Bell Pepper

This is a fat, stuffed vegetable sandwich that’s great for a picnic. The olive tapenade is also good spooned on bread toasts and served as an hors d’oeuvre.

The foods from North Africa and the Middle East truly have some of the deepest flavors I’ve ever tasted. Don’t be daunted by the length of the recipe: This dish is not at all difficult to throw down, and the results are well worth the long shopping list. The Harissa sauce can be made a day ahead and the caponata is also good by itself or as a side dish.

In translation, arroz con pollo simply means “rice with chicken.” When I was the chef at Cafeteria, the Latin American cooks made this dish for our staff meal just about every day. Its truly authentic flavors are homey and satisfying. I prefer using whole canned tomatoes and crushing them by hand because I have more control of the texture; plus the flavor is a lot better than chopped canned tomatoes.

Chicken Cacciatore is a dish that time has forgotten. It’s simple, rustic, and truly Italian, and my buddy Frankie DeCarlo likes it, too. I would serve this with Soft Polenta (page 244). If cutting up a chicken intimidates you, buy precut pieces or have the guy at the meat counter do it for you—that’s his job, right?

There is no denying that meatloaf is the king of comfort food. Everyone loves meatloaf but is afraid to admit it. Trust me, before heading out the door your guests will be asking you for your recipe. This is my dad’s recipe, and I’ve been using it for years. This meatloaf was also one of the biggest hits at Cafeteria Restaurant in New York, where I was the chef. Serve this with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes (page 237).

“Grandma-style” means the vegetables are cooked like a stew in a big pot until they’re soft and delicious. The vegetables taste better and better as you cook them down, and the broth tastes nourishing. This is one of the classic recipes I pull out in a pinch, and it’s always welcomed.

Avoid using a salad spinner to wash and dry the arugula—the leaves bruise easily. Instead, dunk them in a sink of cool water and lift them into a colander. Pat dry with a kitchen towel. Simple salt and pepper will form a crust on the steaks when you sear them. I don’t normally serve anything else with this warm steak salad except the rest of the bottle of Cabernet used in the vinaigrette recipe.

Very slow roasting—175°F in a covered casserole—is ideal for whole-kernel grains as well as wild rice. The earthy flavors of whole grains blend well with the flavors we usually associate with another classic—tabbouleh.

This salad is wonderful served warm or at room temperature with French bread and a green salad.

This is a wonderful Greek-style one-dish meal or a side dish for a party. Roasting brings out the flavors of the vegetables. You can prepare all the vegetables except the potatoes ahead of time.

This basic, versatile recipe can be adapted to just about any vegetable depending on what you have on hand. While the oven preheats, prepare the vegetables. Serve with oven-grilled chicken breasts and steamed rice.

Roasted peppers are not only good by themselves but they’re a tasty ingredient in spreads and appetizers. Here is my favorite roasting method.

Roast the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic right along with the meat loaf to make the sauce.

Not only is this sauce delicious with meat loaf, it also goes well with roasted chicken or salmon.

Roasting red bell peppers is a snap in the convection oven because the heat can be so intense that the skin on the peppers chars without cooking the flesh. Pureed and thinned with chicken stock, they turn into a stunning and flavorful soup.

Here’s a soup for late summer when eggplants, tomatoes, and red peppers are luscious and ripe. Top the soup with a dollop of plain yogurt and pesto for added zip.

Serve small wedges as an appetizer or large wedges for a vegetarian main dish.

Roasting brings out the sweetness of vegetables and intensifies their fresh flavors. Vary the vegetables if you wish, but follow this general pattern: Roast the vegetables, remove skins if necessary, puree, and flavor the puree with fresh herbs or garlic. Serve over hot pasta or use as a sauce for lasagna.

For pizza lovers, here are eight varieties to choose from. The basic dough makes two pizzas. The dough is easy to mix in the food processor.