea at Bewley's on Grafton Street, a Dublin institution that has long been part of the city's folklore and culture.

Good as an entrée or served in smaller portions alongside chicken or beef.

Romesco sauce, a piquant mixture of chilies, nuts, and tomatoes, is a typical seasoning for seafood in the Catalan province of Tarragona. Although fresh coriander is not an ingredient found in the traditional Spanish pantry, its flavor lends a nice touch to this dish.

Sicily, Italy In Sicily, gelato usually doesn't contain any cream or eggs. The coffee and chocolate-almond flavors here are true to tradition; the zabaglione is enriched with eggs.

The best way to get warm and cozy after a day outdoors is with this drink, in Ireland known simply as "hot whiskey."

A southern soufflé that is a delicious addition to the Thanksgiving meal. It's much lighter than corn bread, yet with just as much rich, buttery flavor.

Marillenfleck This is one of the most popular of all coffee-house treats, and almost every baker has the recipe in his or her head. (The proportions are 200 grams each of flour, sugar and butter, but these don't translate as easily in the American volume method of measuring.) This version comes from my friend Gerda Hofer, who related it by heart. Don't be put off by the use of canned fruit, which is consistently flavorful and sometimes preferable to the bland fresh fruit we get too often these days; but you can use fresh fruit if you are sure it is at its peak of flavor. If using fresh apricots, sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons additional sugar before baking.

Pommes de Terre Chateaubriand Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

A beautiful, colorful and delicious appetizer. Open a bottle of Sangiovese with dinner.

This soft polenta is good topped with parmesan and fresh thyme and rosemary.

Sfratti means "sticks" in Italian, as well as "evicted," for at one time landlords were allowed to persuade unwanted and delinquent tenants to leave by force of a rod. A similar practice was employed to chase away Jews during all-too-frequent periods of expulsion. This nut-filled cookie, a popular Italian Rosh Hashannah treat, got its name from its resemblance to a stick, the Jewish sense of humor transforming an object of persecution into a sweet symbol.