Parsley

Dijon mustard and dry white wine add French flair to this longtime favorite.

Great with chicken, turkey burgers or steak.

Be sure to serve this with thick slices of good bread to soak up the dressing.

A one-pot Moroccan meal from Lotfi's in New York. Serve the stew with couscous or flat bread.

The tomato topping for these crostini is based on that of a "fettunta pomodoro" (a variation of bruschetta made with whole-wheat peasant bread) sampled at Florence's Cantinetta Antinori, owned by the well-know winemaking family. To create visual variety for our presentation, we have made half of the crostini with the black olive paste on top and the rest with the red tomato mixture on top. Those who prefer a simpler recipe can sprinkle all of the bread slices with Parmesan before toasting (doubling the amount of cheese) and top all of the crostini with the tomato mixture and then the olive paste.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. If fingerling potatoes are not available, small red potatoes, halved, may be substituted.

From the Temple House in Ballymote, Ireland.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For centuries, the French have been braising duck as a way to tenderize it, whether the duck was wild or tame (use only farm-raised duck in the recipe below). The slight bitterness of turnips nicely offsets the flavorful meat rich but simple sauce. The appropriate wine choice here would be French-splurge a bit for the season and pour a good Burgundy or Chablis with this.

For easier crumbling, chill the cheese before adding it to the salad. The French lentils called for here are sold at specialty foods stores; regular brown lentils can be used, and the cooking time is about the same.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Not just for afternoon tea, these sandwiches also accompany cocktails well.

If the excess fat essential to this recipe has been trimmed away from the tail end, ask your butcher for some extra chicken fat, which will be used to help brown and crisp the skin. Uncork a California Pinot Noir. See how to cut up a whole chicken (also called "jointing a chicken") in our streaming technique video.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.