Saute

Any leftover sauce from this recipe would be delicious served with boiled new potatoes or crudités. The sauce keeps 4 days, chilled and covered. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

With the pork, serve sautéed spinach and some steamed baby red-skinned potatoes with butter and chopped fresh dill. Warm apple tartlets from your favorite bakery complete this elegant meal.

A drizzle of chipotle-accented cream boosts the flavors in this refreshing summer soup.

Succotash is a corn and bean dish introduced to the early settlers by Indians. The Yankees most likely used local cranberry beans, a kind of shell bean, but lima beans have become the preferred, readily available substitute. We've also added tomatoes for their bright color and fresh flavor, even though they probably did not enter the New England culinary mainstream until the nineteenth century.

A traditional side dish for the Christmas ham, sausage or spareribs.

Crushed red pepper, caraway and dill accent this simple and colorful salad.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Garden-fresh Thyme Pesto is the star of this elegant entrée, but you can also use purchased or homemade basil pesto.

(Frittata di Funghi con menta) The frittata is a popular appetizer, lunch or light supper in Tuscany, and making it is an art. Tuscans like their frittatas golden on the outside and creamy on the inside. Frittatas usually feature seasonal vegetables like artichokes, asparagus or the wild mushrooms here. Porcini and cantarelli (chanterelles) are the most common wild Tuscan mushrooms, but others can occasionally be found at markets or in secret spots in the woods.

At the restaurant, the ravioli dough is made in-house. We used purchased wonton wrappers instead, making the recipe faster and easier. Note that the ravioli can be assembled ahead of time and frozen.

(Crostini di Fegatini) Crostini means "little crusts," and in Tuscany, almost every meal begins with a platter of toasted bread slices topped with chopped tomatoes, olive paste or this all-time favorite spread made with chicken livers. Use thin slices of an Italian or French country-style loaf, and serve these crostini with the chicken liver spread on top, or just present the pâté in a pretty bowl surrounded by the toasted baguette slices. Salami and prosciutto would be delicious accompaniments.