The spiciness of the shrimps together with the basil and the citrus is an interesting and delicious mixture. For those of you who like a lot of heat, add more chili powder, and don’t forget to fry the basil—it’s the crowning touch! If you can’t find blood oranges, just substitute extra citrus fruit of your choice and it will turn out just fine.

Make sure to use a high-quality tuna. It makes a big difference. If you can’t find Italian, try looking for a high-quality Spanish brand. Feel free to add or eliminate vegetables or ingredients, as you like. Be Italian and be inspirational!

Clafouti is a country French baked pudding, versatile enough to serve for breakfast, brunch, tea, or dinner, and suited to a wide variety of fruits. Cherries, plums, and other stone fruits work well, and I've also made savory clafoutis with fresh corn and mushrooms. I think it's charming to cook and serve this from a cast-iron pan especially mini pans that make individual servings, but you can use decorative porcelain pie pans, individual gratin dishes, or any skillet providing it is not nonstick. Clafouti tastes and looks best served directly from the oven, while it’s puffy and light. It can also be served at room temperature, but it will settle in the pan as it cools.

Wild mushrooms are generally available at most supermarkets. If you can’t find the wild ones, substitute with shiitake, or any other mushroom or combination of mushrooms.

Could there be anything better than having your family rave about your cooking? Try this recipe and sit back and enjoy the rave reviews! Please visit www.napastyle.com for my Roasted Potato Salad recipe. Additionally you may substitute any smoky barbeque sauce for the Tuscan BBQ Sauce, (although quite honestly mine is probably better).

Everybody loves clams casino, but few restaurants make them anymore. This is my new and improved version, with salty Prosciutto Bits flavoring the bread crumb stuffing. I love the looks on people’s faces when a tray of these clams goes around, because everybody remembers them. Please don’t use those awful packaged bread crumbs. It’s so easy to make your own. A chefs tip; you can steam the clams and prepare the stuffing hours ahead. On another occasion, toss the seasoned bread crumbs with Spaghettini Aglio ed Olio to make a terrific pasta dish.

At Tra Vigne, we developed techniques that allowed us to serve dishes efficiently without compromising quality. This salmon dish is a good example. The individual elements, salmon, vinaigrette, and pea and potato salad, can all be made ahead, leaving only the assembly for serving time. A lightly flavored olive oil, such as a Spanish or French one, is better here than a Tuscan or other strongly flavored olive oil. Find out your preferred balance for vinaigrettes. I like to use a ratio of about ten parts oil to one part vinegar for a dinner when the wine is a star, and four parts oil to one part vinegar for “all-purpose” vinaigrettes, such as this one. If you like a more pronounced acidity, do not be afraid to decrease the ratio to equal amounts oil and vinegar.

I love substituting barley for the classic Arborio rice in this recipe. If you can’t find any of the recommended mushrooms, just use the best mushroom you can find at your local grocery store or specialty store. Feeling lazy, just take the bottle to your favorite Italian restaurant and order a risotto, pasta or pizza with mushrooms. The Salsa di Parmigiano recipe can be found at www.napastyle.com

If you are not a big fan of ceviche, take all the same ingredients and create a lovely warm salad as an appetizer or main course. Just skip the marinating of the scallops and sauté them in some butter or extra-virgin olive oil. Then combine all the remaining ingredients in the assembly section and add to the salad greens. Take the marinade and reduce the fruit juices by half for vinaigrette to dress the salad.

This is an easy, quick and tasty way to barbecue chicken.

You can’t beat the combination of sour cream with lime and cilantro to serve with these delicious fish tacos.

The classic Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a large porterhouse steak that usually weighs around 1 kilo (2.2 pounds). In Tuscan restaurants the steak is offered by the etto, or in 100-gram (4 oz) increments. This great steak includes both the strip loin and the fillet. I also use a rib-eye steak with this method. Always use the best meat, gray salt, coarse ground black pepper and balsamic vinegar that you can find. The marriage of all these ingredients will reveal a noble meal of authentic Italian flavor. For my Tuscan BBQ on Weekend Today, I paired the bistecca with two unique condimenti, or finishes, to the steak: grilled lemon halves or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. An option to using expensive and rare balsamic is to use a Tuscan-flavored steak sauce. I make one with roasted garlic, raisins for sweetness and, to give it a nice bite, black pepper.

Supposedly named for Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diane-style was originally a way of cooking venison. Through the years, though, the preparation has come to mean sautéing steak in butter and then flambéing and basting it in a rich Cognac sauce. If you prefer filet mignon, feel free to substitute! The Bistecca Crostini recipe can be found at www.napastyle.com.

