Italian

This tasty Italian-American invention (you just won’t find it in Italy) looks like it’s a heavy dish, but the vodka kicks in and heats up the back of your throat to cut through the heavy cream. You can buy it in a jar, but because it’s a cinch to make and very yummy, it’s definitely worth taking the few minutes to make it from scratch. I like to serve it with rigatoni or penne.

This is Rome’s most famous pasta sauce, but the recipe actually originated in a town outside of Rome called Amatrice. This sauce is bold and perfectly balanced with tangy tomatoes, sweet onion, and the salty meatiness of pancetta. My parents would make it for dinner on weeknights when they either didn’t have a lot of time to cook or when my mom hadn’t gone to the grocery store. In the time it takes to boil the water the sauce is finished. Perfect with bucatini, perciatelli, or spaghetti.

My family makes this fresh, uncooked tomato sauce with cherry tomatoes. If you can’t find them, substitute with any sweet tomatoes. But there’s just no point in making this recipe at all if the tomatoes aren’t at their peak of ripeness. This sauce is made all over Italy in the summer, when tomatoes are in season, but only in Rome is it known as alla Checca. I like to serve it with a long, thin strand such as spaghettini or angel hair; the fresh flavors seem to go perfectly with these delicate shapes.

This is a new way to serve the classic combination of prosciutto with melon, one of Italians’ famously favorite ways to start a meal. You could pierce the prosciutto purses with toothpicks to make them easier to eat. And to make the preparation easier, be sure to place the block of Parmesan in the freezer for a few minutes, so that when you shave it, it won’t crumble.

This is one of my favorite combinations; the salty prosciutto and creamy melted fontina cheese make my mouth water. It’s amazing how grilling the sandwich brings all the ingredients together, turning an everyday sandwich into the embodiment of comfort food.

A great way to add just a little something extra to my basic marinara sauce.

This is a great way to use up leftover roasted red peppers. When I and my two brothers and sister were kids, my parents often served it as an afternoon snack to ward off our hunger before dinner was ready.

It’s easy these days to buy roasted peppers in a jar, but when making a red pepper salad (where it’s all about the peppers), I take that little extra step and roast my own. Nothing beats that great fresh-roasted flavor. It’s a classic antipasto dish from the Piedmont region, now popular all over Italy.

I use only a few store-bought products. But this one, when wrapped in prosciutto or rolled in cheese, makes for a great-tasting and super-easy antipasto. And when you are making a large meal from scratch, a few shortcuts are always welcome. Your guests will thank you when the entrée is on time because you didn’t have a meltdown trying to bake your own bread.

The word pinzimonio means “combination”—a very simple one of olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s used as a dip for raw vegetables, served as an antipasto in the summer. Try it for the refreshing Italian variation on the tired old plate of crudités with gooky dip.

This breakfast sandwich has been passed down through our family: My grandfather used to make it with my mom, and she would make it with us. Now I’m passing it on to you.

The perfect snack food—sweet and spicy and crunchy and totally satisfying. The nuts can be made two days ahead; store airtight at room temperature.

This is a staple in my kitchen; it’s a fantastic flavoring agent that I can use at a moment’s notice. I even like to pop my popcorn in it (recipe follows). It could also be used for dipping breads or vegetables, or as the base of a salad dressing.

In the past few years, it’s become all the rage for restaurants to serve a little saucer of olive oil, instead of butter, for diners to dip their bread in while they have the aperitivo and wait for their first courses. This simple recipe is not only great for dipping, but can also be used to liven up the flavors in other dishes—as your cooking oil, or in salad dressing, or just drizzled over grilled fish or meat. It’ll keep in the fridge for a month.

For a quick and extremely easy antipasto, whip up this very simple recipe. You can use any single olive variety or combination you want; some are salty and briny, some fresh-tasting, some green or black or brown, some wrinkly and pungent, some smooth and mellow. I like a simple mix of one green and one black variety. This recipe can be made one week ahead and refrigerated.

This recipe is all about assembly. And when you’re having people over at the last minute, having a dish like this on hand is key. You could also serve the tapenade with bread or crackers, instead of the lettuces, for a more portable snack. And tapenade can be made a day ahead, leaving you more time with your guests or family.

This sandwich made of mozzarella, tomato, and basil is my version of a BLT. It’s simple, quick, and oh so yummy! The term alla Margherita was invented in 1889 when an official from the royal palace asked a local to make pizzas for Queen Margherita. Her favorite was the one made with three toppings: tomato (red), cheese (white), and basil (green)—the tricolore of the Italian flag. So anything using those three toppings is known as alla Margherita.

When asparagus is in season in springtime, use it to capture the flavors of the garden with a minimal amount of effort. It cooks quickly by any method—steaming, boiling, grilling, or sautéing, as here—and it’s very easy to prepare. To trim asparagus of its woody stem end, simply hold one end of the spear in one hand, the other end in the other hand, and bend gently until the spear snaps—which it will do exactly where the stem starts to get woody. Asparagus has its own built-in sous chef.

It’s very European to use potatoes in omelets, tarts, and frittatas—even on pizzas. The key is to use small cubes of potato, as here, or very thin slices. You don’t want to be biting into a whole mouthful of starch, and you want your potatoes to cook through in a reasonable amount of time.

This is an easy yet impressive appetizer—especially perfect for a romantic evening for two. While any type of clam would work in this recipe, I use Manilas because they are hard-shelled and have less grit inside—and they are easier to find in supermarkets. But you could also use little necks, cherry stones, or nearly any other large or medium-size clam.