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Manchego, a mild-flavored Spanish cheese, makes this classic Mexican soup a hit. As good as this is when served as a starter, it is also great paired with water crackers for the perfect pre-dinner snack or boiled down until thickened and transformed into an alfredo-like sauce for pasta or poultry. All told, you need to buy about 3 ounces Manchego for this recipe.

While winter squash and pumpkins aren’t usually associated with Mexican food, they are actually found in many dishes across the country, especially in Oaxaca. The candied flesh is used in desserts, and its seeds are used in sauces called pipiáns. This recipe utilizes both the flesh of butternut squash, which is roasted until it caramelizes, and the seeds, which are toasted for a crunchy garnish. Serve this hearty bisque for dinner on a cool autumn night, or pour it into individual shot glasses for a savvy appetizer.

This is the best burrito you will ever taste in your entire life, and that’s no exaggeration. To “confit” is to preserve the duck meat by first curing it in salt, then cooking and storing it in its own fat. This is one of those things that I eat only on occasion, for obvious reasons, but look forward to tremendously. Take into consideration that the duck must be prepared a day ahead—but believe me, it’s worth the extra effort. (You could also buy duck confit already made to cut the prep time way down.) I must confess to you that, on occasion, I’ve used lard from a local butcher when I don’t have enough duck fat (which I buy at Whole Foods), with the response from my uninformed family usually being, “Marcela, the duck tastes different today. It tastes . . . better.”

This recipe plays on my favorite combination: spicy and sweet. Don’t worry about the chicken drying out in the oven—all of the flavor and juice is sealed in by the crunchy pecan glaze. Drumettes are the part of a chicken wing that, when separated from the rest of the wing, looks like a miniature drumstick. You can carve the wings yourself, ask your butcher to do it, or purchase frozen drumettes in the freezer section of the supermarket (thaw them overnight in the refrigerator).

Taquitos, also known as flautas where I grew up, are corn tortillas that are stuffed, rolled, and fried. Shredded chicken or beef is the traditional filling, but here I use mushrooms and pair them with a tart tomatillo salsa for a great vegetarian dish.

Cuitlacoche is a fungus that makes corn kernels swell to ten times their normal size, turning them an inky black color. Its smoky-sweet flavor is a cross between corn and mushroom. I grew up eating cuitlacoche stuffed in a quesadilla or in a squash blossom. It’s a delicious, earthy addition to everything from quesadillas to empanadas. If you can’t find canned cuitlacoche in your local Latin market, substitute sautéed wild mushrooms for an equally delicious result.

I had to include Baja sushi because I think the fusion of Asian techniques and Mexican ingredients is phenomenal! This recipe, which uses a spinach crêpe as a wrapper instead of nori (seaweed), comes from my friend Andres Brambila, who owns Negai, a wonderful sushi restaurant in Tijuana.

Crab cakes get a festive kick when coated in crunchy panko bread crumbs mixed with cilantro and then topped with a simple guacamole. This is the guacamole that was made on a regular basis at my house when I was growing up. I don’t like fussy guacamoles that mask the fresh flavor of a perfectly ripe avocado. This crab cake mixture is eggless and is baked rather than fried, yielding a lighter dish with more crab flavor.

This is my version of the famous Baja taco gobernador, which is a shrimp-stuffed quesadilla. The marlin adds a distinctive smoked flavor that makes this a very special kind of quesadilla. If you must substitute, you can use canned tuna—just make sure it is well drained, and cook the filling an additional 4 minutes to allow the moisture from the tuna to evaporate.

For many years a professional cook who specialized in seafood dishes prepared the meals at my parents’ house. Pedro Rocha would go to the fish market with my dad, bring home whatever had been caught that day, and turn it into an incredible meal for the family or for my father’s friends (who often came just for the food). Many of my seafood dishes are inspired by or derived from dishes Pedro taught me to make. This is one of them, and it’s always a favorite with my friends. As soon as we figure out how to get Pedro a passport, we’re opening a fish restaurant in the United States!

This is a simple, refreshing dish that perfectly represents the current trend in Baja-Mediterranean cuisine: the fusion of local ingredients and cooking techniques with European (mostly Mediterranean) ingredients, with an occasional Asian ingredient showing up in the mix. Variations of this dish pop up in restaurants all around Mexico, some adding spicy avocado dressing or fresh orange juice to the mix. I like to keep it simple to let the fresh taste of the ingredients shine through.

I went to a restaurant opening in Los Angeles where they served a trio of ceviches made with parboiled seafood. No! Ceviche should always be made using raw ultra-fresh, or “sushi-grade,” fish. In this recipe I use tilapia, but feel free to substitute whatever your local fishmonger recommends that day. The citrus marinade “cooks” the fish without heat. Traditional ceviche is left to marinate for up to 3 hours, but in this recipe you’ll have fresh, delicious ceviche in 15 minutes. As my abuelo always said, “Don’t worry, the lime kills everything.” For a more traditional ceviche, omit the clam-tomato juice and the hot sauce, which add a sour and spicy kick.

I never really had waffles growing up in Italy, but Todd loves them, so when we got together I knew I had to find a way to incorporate them into our breakfast routine. The result is an impressive-looking brunch dish with all the elements I think a great waffle should have: these are salty, sweet, and crunchy in every bite.

An Italian brunch wouldn’t be complete without a pasta dish. Campanelle pasta is named for the church bells it resembles, and the nooks and crannies are great for trapping sauce, making every bite delicious. If you can’t find campanelle, any small shaped pasta will do. There are lots of bold flavors in this pasta salad, the base of which is canned tuna. Although it’s definitely more caloric, tuna packed in olive oil rather than water gives the salad a much fuller, richer flavor.

I have a big pet peeve with most egg salads: too many are loaded with mayo, which ruins their texture and makes them bland. My version still has a little mayo, but I add mild Gorgonzola and lemon zest, which not only brings a classic Italian flavor and freshness to the sandwich but also keeps the salad moist. Crispy pancetta makes this recipe brunch-worthy, and while you can certainly substitute bacon, it’s a lot less Italian that way.

Frittatas are the perfect centerpiece for a brunch spread because they can be served warm or at room temperature. This one brings two classic brunch favorites—lox and eggs—together into one very attractive dish. Serving bagels on the side, though decidedly not Italian, is a nice option.

If you have eggs, milk, and some kind of cheese in the fridge, you have the basics for a frittata, making this a perfect spur-of-the-moment recipe. Substitute just about any leftover ingredients you have on hand for the sausage and provolone; the more you experiment, the more fun this is!

I’ve given an American Southern staple an Italian spin with the addition of Parmesan. The cornmeal makes these biscuits sturdy enough to pack on a picnic, and you can stuff them with smoked salmon (my fave), sliced turkey or ham, or even grilled veggies. Hot out of the oven, they are pretty terrific with just a bit of lemon butter.

This brunch dish brings together sweet and savory flavors in a way that is insanely good. The cheese melts into the raspberry jam and, combined with the brown sugar, makes this surprisingly addictive.

This is a cross between a traditional gratin and a savory bread pudding, and trust me, cauliflower has never tasted so good. Pancetta, cheese, cream sauce—need I say more?