Italian

The rich flavors of sausage and broccoli rabe stand up beautifully to the earthy taste of whole wheat pasta. Broccoli rabe is one of my favorite vegetables, but it has a bitter taste that isn't for everyone. Feel free to substitute regular broccoli in this recipe if you prefer.

Fettuccine Alfredo, with its ribbons of pasta coasted in a luxurious cheese sauce, is the very definition of decadent comfort. This recipe is all that—redefined. Zucchini ribbons mingle harmoniously with the noodles, allowing a big serving, healthfully. The sauce is made creamy with thickened milk but kept full flavored with plenty of real, fresh grated cheese.

Though modern spins on this recipe classic often contain anchovies or anchovy paste, the original did not. Its delicate anchovy flavor came from Worcestershire sauce. To ensure that things move smoothly, have all ingredients measured and ready to go at the outset.

A combination of whipped cream and ice cream gives semifreddos a frozen mousselike silkiness. The rich chocolate sauce is just the icing on the sundae.

Combine rich egg noodles with the best of the summer harvest for a gorgeous dinner that requires a bit of chopping, but very little cooking.

This pasta salad is a clever take on a well-loved soup. Because it's served at room temperature, it makes a great side dish at a picnic or barbecue. It's colorful and extremely flavorful, with pesto, beans, and vegetables.

Warm spices, supersweet Sun Gold tomatoes, and a short cooking time reinvent the ordinary marinara.

Twelve years ago, I made a simple bowl of "strawberries pazzo"—pazzo means "crazy" in Italian — for my friend Ann Spivack (this book's co-writer). The combination of strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper has been part of my repertoire for decades. Ann thanked me by baking me this pazzo cake. This dessert—while easy to make—is a cut above a standard strawberry shortcake. The cake batter is very forgiving and comes out well when baked on your grill or in your oven. Bake this in a standard 8-by-8-inch baking pan in your oven; if baking inside a covered grill, pour the batter into a cast-iron skillet, enameled cast-iron baking dish, or Dutch oven. The key to the herbed crème fraîche is a light touch with the fresh herbs. You don't want to overwhelm the cake. We used rosemary but small tender basil leaves are delicious too. We dressed up this cake for our Harvest Dinner by drizzling on a balsamic glaze, spooning Roasted Strawberries onto the plate, and finishing with an herbed crème fraîche. You can serve all three with the cake, any one of them, or forget all three of them and just serve the cake simply with a light dusting of confectioners' sugar.

Toss the classic Italian combination of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil with pasta shells for a dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes.

These biscotti-like cookies are extra delicious dipped in an after-dinner drink such as Vin Santo.

We love a classic pesto Genovese. But why be limited to basil? Swapping in flat-leaf parsley makes for a balanced sauce that allows you to really taste the nuts, the olive oil, the Parmesan. Sturdy parsley is also easier to find year-round (and more affordable) than basil. Use this sauce as you would any pesto: spooned over grilled vegetables, spread on a sandwich, and, yes, swirled into pasta. Bonus: Parsley pesto holds its vibrant color much longer than the other stuff.

Named for Amatrice, a town northeast of Rome, this pasta is traditionally served with a long noodle like bucatini, but we like how shorter penne captures the spicy, meaty bits of sauce inside the tube.

Italian Green Sauce for Fish or Meat An Italian edition of sauce verte, salsa verde goes with bollito misto, a northern Italian extravaganza of simmered veal, chicken, sausage, tongue, and more; but it's even better with plain poached, steam-poached, grilled, or oven-baked fish. Make it in a processor, following these directions; or, for a finer texture, make it with a mortar and pestle, as directed in the preceding sauce verte recipe. In essence, this is another version of pesto.

You might like to double up the ingredients here, because this is effectively two meals in one. You start by making a wonderful, rich mushroom risotto, which you could serve warm one night (perhaps finished with a drizzle of olive oil), and then you could make these rice balls for the following evening. They are perfect with a glass of prosecco (or champagne if you haven't really gotten the hang of this economizing business).

Almost nothing makes me happier than buttercream at the perfect temperature, a small offset spatula, and a beautiful cake waiting to be frosted. There are different types of buttercreams, but I prefer the Italian-meringue version, perhaps because its consistency is very similar to thick oil paint, Thiebaud's medium in Display Cakes. If you're making one of the variations, ensure that whatever you're adding is at room temperature and incorporate it slowly.

Using chicken thighs instead of breasts ensures juicy cutlets.

Risotto only sounds intimidating—if you can stir, you can make it. Poaching the eggs ahead of time should quell any lingering performance anxiety.

Martini drinker? Try this Italian take on the Vesper, which uses the slightly sweet aperitif Cocchi Americano.

When working with big flavors, you don't need big quantities. "There's something to be said for restraint," says chef Chris Kuziemko of Chicago's Publican Quality Meats, a butcher shop that uses house-cured meat to make incredible sandwiches. Take his lead and swap the grocery store cold cuts for a special cured meat like soppressata or prosciutto, and indulge in a quality cheese. You'll build something beautiful without having to supersize. Just be sure to balance all the bold notes: In this pulled-back panino, Kuziemko uses a sharp provolone to cut the fat and the slightly sweet flavor of the coppa, and honey to temper the spicy-bitter broccoli rabe pesto. Because when no single ingredient dominates, each one can shine.

This stew uses bottled clam juice, a smart shortcut to a robust broth.