Italian American

A tender, short crust is filled with a creamy orange-scented ricotta custard. Served with hot espresso, these little pastries are a wonderful way to end a big meal.

Jazz up your winter repertoire with a tangy, colorful pomegranate dressing that melds fennel and oranges with salty Pecorino

No surprises here: The classic combination of bitter greens and sweet sausage is as warming and comforting as the Italian grandmothers who have been making it for generations.

Sweet nibbles of butternut squash temper the bitter edge of radicchio in every bite of this healthful, satisfying pasta.

This bottomless bowl of meat sauce is the stuff of dreams—the American Dream, in particular. In Italy, ragù would have been flavored with a small piece of pork, but because meat was so readily available in the United States, immigrants included beef braciole, meatballs, sweet and hot sausage, and pork shoulder and ribs. This dish requires hours on the stovetop to make the meat tender and juicy and the sauce thick and intense, but it's well worth waiting for.

This refreshing salad serves as a palate cleanser before dessert. Oltranti updates a traditional Italian-style salad dressing with the modern flavors of California cuisine: Floral Meyer lemon amplifies the acidity of red-wine vinegar in a bright shallot vinaigrette.

Wake up your taste buds with this lowfat recipe. It is sure to satisfy — and provide a spicy kick!

Surprisingly, it takes half a gallon of milk to get 1 1/2 cups of fresh ricotta. You'll need a double batch to have enough for the <epi:recipelink id="351042">gnocchi</epi:recipelink>. For the moistest, lightest consistency, let the curds drain only aslong as specified.

Start making the dough one day in advance; it needs to be refrigerated overnight.

Many wild-mushroom combinations work; buy three to four varieties. Chanterelle, oyster, maitake (hen-of-the-woods), brown beech, stemmed shiitake, and black trumpet mushrooms would all be delicious.

Roasting turns broccoli into an addictive side. This crowd-pleaser can be prepared in no time.

The fried eggs add extra unctuousness to a clever carbonara.

The resulting dish is brothy but thick; it can be thinned with stock for a more traditional soup.

While reminiscent of a marinara sauce, red bell pepper, cognac, and jalapeño add hints of newness to this luscious, traditional favorite lobster dish.

Few can resist this soup-stew of tender cannellini beans, silken pork shoulder, tomatoes, and herbs. We give the cherry tomatoes a little extra love in the oven to boost their flavor before we stir them into the beans. Rosemary is a natural in this dish, but it’s the generous amount of parsley added at the end that’s the real revelation. The herb adds a zesty top note to the beans. Simple side dishes—garlic bread, a green salad—complete the picture.

For chewy texture, undercook the biscotti slightly in the second baking.