To cook the meat in the shortest amount of time and thus extract the most flavors, the meat must be at room temperature. Afterward, the meat must rest before carving. If this procedure is followed, the carving knife glides right through the steak. For the Crostini use: 1 loaf crusty bread, sliced into 1/2-inch slices. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on salt and freshly ground black pepper, bake in oven on cookie sheet 8-9 minutes.

This recipe is from Italy’s Piedmont region, which you can tell from the currants. They borrowed the idea from the French, who often pair rabbit with prunes. If you’re lucky enough to have access to wild fennel, use a handful of fennel fronds and seeds instead of store bought fennel seed. If rabbit is unavailable or a little off-putting, just substitute chicken.

The toasted spice rub in the recipe is a blend of exotic, rare spices that came up the ancient spice highway from Turkey through Italy. Spices were even used as currency. You can make your own or purchase some at www.napastyle.com.

Brining the short ribs for a few hours gives them an extra depth of flavor and helps them retain their juiciness. If Cavalo Nero is unavailable feel free to use another dark kale: Swiss chard or spinach will make a wonderful substitution. Please visit www.napastyle.com for the Soft Polenta recipe.

This Italian shellfish stew is one of the most popular dishes I made as a restaurant chef, and it translates easily to the home kitchen. If you don’t have a skillet large enough to accommodate the scallops and shrimp without crowding them, cook them separately, dividing the oil between them.

My mother never served her homemade ricotta this way, but she would have liked this dish. The herbal salsa gives the mild fresh cheese the lift it needs. Even if your ricotta isn’t homemade, these little bruschettas are as close to a perfect mouthful as you can get. Feel free to use store-bought ricotta and Salsa Genovese (pesto) if you don’t have time to make yourself.

These Fricos are a terrific complement to this hamburger recipe, but they also make for a great eat out of hand snack, or for party hor d’oeuvres. They can be made with any firm dry cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano or Asiago.

A cataplana is both a Portuguese seafood dish and the copper pan in which you cook it.

Cavatelli pasta is a specialty of the Campania region in Southern Italy and is 1 1/4 inch long, with a rolled edge. If you have trouble finding it, look for similarly shaped pasta. Another good option is classic spaghetti to accompany this delicious Bolognese sauce. Make extra sauce and place in your freezer for a quick weeknight meal.

You can find cedar planks at just about any cooking store these days; soak the plank before cooking to prevent flare ups. If the egg sauce seems like a little too much work, just combine the chopped hard cooked eggs with chopped parsley, chives and add some chopped capers, salt and pepper and you will have perfection.

Cooking fish on a cedar plank is an old Native American technique. As the planks get hot, the aromatic oils are released and permeate the fish. You can find untreated cedar shingles or shims at lumberyards, or ask to have a 1-by-6 cut into 2 foot-long lengths. Soak the planks for at least 12 hours to prevent flare-ups, weighting the boards to keep them from floating.

This is unusual and always a hit. People really love the flavors and want the recipe. Lots of ingredients, but very easy to make.

Feel free to substitute ground beef for the chuck meat in the recipe. In addition, lard certainly adds flavor but if you prefer, substitute with vegetable oil. Lastly, if you can’t find masa harina, substitute with fine corn flour or all purpose flour.

This dish is packed full of flavor; everyone will love it.

Much leaner than the classic ragu bolognese, my quick chicken Bolognese gets its character from generous amounts of garlic and herbs and more subtle notes of tomato and porcini. The porcini soaking liquid also helps make the dish richer and earthier. You can make this sauce with chicken or turkey and serve it on fresh or dried pasta; my preference is for a long noodle, like fresh tagliatelle. Because the meat is finely ground, some of it may fall to the bottom of the pot as you serve the pasta. Just spoon any bits over the top. A chef’s tip: dried porcini can harbor bits of grit, so it’s always a good idea to lift them out of their soaking liquid, letting any grit stay behind. Then strain the liquid through damp paper towels.

Dried porcini, chopped parsley, and plenty of garlic create flavor fast in this familiar Italian "hunter's style" dish. I make my cacciatore with thighs because they're moister and better for braising than chicken breasts, and I like to serve the dish with buttered egg noodles to soak up the sauce. Note that the parsley isn't a garnish, sprinkled on top at the end just for color. It’s an essential flavor that infuses the sauce, as it does so often in Italian cooking. I never take parsley for granted. Visit www.napastyle.com for the additional recipes.

If you like my version of Chicken Milanese, try the same method on pounded veal, turkey breasts or on very thin swordfish steaks. The recipe for Mama’s Salsa Rosa is available at www.napastyle.com.

For me, Roasted Garlic Paste is a kitchen staple. If you do not have a cocorico just cook the chicken in your favorite roasting pan.

