Mascarpone

A cocoa shell forms a crisp foundation for two silky-smooth fillings: an even layer of creamy, tangy mascarpone cheese and gorgeous rosettes of espresso-flavored chocolate ganache. The flavors are strong, yet not particularly sweet; if you prefer, you can mix one to two tablespoons of sugar into the mascarpone filling. To produce perfect ganache every time, make sure the mixture is at room temperature before you start to beat it with an electric mixer. Any warmer or colder, and the mixture may seize or become grainy.

This springtime stunner is gorgeous to behold—and very enjoyable to eat. Thinly sliced strawberries are laid in a concentric pattern atop a large round of pastry dough. Although the galette needs no embellishment, basil-infused cream lends a sophisticated touch to each slice.

Ground gingersnap cookies form the crunchy crust of this pie filled with layers of vanilla and chocolate custard.

FLAVOR BOOSTER Naturally sweet, pears become even more so when baked until very tender. They are delicious on their own or topped with a dollop of rich mascarpone cheese and crumbled almond-flavored cookies for a slightly more lavish treat.

In Tijuana, as soon as the days get a little warmer, the street vendors start to appear with giant bunches of squash blossoms. I grew up eating squash blossoms sautéed and stuffed in quesadillas, served with fresh raspberries. The addition of mascarpone, an Italian triple-cream cheese, takes the dish to a whole new level.

It’s no secret that I love mascarpone cheese—and who doesn’t love bacon? Stir them together and you have a super-creamy, elegant dip that tastes like the most decadently topped baked potato you’ve ever had. The mix is surprisingly versatile, too: thin it down a bit with milk and use it as a dressing for greens or a sauce for salmon or chicken.

Golden brown on the outside, melting and sweet on the inside, these are best hot, right out of the pan, but they hold up even after they have cooled. It’s fine to use frozen blueberries for the filling, but be sure to thaw and drain them first or they will turn the cheese filling an unappealing gray.

Mascarpone cheese gives this dessert a smooth, creamy texture, making it more like a sherbet than an ordinary granita. Best of all, you don’t need to scrape it as it freezes to create icy granules, so it’s truly a snap to make. Serve it with tiny glasses of limoncello for a perfect summer dessert.

Only the mascarpone and the ladyfingers in this lemony dessert give a nod to a traditional tiramisù, but my California spin on this beloved dessert is just as addictive. I think lemon makes everything taste a bit lighter (so I can eat more without feeling weighed down!), and the hazelnuts add a delicate flavor and lots of crunch. So while no one will mistake this for the original, I promise it will make anyone you serve it to very, very happy.

Portobello mushrooms are one of the most versatile, hearty, and prized ingredients in Italian cooking. When I see large, meaty portobellos at the grocery store, I immediately think of all the ways my mother prepared them, and one of my favorites was grilled and stuffed with sausage, Gorgonzola, and fresh herbs. Serve the mushrooms as a side dish or as a meal in itself. Either way, you’ll be surprised at how quickly they disappear.

Cutlets cooked à la milanese—breaded in a cheesy crumb coating and pan-fried until crisp—are popular in every part of Italy (and here, for that matter!). They are usually made with veal, but my little aunt Carolyna wanted something she could serve her college friends, many of whom don’t eat veal. So I substituted chicken for the veal and added fennel to the quick pan sauce in this dish I devised for her; it is quite light and fresh-tasting, yet still true to the original.

You can’t really go wrong with a beef tenderloin. It’s a prime cut of meat that can be pricey, but I consider it for the holidays and special occasions. Really, it’s so tender and flavorful that you don’t have to do too much to make it taste delicious. The crust on this tenderloin, with garlic paste, cumin, and coriander, is so simple yet a wonderful surprise, and the basil-curry mayo is perfectly herby, spicy, and creamy. With any leftovers, you can make some pretty gourmet sandwiches, too.

This dish hails from northern Italy, where the climate is mushroom-happy and cream sauces are the norm. In lean times, frugal Italian cooks often substituted mushrooms for meat in dishes like this one because their meaty texture and earthy flavor give the sauce real substance. I often make this as a veggie option for parties, and even the carnivores go for it.

The sweetest, best kind of dates are Medjools. They’re large, so they are easy to fill, meaty, and chewy. Stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto, they provide a perfect sweet-salty mouthful in every bite. Serve these with a crisp white wine as the ideal before-dinner tidbit.

Every region of Italy makes some form of these fried dough pastries called zeppole. They can be sweet or savory, with goodies embedded in the dough or stuffed after frying. Zeppole are especially prepared for St. Joseph’s Day (March 19), during Lent, for the Christmas Vigilia (Eve), and on holidays. When sweet, they are usually dusted with powdered sugar and served hot. You can find them in every Little Italy in the United States around the holidays.

This is a Cinderella dessert story. From simple leftovers—some coffee, leftover cake or cookies, an enrichment of cream or mascarpone—a prince of a dessert is born. Tiramisù is an Italian creation but its popularity in America began in San Francisco, and today it is as beloved in the United States as it is in Italy. In Italy this kind of dessert is categorized as dolce al cucchiaio (desserts to be eaten with a spoon), as is zuppa inglese. Tiramisù can be made in advance, keeps well, is great to serve big numbers, and can even be frozen and remain delicious.

Italian cheesecake is one of the easiest Italian desserts to make, and, yes, one can add raisins, orange, or pine nuts. But I recall my grandmother’s simple version, made from goat’s-milk ricotta with minimal sugar, and it was delicious. In America, the cream-cheese version, of much smoother consistency, is common, but an Italian will willingly partake of the crumbly consistency of ricotta cheesecake, any time.

Here’s a great party dish that feeds a horde and can be made a day ahead and baked at the last minute. It can handle an endless amount of fiddling—from adding more vegetables (I’ve tucked in layers of sautéed sliced yellow and green zucchini, eggplant, red and green peppers, and mushrooms, to name a few) to tweaks like eliminating all cheese (including in the pesto) for a vegan version created for my lactose-intolerant daughter (see Variation). Buy prepared pesto if you want less prep work.

Mascarpone cheese is a little fussy. It breaks really easily, so it is important here to make sure that both the lemon curd and the mascarpone are cold. Don’t even think about overmixing this!

You could measure my life in health-food shops. It is to them I turn for the bulk of my pantry shopping, from parchment-colored figs and organic almonds to sea salt and cubes of fresh yeast. Their shelves are a constant source of inspiration and reassurance. It is also where I first came across organic vegetables, long before the supermarkets saw them as a moneymaker or the organic-box schemes would turn up at your door. It was these pine-clad shops, with their lingering scent of patchouli, that introduced me to the joys of the organic rutabaga. To this day I wouldn’t go anywhere else for my lentils and beans, though I can live without the crystals and self-help manuals. There is something endlessly reassuring about their rows of cellophane-encased dates and haricot beans, their dried nuggets of cranberry, and jars of organic peanut butter. And where else can you get a incense stick when you need one? Health-food shops rarely used to be without a carrot cake on the salad counter, usually next to the black-currant cheesecake and the deep whole-wheat quiche. Good they were, too, with thick cream cheese icing and shot through with walnuts. I never scorned them the way others did, finding much pleasure in the deep, soggy layers of cake and frosting. This was first published in The Observer five or six years ago, and rarely does a week go by without an email asking for a copy to replace one that has fallen apart or stuck to the bottom of a pan. Few things make a cook happier than someone asking for one of your recipes.