European

This is a classic French preparation that is easy to prepare and quite light. Once you have mastered the base, you can add any fruit that you have on hand. It is a great brunch dish since it is not quite an entrée nor is it sweet enough to be a dessert. One omelette is just enough for two people, and since I think that it is almost impossible to make an attractive omelette large enough to feed six, it is best to make one recipe at a time when feeding more than two people. You can keep the finished omelettes warm in a preheated 300° oven while you make the necessary number.

This is a typical Norman recipe, a way to use up the little bits of cheese that somehow manage to end up on a cheese platter. It is delicious.

Truffle oil adds an earthy nuance, but using olive oil will also result in a delicious bread.

Ribollita In leaner times, this hearty soup provided a delicious way for Tuscans to use their leftovers: Ribollita means "reboiled," and the soup was always eaten two days in a row. Plus, it was poured into the bowl over a slice of stale bread, which we recommend that you do, too. Begin making it two days ahead, and don't leave out the final drizzle of olive oil.

We adapted this dish from a recipe in La Cuisine Spontanée by Swiss chef Frédy Girardet. Braising the chicken breasts over the leeks keeps them satisfyingly moist and tender. Crusty bread is a good accompaniment.

Active time: 1 hr. Start to finish: 1 hr.

A quintessential Polish comfort food, pierogies can be stuffed with potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut, or wild mushrooms. Here, dried porcini are combined with cremini mushrooms, adding a woodsy depth to the filling. Served with golden sautéed onions and sour cream, these dumplings make a delicious main dish.

This may not be as good as a true foie gras, but it's similar enough in flavor for a dish that costs only pennies to make. Not only can the pâté be served on toast — it can also serve as a finish for a classic Beef Wellington or enhance a stuffing or a meat loaf.

Begin preparing the custards a day ahead so that they can chill overnight.

At one time, musicians who entertained in Catalan countryside were paid with dried fruit and nuts. This came to be known as the "musician's dessert," which is still served to this day. Many places have updated the custom by turning the "pay" into a tart. Here's a rendition, with a rich caramel topping and sweet crust.

By using a microwave to melt the chocolate, you can whip up a batch of these sophisticated truffles in no time. The ground espresso beans add great coffee flavor. Serve the truffles directly from the refrigerator because they soften quickly at room temperature.

A bagged lettuce mix with "Mediterranean" greens would go nicely here when tossed with red wine vinaigrette and served with ciabatta bread. End with pears and a plate of bittersweet chocolate-nut toffee.

For this salad choose a very fresh, tightly closed artichoke with no brown edges and do all the prep work right before serving to prevent discoloration. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

The aroma of sausage simmering in tomatoes expresses Naples as well as any long-cooked ragù. Indeed, the ensuing sauce is often called ragù di salsicce. In this recipe, you produce just enough sauce for a first course of pasta — either spaghetti or ziti is perfect — with a beautiful bonus of meat for the second course. To make the most of the sauce, set aside only a spoonful to top each portion of sausage, then add the cooked pasta to the sauce, turning the pasta in the sauce until it is evenly dressed and has soaked up some of the sauce's savor.

Poisson à la Niçoise Typical Niçois ingredients—including tomatoes, fennel, anchovies and olives—flavor this dish from Auberge des Arts. At the restaurant it's made with red mullet (rouget), which is a local fish. We've substituted red snapper.

At the restaurant Antico Martini in Venice, Italy, they include the scallop coral-or roe-in the dish and use fresh porcini when in season.