French

This Basque specialty consists of scrambled eggs garnished with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and a slice of ham. The same Basquaise garnish may be prepared in advance and used for chicken and fish. Chez Gladines serves its pipérade with patates sautées — potatoes pan-fried in duck fat and seasoned with garlic and parsley.

This recipe was given to me by one of my favorite farmers at my local market in Louviers, Normandy.

If you enjoy spicy food, pass some hot pepper sauce to sprinkle on top of this light, soufflé-like omelet.

Perfect for an elegant dinner party, this sophisticated dessert is a snap to make.

Chef Lionel Lévy uses black olives in this unusual clafoutis but still serves it as a dessert, along with a mâche salad drizzled with lemon-honey vinaigrette. We like that combination in place of an after-dinner cheese course, but we also think it makes an excellent (and surprising) first course.

Prepare the custards the day before you plan to serve them.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve with: Baked sweet potatoes and sautéed Swiss chard. Dessert: Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

(COMPOTE DE CERISES NOIRES) When in season, fresh cherries can be used in place of the frozen ones.

This refined French appetizer is traditionally made by pounding confit of pork, goose, or (in this case) duck into a silky paste. Here a mortar and pestle is replaced by a food processor and elbow grease by a light touch — rillettes are best easily spread but not quite smooth.

Croûte Forestière This is based on a croûte forestière I tasted at the Bois Gourmand restaurant outside Champagnole, in the heart of the mountainous Jura region in France. The restaurant is known in the area for its regional specialties, and this was an intriguing interpretation of the typical croûte forestière which is made entirely with morels.