Garlic

Willinger uses a mechanical meat spit (called a girarrosto or spiedo) in her fireplace to make this dish. We found the meat just as delicious cooked in the oven.

Criolla is traditionally served as a sauce for grilled meats, but we tossed it with bell peppers as an accompaniment or side dish. If you're making this with the Spinach and Carrot Stuffed Flank Steak, grill the bell peppers before you start cooking the steak.

Creamy fresh cheese meets spinach in this Indian classic.

Leave it to the Italians to come up with such a delectable, imaginative way to round out a meal. Literally "cooked bread," pancotto is the cold-weather counterpart of panzanella, Italy's summer bread salad. Use the pan drippings from the from beef tenderloin to add richness.

This herbed cheese dip has almost nothing else in it to mask the thyme flavor. Serve with crackers, lightly toasted pita bread, and raw vegetable sticks.

Bianco Another Corfiote fish recipe with an Italian-sounding name. Bianco is pungent with garlic and is called "white" because it is made without tomatoes.

Complement the entrée—and the Chinese theme—with rice, stir-fried snow peas, then pineapple sherbet topped with coconut.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 10 min

The two-step method of searing and then roasting this thick fillet is what keeps the fish succulent.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

When buying the dried chile for this recipe, be aware that a pasilla de Oaxaca is not the same as a regular pasilla chile. The former is smoked and has a very distinct flavor.