Cheese

This recipe is an adaptation of a dish from the Troisgros Brothers, a famous restaurant in Lyon. The “gâteau” is a stack of delicate crêpes layered with creamy béchamel sauce, Gruyère or Comté cheese, ham, and prosciutto. There are countless variations to this elegant dish. You can use plain crêpes or herbed, as I do here. I sometimes make a more “locally flavored” version by folding crayfish and spinach into the béchamel (and omitting the hams). The key is cooking the assembled gâteau until it’s bubbly and brown. I like to serve this with a deeply flavored Smoked-Tomato Butter (p. 63), but this dish is great on its own. For a quick assembly, make the sauce and the crêpes a day or two in advance. Wrap the crêpes in plastic wrap and freeze until needed.

This no-fuss dessert lives up to its name—there’s no cooking involved other than boiling water.

To make meatballs that are moist and tender, avoid using very lean ground turkey. For convenience, make a batch of sauce and meatballs ahead and freeze for up to three months.

Because preparing fresh squash can be time-consuming, we used frozen squash as a shortcut here. You can substitute an equal amount of puréed fresh squash (see note below).

A traditional carbonara sauce is typically made with bacon, eggs, and cheese. We’ve added a little half-and-half for a more silky texture.

Baking pasta with cheese on top creates a chewy and crispy topping kids will love. You can assemble the dish ahead and refrigerate it, then bake it right before dinner.

Like the asparagus tart that’s a harbinger of spring (see page 69), this mushroom-topped variation is a crowd-pleaser. It makes a lovely dinner, or, when cut into bite-size pieces, a perfect hors d’oeuvre for a cocktail party.

For something a bit unexpected, here we filled enchiladas with chicken and scallions, then covered them with a spicy pumpkin sauce and Cheddar cheese.

Amaretti are crunchy Italian macaroons made from almond paste, sugar, and egg whites. You can substitute any crispy cookie.

Serve this brightly colored, layered tortilla pie with salsa and sour cream on the side. You can assemble the dish ahead of time, then bake it just before serving.

To complete the meal, add a side of spaghetti or other pasta tossed with a little olive oil and some grated Parmesan cheese, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Using canned beets keeps the prep time to a minimum, but you can substitute roasted beets if you wish (see note below).

Customize this toss-and-serve pasta dish by adding any— or all—of the suggested toppings.

Think of these as open-faced Mexican sandwiches, topped with grilled summer vegetables, tangy feta cheese, and fresh tomato salsa.

Inspired by the popular Cuban sandwich known as the Cubano, these quesadillas contain many of its signature ingredients—sliced pork, pickles, ham, and cheese.

In this recipe, cheese and mustard are incorporated into the burger rather than being used as toppings. For juicier burgers, avoid using the leanest ground turkey.

In Italy, prosciutto and melon are combined in a traditional first course. Here, cool, silky bocconcini and torn mint leaves are added to make a refreshing salad—just the thing to begin a meal on a warm summer night.