Parmesan

Slice the potatoes right before you assemble the dish so they don’t turn brown.

Classic, old-school New Orleans flavor, slightly updated. Because of the expense of the oysters, these are better for smaller crowds, 10 to 12 people max.

I order steak tartare in restaurants whenever it’s on the menu. When you serve it at home it’s important to seek a fine butcher who can provide you with the best-quality beef. You can make the Parmigiano baskets the morning of the party and store them covered at room temperature; they will still have an amazing snap hours later. The trick for success with this is not to use “green can” grated cheese, which will not melt evenly; you have to buy the good stuff. Once you get the hang of making Parmigiano-Reggiano frico you can really crank them out. The tops of water or soda bottles are ideal for forming the Parmigiano cups. I also like to make flat frico as a crunchy garnish for Caesar salads.

This is a great dish to serve on Sunday night when The Sopranos come on. It’s classy and understated. A good way to add more intense mushroom flavor is to throw the mushroom stems in with the chicken stock. Just be sure to brush the mushroom stems first for any loose dirt.

This upscale quiche is great for company. Read the section on blind-baking the crust a few times before you get started; it’s the trickiest part (but by no means hard). The only special equipment you’ll need is a 10 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Once you have one of these, you’ll use it for a hundred different things, so it’s a good investment.

This is the old-school lasagna that you find in the Italian restaurants in Brooklyn. Fuggedaboudit! You can assemble the lasagna ahead of time … and it’s great for leftovers.

The flavor of peas and bacon takes me back to my childhood; that’s why I like this pasta dish so much. I feel like a little kid wolfing this down. It’s even good cold!

Roast a selection of seasonal vegetables right along with the chicken breasts to make a delicious meal. Turnips, carrots, onions, and potatoes are perfect for a winter evening.

Baked in the convection oven, this soufflé rises high and is almost noncollapsible. However, you’d still better have the table set and be ready to eat when the soufflé is done because it won’t stay puffed forever!

Onions, sliced and cooked in the convection oven, literally melt into sweetness. Here the melted onions are baked in a rich custard, flavored with Parmesan, and cradled in a flaky pastry. This is terrific for a special occasion.

This focaccia adds onions, olives, and dried tomatoes to the top. Cut into bite-sized pieces, it’s a great appetizer. The dough mixes most easily in a food processor.

This delicious flat bread is great cut into 1- to 2-inch squares and served as an appetizer or cut into larger squares to accompany soups and salads. You can create tasty variations by trying different cheese combinations, such as Cheddar, Swiss, or Monterey Jack, or by changing the herbs to oregano and parsley, or chives and shallots.

These little cubes of chicken resemble chicken nuggets and are perfect when you’re trying to think of something to feed children. Eliminate the hot spices if the kids object (but one of my granddaughters announced, “I like hot!”).

This tasty frittata has a particularly pleasing texture, light and luscious like a soufflé on the inside, with lots of crust outside, especially when baked in a heavy cast-iron skillet. It’s an excellent brunch or lunch dish, served either warm or, if you want to make it ahead, at room temperature. And this lends itself to many tasty variations: simply fold into the rice mixture a cup or more of sautéed onions and peppers, cooked crumbled sausage, or cubes of Taleggio, before incorporating the whipped egg whites.

This old favorite is a quick snack or accompaniment to a simple soup and salad meal. You can get the bread ready for roasting as the oven preheats. In the summer, I like to serve slices of toasted bread with a topping of chopped or thinly sliced fresh tomatoes from the garden.

This is a great sauce, almost a universal pasta dressing, but particularly suitable for malloreddus. Because it is so good and useful, I make it in large batches and pack it in small portions for freezing. There are times when I want to make some pasta for two (or sometimes just for me), and there’s nothing better than having a small container of tomato-sausage sauce on hand to dress it.

Gallura is the traditional name for the northeastern corner of Sardinia, across from Corsica, and the region’s distinctive dialect and delicious dishes are termed Gallurese. Here is a most unusual rendition of zuppa Gallurese. Surprisingly, it comes in the form of a casserole, with layers of bread, Savoy cabbage, provolone, and pecorino, drenched in chicken stock and baked. The end result is an amazing dish that has the comforting character of a soup and the cheesy lusciousness of a lasagna or pasticciata. I know you will find it delightful.