European

This classically simple milliard is similar to a clafouti - both desserts are a cross between a cake and a custard and are about as thick as a thin cake layer.

(SPUMONE AL CIOCCOLATO E MANDORLE) Here's an elegant dessert of Neapolitan origin that manages to be rich and light at the same time. Its airy texture is reflected in its name, which comes from the Italian word for foam, spuma.

This cool Italian dessert is the perfect conclusion to a pasta dinner.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Pear Charlottes with Chamomile Crème Anglaise .

A milk pudding that dates back to the Middle Ages, syllabub was first prepared by milking the cow straight into a bowl containing "Sille," a wine that used to be made in Silléry, in France's Champagne region. "Bub" was medieval slang for a bubbly drink. There are a number of syllabub recipes in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Irish cookbooks. This modern version calls for a sweet dessert wine and whipping cream.

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

For more information about forming and frying these pastry spirals, see Our Big Fat Greek Pastries.

(Pompe à l'Huile)

Taglierini (also known as tagliolini) are 1/16-inch-wide ribbons of pasta. This recipe was created to accompany Taglierini with Caramelized Scallops and Rosemary Beurre Blanc .

(Teules de Taronja) These crisp cookies are shaped like the terra-cotta roof tiles, teules (tejas in Castilian Spanish), that top village houses—old and new—throughout Spain. Almonds are a common ingredient in Catalan cookies, but we took another cue from the Moors and added candied orange.

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

This simple union of two splendid regional specialties is eaten throughout Emilia-Romagna.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Madeira is combined with Cointreau, honey and spices in a simple English-inspired hot drink for the holidays.

Nudies? In Florentine dialect they’re called gnudi, nudies, poking fun at a dish from the Casentino, a neighboring area that makes their greens and ricotta gnocchi with the same filling Florentines use for ravioli. Nudies because they’re not wearing pasta. Pronounced YNOO-dees. Spinach is used in Florence but wild greens are common in the mountainous Casentino. And ravioli are stuffed with wild greens in many regional recipes. Use wild greens if you can get them, otherwise use chard or spinach, whichever is fresh and tender. Traditionalists may want to search for sheep’s milk ricotta, which yields richer results, but everyone else can get by with whole cow’s milk ricotta. Drain watery ricotta in a metal sieve for 30 minutes if necessary. Cooks in search of a labor-intensive experience can form nudies by hand, one at a time, or use the 2-spoon French quenelle method. I prefer to pipe the mixture from a plastic bag onto a floured countertop, sprinkle the blobs with flour, and lightly roll to form walnut-sized, roughly shaped balls. Serve the nudies with melted butter or tomato or meat sauce, sprinkled with Parmigiano, and baked in the oven to melt the cheese.