Parsley

The bright flavors of fresh parsley and garlic make this vibrant sauce sauce a favorite accompaniment to Argentine beef. It packs a punch, so start with just a drizzle.

Gnocchi à la Parisienne Parisienne gnocchi are made from pâte à choux, a versatile dough made by cooking flour and water together until the flour cooks, after which eggs are stirred in. It can then be piped into various shapes and baked for profiteroles and éclairs for dessert, or savory preparations such as gougères, or gently poached in water as gnocchi. Parisienne gnocchi are tasty, satisfying morsels that, like Italian gnocchi or any pasta, can be paired with all kinds of ingredients and transformed into countless dishes. They're excellent simply sautéed in butter. They can be additionally flavored with fines herbes, mustard, and cheese. At Bouchon, we don't serve much pasta or rice, so we use gnocchi as an interesting base for a number of our vegetarian dishes. They're not a classic bistro food, but the technique is a French one, dating back to before Escoffier. This recipe will make about 240 gnocchi, double what you'll need for the Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Butternut Squash . Once they've been poached, gnocchi can be frozen for a month to six weeks.

Salade de Laitue The word laitue comes from the Latin word for milk, from the milky juices some lettuces can exude. Hearty, buttery Bibb leaves are a good example of the rich, juicy quality lettuce can have. They're so big and rich, in fact, that this salad almost qualifies as a meal in itself. This salad is all about freshness. Use plenty of freshly picked fines herbes: parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil; harder herbs, such as savory, rosemary, and marjoram, would be too strong. Finish it with a squeeze of lemon juice. Buy nice rounded, mature heads of Bibb lettuce, with good weight; these will have the greatest amount of tender yellow interior leaves. If the leaves have become at all soft and leathery, a rinse in cold water will refresh them.

Inspired by Monsoon Wedding Monsoon Wedding is an intensely colorful chronicle of a wealthy northern Indian family's preparations for their daughter's marriage. During the run-up to the event, the bumbling wedding planner falls in love with the family's maid. Food plays a central role in the nuptial festivities.

Hearty lentils and a creamy cauliflower puree make this a particularly satisfying fish dish. Curry powder is an exotic surprise in the lentils.

Serve with: Tabbouleh (bulgur salad), and green beans sautéed with almonds.

Armandino Batali of Salumi in Seattle, writes: "My son, Mario Batali, may be the most recognizable foodie in the family, but the Batalis' interest in Italian cooking and culture goes back generations. My grandfather opened Seattle's first Italian-food import store in 1903. It was located just a few steps from where my restaurant, Salumi, is now, and it's one of the things that inspired me to get into the business. "The idea behind Salumi was to create a restaurant, deli, and meat factory in one place, just like the salumerias in Italy. We're known for homemade sausages and salami, but we also attract a large lunchtime crowd. Some of the specials, like the meat loaf and frittata, have been in our family for years. They're also easy to make at home." Here's a great way to use leftover pasta or any pasta or marinara sauce.

Robyn Fuoco of Mainly Café and Bakery, Philadelphia, PA, writes: "Although I don't have any formal culinary training, I've spent my entire career working as a chef. You could say the restaurant business just runs in the family. My grandfather had his own restaurant, my husband is a chef, and I'm co-owner of the Mainly Café and Bakery, where I also happen to be the pastry chef. After I've spent all day baking — and tasting — sweets, it's good to go home and make "real food" to eat. Because I'm busy, I like dinnertime to be organized. My secret is keeping the pantry well stocked with basics like olive oil, kosher salt, and a variety of pastas and beans."

The Meyer lemon's moderate acidity ties in nicely with the sweetness of the crab, though standard lemons can also be used.

Loren uses a mortar and pestle to pound the ingredients for her pestolike sauce, but we found it much easier to blend them in a food processor.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Italian Parsley Sauce)

This recipe was created to accompany Roast Goose with Port Gravy.