Rosemary

Start with chopped fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic spooned onto toasted baguette slices. Grill slices of potato to have with the tuna; follow with biscotti and fresh figs.

To pit the olives easily, just press them with the flat side of a knife until the meat separates from the center.

If you've got a rosemary bush in your garden, now's the time to use it to make skewers. Or, to keep things simple, just use bamboo skewers (you'll need 60)—the kebabs will still look great.

(Cacciucco) This seafood soup, called cacciucco (meaning "mixture"), is a specialty of Livorno, a fishing port that is Tuscany's second-largest city. It has been made for hundreds of years, and variations of it appear all along the Tuscan coast. Traditionally, at least five types of fish and shellfish are included (one for each "c" in the name). If you like, do as the Italians do, and place a slice of toasted bread in each bowl before ladling the soup over.

Crown roasts are often done with pork, but lamb also makes for a festive presentation—and it's a delicious change of pace. Request the roasts from the butcher ahead of time, since they are usually prepared to order. Pour a Syrah with dinner if you've chosen this main course.

Think of these as a cross between potato chips and roasted potatoes. They'd be a perfect side dish for a variety of main courses (especially those with sauces— they're made for dipping) or, better still, as a crisp alternative for boiled potatoes in a salade niçoise.

Our food editors agree that this is one of the best-tasting and most elegant shepherd's pies they've ever had. The recipe is not as complicated as it appears at first glance—the different components all come together to make a complete meal in a single dish. The potatoes are stiffer than the average mash because they will be forming the crust for the pie.

Any leftovers are great added to the Tuscan Rice Salad or for sandwiches.

On the island of Corsica, whole fish is simply baked or grilled for maximum flavor. Local cooks often use mountain trout, sea bream, grouper or mullet, but you can use sea trout, lingcod or sea bass with good results.

A delicious entrée from L'Apogée.

The versatile, easy-to-make puree, in this recipe also adds terrific flavor to sandwiches, pizzas and pastas. Olivada is an olive spread, sometimes called black olive cream, and is available at Italian Markets, specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.

At the fish market, ask them to remove the head, tail and bones from the trout, then to cut each trout into two fillets, leaving the skin intact.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.