Epicurious

This is a very simple, yet remarkably satisfying dish. Even though it's traditionally a Passover recipe, I liked it so much as a child that I used to ask my mother to make it for me all year long. It's the comfort food that most reminds me of her. (Fried matzoh is what I've called this dish since childhood, though I know that others refer to it as matzoh brei.)

Rajas are a type of stewed chili pepper. In Mexico they are traditionally served with different broiled meats.

(Tarte aux Pommes a la Compote)

As a child, I was a picky eater and this cobbler was especially hard for me to take, since it's sort of an ugly dish. After being threatened with a trip to the doctor for vitamin shots, I did start eating more, and the cobbler turned out to be one of my favorites. It's a classic North Carolina recipe and is one of my mom's signature dishes. It's so simple and takes no time to make.

Here's an opportunity to enjoy the best summer fruit. Serve this dessert with butter cookies from the bakery.

This recipe comes from my 86-year-old grandmother, a northern Italian from Faenza, who picked it up during her travels as a piano teacher in southern Italy. I've watched her make it my whole life and know the recipe from memory.

(CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH NUTS AND RAISINS) Here is a chocolate cake that will delight your palate. Use the best bittersweet chocolate you can find!

Francoise preferred not to share her specific recipe with me, but she gave me enough hints so that I could make this version of roestis, (which means twice cooked in the Jura dialect) which closely resembles the delicious dish I had at La Grangette. Try this with thick slices of gently smoked ham and a white Arbois, from the Jura, or another buttery white wine.

We always had this coffeecake for birthday breakfasts and other special occasions. Even when we lived far away from Maine, the smell brought us back to Bar Harbor.

For more information about making petits fours, see <epi:recipelink id="">Perfect Petits Fours</epi:recipelink>.