Italian

Some Italian cooks would never combine cheese and seafood, but feel free to grate a little Pecorino Romano over the striped bass before serving. "In Puglia, fish and cheese go together," says Donatella.

This recipe for a typical Puglian snack comes from Donatella Arpaia's aunt. Keep in mind that the ricotta cheese needs to drain overnight.

This appetizer is traditionally made with friselle (ring-shaped rolls). Friselle are baked twice, giving the rolls a very crunchy texture. To soften the bread slightly, it's dipped in water and brushed with olive oil before serving. When Donatella was growing up, her family would put bowls of water and olive oil on the table with the friselle so that everyone could dip their own bread. If friselle aren't available, toasted ciabatta is an easier-to-find substitute.

I open the braising chapter with one of Italy's most renowned braises: osso buco. It's a classic Milanese dish usually made with veal shanks cooked in a rich broth that includes tomato and wine. I salt the meat before cooking it, a technique that tenderizes the veal. The dish is finished with lemon zest and parsley, which stand in for the more common gremolata that often accompanies it, along with saffron risotto. The term ossobuco roughly translates to "hole in the bone" or "pierced bone." I suggest you tie the shanks before cooking them so that they hold together—and don't forget to dig into the bones for the luscious bone marrow.

My favorite American sandwich is a BLT, yet it almost didn't make it into this book; the world doesn't need another recipe for it. But after eating at 'ino, a tiny sandwich shop in Greenwich Village in New York, I decided their version—a PLT—was a different story. P is for pancetta, sold at Italian delis and upscale markets. Cut from a large salami-like roll, it is the Italian version of bacon, unsmoked and cured with salt and spices. This is strictly a seasonal sandwich; I forbid you to make it at any time except when tomatoes are at their prime—ripe, juicy, and sweet.

Yes, you read the title of the recipe correctly. I make gnocchi with ricotta cheese, not potatoes as you might expect. My grandmother taught me how to make them this way, and though they are less forgiving than potato gnocchi, I love their soft, delicate texture and flavor. They practically melt in your mouth. It's crucial to find high-quality ricotta cheese from a good Italian market, cheese shop, or gourmet store and then drain it, and to handle the gnocchi gently. Because this is more about the gnocchi than the sauce, the sauce is exceedingly easy to make, but nevertheless very tasty.

I know you might do a double take at the name of this recipe. But I assure you it is a simple, delightful rendition of spaghetti in quickly cooked tomato sauce. The unique touch comes from shreds of fresh apple, which lend the sauce a lovely aroma and flavor and feel good in the mouth. When I tasted this for the first time in the Val di Non of Trentino, I wondered, Why didn’t I think of this long ago? Spaghetti is my choice of pasta here, but linguine, ziti, or rigatoni would be just as good.

These individual lasagnas are perfect for a dinner party.

Bagna cauda is a warm, garlicky dip traditionally served with raw vegetables. It hails from northwestern Italy's Piedmont region. In this version, the sauce is served with cooked artichokes. And don’t be scared off by the three heads of garlic called for in this recipe. Simmering the garlic mellows its flavor significantly.

Turkey soup may be the end of the line for turkey leftovers, but it doesn't have to be boring and predictable. The hearty essence of the roasted holiday bird is concentrated into a deeply satisfying broth, thick with noodles and laced with garlic, rosemary, and tomatoes. This is a guaranteed crowd pleaser whether it's just the family or a last minute gathering of friends. And thanks to the ready availability of turkey wings, executive food editor Kemp M. Minifie bets you won't want to wait until next Thanksgiving to make it again.

For the pesto mixture, executive food editor Kemp M. Minifie switches from pine nuts to pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, and she incorporates flat-leaf parsley in with the basil. To top it all off she adds homemade bread crumbs. It's not quite Italian anymore, but it works.

Use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush the fennel seeds. Fresh mozzarella can be found at many supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Italian markets.

The Original: Breaded, fried eggplant with a thick oregano-flavored tomato sauce. Our Version: Broiled slices of eggplant wrapped around a mint-and chard-flecked ricotta filling.

The classic Italian sauce gets wild with a mix of antelope, venison, and beef.

This beautiful seafood salad makes a terrific home for leftover Niçoise olives from the braised Veal Cacciatore . Quickly cooking the calamari renders it snowy white and very tender—such a nice backdrop to the salty olives and crunchy celery. Scallion, lemon zest, and celery add freshness.

In a twist on classic tiramisu, the leftover almond-flavored macaroons assume a more prominent role: Layered with an airy mascarpone mousse, they take the place of the traditional ladyfingers.

Ribollita is a classic Tuscan soup that's made up of vegetable soup mixed with pieces of rustic bread. This version is packed with veggies—white beans, kale, chard, potatoes, tomatoes—and served with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.