Parmesan

Ravioli al Radicchio Rosso Stuffed pasta shows up less frequently in Florence than it does in the nearby Emilia-Romagna region. But when it does appear on menus, it's usually dressed simply, like the ravioli here, with a little butter and a bit of grated Parmesan.

Ask your butcher to butterfly the chicken breasts. What to drink: Unoaked Chardonnay.

Goes great with: Salad of butter lettuce, radicchio, roasted pears, and toasted walnuts. What to drink: Red Burgundy or Pinot Gris.

Boneless chicken thighs give a moist result, but chicken breasts work well, too. Mix wild mushrooms with cultivated button mushrooms for a deeper flavor. Goes great with: Mashed potatoes flecked with chopped fresh parsley or tarragon. What to drink: Chardonnay or Merlot.

This colorful salad is a modern, egg-free take on the classic.

Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman's book the A Return To Cooking. To read more about Ripert, click here. Here salmon is poached simply in salt water and served very rare with mushrooms and a mushroom broth, along with creamy polenta. The polenta adds a starch that the salmon needs, but it is also delicate and won't overwhelm the flavors of the fish. Mushrooms and polenta are a great classical pair, and a sturdy, satisfying match for the meaty salmon.

This beautiful pasta dish features a classic trio of Italian ingredients. Bottled roasted chestnuts make preparation surprisingly quick.

A steaming plate of al dente spaghetti with homemade sauce and a sprinkle of cheese is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

A touch of cream Sherry amplifies the sweetness of the nuts and the squash.

A mini-processor comes in handy for making the pesto.

The pasta is divided among four 3 1/2-quart baking dishes so they can be baked individually for open-house-style serving. But you can use any size bake-and-serve dishes — even a roasting pan or a paella pan.

Though you need only 10 cloaks to top the pears, these melt-in-your-mouth wafers are so delicious, your guests will clamor for seconds. If you don't have time to turn the wafers into cloaks, simply make flat tuiles and serve them on the side.