Bon Appétit

Remarkably easy and delicious dumplings that are similar to Italian gnocchi. Serve these with grilled meat or sausage.

This creamy rice, fragrant with lemon, makes a nice accompaniment to veal. If you like, pack the rice into half-cup custard cups and unmold onto the serving plates. Garnish with additional snipped chives, if desired.

Here's an updated version of the ice cream pie — a dessert popular in America for years. It has a parfait filling instead of ice cream and is assembled in a springform pan. The familiar cookie crust and fudgy topping are still part of the recipe, but the dessert is now sophisticated enough for company.

Leftovers of this moist and flavorful meat loaf make great sandwiches.

Crema catalana is a delicious custard covered with caramelized sugar. There are several Catalan chefs who take credit for having transformed this popular dessert into an ice cream. This version is served in glasses or bowls and drizzled with a creamy caramel sauce.

Adapted from a recipe by Chef Robert McGrath of Windows on the Green, Phoenix, Arizona.

(Sorbetto al Melone)

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

An all-purpose red sauce that's ideal for pasta and meatballs, lasagna, cannelloni, etc.

The herbes de Provence used in this recipes—a blend of dried marjoram, thyme, summer savory, basil, rosemary, fennel seeds and lavender—is typically found in the cooking of southern France. It can be purchased at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets in the States.

(PALOMBO CON PESTO TRAPANESE) Here shark and pesto are teamed up in a great entrée. Offer it with the excellent dry white wine, Nozze d'Oro from Regaleali, the star of the Sicilian wine industry.

Here's an excellent new use for maple syrup. These bar cookies are very sweet and deliciously sticky.

This zesty soup is based on a chicken and curry stew popular in the South. The origin of its name is unclear, but according to one account, it was brought to Savannah in the early 1800s by a sea captain who traveled the spice route from India.

A cucumber and red bell pepper relish and a pilaf made with fragrant rice (like basmati) are perfect partners for the lamb. For dessert, have coconut ice cream topped with sliced bananas. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Chocolate lovers will be in heaven when they taste these ultra-moist treats. The marbled topping works on most bar cookies.