Simmer

The success of this dish depends entirely on the quality of your ingredients. Now's the time to use your best olive oil, freshly ground pepper, and a generous amount of a flavorful sea salt.

Served over rice, these peas—in their velvety, spicy sauce—could be a vegetarian main course. Or serve them over a piece of simply prepared fish or lamb. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Kombu comes packaged in dried lengths that are most easily cut with scissors.

This recipe is from Willinger's cookbook Red, White & Greens. She was inspired by chef Fabio Picchi of the Florentine restaurant Cibréo, where creamy-yet-creamless soup is his signature first course. Picchi likes to use meat stock as the base for the soup, but Willinger thinks the flavor is nearly as rich using only water. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 35 min

If rice pudding is getting a little too comfortable, try our version with fresh pineapple, mango, and papaya. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 30 min

Serve this over noodles or mashed potatoes.

This homey soup was inspired by a recipe from Maria, the nanny for Patrick's family. She served warm corn tortillas alongside.

In Cuba, this versatile side dish is known as congrí. Louisiana has its own version of red beans and rice, of course, but in that one you won't find the oregano, cumin or cilantro.

When our executive food editor, Zanne Stewart, was growing up, her family spent summers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This recipe was inspired by a dish of chicken and dumplings she remembers well from those vacations.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Pear Clafoutis with Phyllo Crisps, Cider Sauce, and Quince Sorbet .

A lovely change of pace from café au lait, cappuccino or hot chocolate, and lower in fat and calories, too.

A splash of aquavit is the finishing touch to this practically-no-fat starter.

(MINESTRA DI CAMPAGNA) Creativity with simple ingredients is one of the themes of Sicilian cooking. There's no better example than this bean and vegetable soup, which some say evolved from food that fifteenth-century galley cooks made for mariners. Serve an island dry red wine such as Corvo with this.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

Serve these over rice as a main course, or offer as an hors d'oeuvre.

Alternating layers of strawberry and white chocolate mousses form stripes in this creamy frozen dessert.