Rather than making chicken stock the restaurant way, with bony necks and backs, I’m fond of making a rich broth using a whole bird. Every so often, I’ll make a batch and fill my freezer, leaving me with the dividend of a lot of poached chicken. It’s important to simmer the chicken slowly to keep it tender. To slice fresh basil thinly in what professional cooks call a “chiffonade,” stack several leaves together, roll them up like a cigar and slice thinly crosswise.

In 1997, my Tra Vigne crew and I cooked for a week at the Mandarin-Oriental in Bangkok, Thailand. The hotel’s chef wouldn’t let me leave without giving him this recipe. It will look familiar to everyone, but wait until you taste it.

I prefer to roast this chicken in a convection oven for a crispier skin, but if you have only a conventional oven, you'll still enjoy a great result. The recipe makes extra seasoned salt and you will only need half the amount made (best not to overpower the wine). You can use the leftover salt on pork chops, leg of lamb or roasted potatoes. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for a month. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest (yellow part only) from the lemons, then mince very finely. This method gives you a drier result than a grater does.

Cioppino is traditionally made from the catch of the day. Use whatever fish and shellfish that looks freshest at your local store. Serve over spaghetti or polenta and make sure to have plenty of sourdough bread.

If you prefer, you can use strip loin, porterhouse or a rib-eye steak with this method. Remember to always use the best ingredients that you can find, from the meat to the gray salt to the balsamic vinegar. The marriage of all these ingredients will reveal a noble meal that’s still true to the cowboy way of life.

The idea here is to create a VERY flavorful boil...with plenty of salt, spice and any other must-have flavors. Don’t be afraid to make it strong. Imagine when you taste the boil that only 25 percent of that flavor will seep in. So roll up your sleeves and boil away. What’s important is that you have a really big pot (ours was 25 gallons) with a basket insert. Keep a hose nearby to spray everyone off after the feast.

Look at the size of your pot and the amount of your ingredients. Keep in mind that when you add the ingredients, the water level will rise substantially and you’ll want to keep all the ingredients covered with water, and all of the food in the pot! You’ll need a propane burner that fits securely under the full pot. We like it spicy, but season to your taste. Enjoy!

This is a great base recipe and can be used with other shellfish—lobster, spot prawns, crabs and crawfish. Take advantage of what the market and season offers and create a seafood boil with your personal touch. The aromatics can be assembled yourself (this allows you to use more or less of a particular flavor). You can do the same with the spices, or, use our NapaStyle Shrimp Boil kit.

Depending on how spicy you like your food, adjust the crushed red pepper flakes accordingly. Add more if you like spicy and less, if you like foods that are a little milder. These crispy olives make for great party foods for the upcoming holiday season.

I don’t think I’ve ever made a simpler or more successful dish. As long as we can get fresh Dungeness crabs, this dish is on the menu. Stone crabs, spider crabs, blue crabs or lobsters can all be substituted for Dungeness in this recipe.

Posole is a traditional stew from Mexico that once had ritual significance. You may end up making my version a ritual in your home!

I call this “Forever” Roasted Lamb because it takes (almost) forever to roast, about eight hours. The meat is well seasoned and cooked in a slow oven until it is so tender it shreds. Once it’s done, I challenge you not to stand at the kitchen counter and pick. Make your own or pick up a tin of my Fennel Spice Rub at www.napastyle.com.

Shellfish and citrus are a natural pairing. Look for seasonal citrus like tangerines in addition to the recommended grapefruit and oranges. The recipe calls for jumbo prawns, but the most important thing here is not the size but the freshness. Please buy whatever size prawn (shrimp) is of the best quality. If you don’t have time to make the fennel spice rub, you can find it on the www.napastyle.com website.

If you are compressed for time, focaccia is often available already baked and ready to go. Alternatively use a French loaf.

I call this “Forever Roasted Pork” because it takes (almost) forever to roast, about eight hours. The meat is well seasoned and cooked in a slow oven until it is so tender it shreds. Once it’s done, I challenge you not to stand at the kitchen counter and pick.

My colleague Susie Heller showed me how to make a snow-like flurry of blue cheese on a salad by freezing the cheese first. You can use any blue, but I’m in love with Point Reyes Blue, a cheese from the dairy country north of San Francisco. Baby greens, pears, walnuts, and blue cheese are a classic autumn combination, but the spiced walnuts and the Port vinaigrette set this salad apart. Supermarket pears are usually rock hard because they have just come out of cold storage. Buy your pear a couple of days before you plan to use it, and leave it at room temperature to soften a little. It’s easier to slice when still fairly firm.

This recipe makes extra rice coating, but since you’re getting your blender dirty, you may as well make a lot. The mixture freezes well in an airtight container, and it’s handy to have around for deep-frying. It’s so good that it has become my all-purpose coating for anything fried. I rarely use table salt, but it’s the best choice in the rice coating because it stays evenly distributed. A mandoline or V-slicer will help you slice the lemon and onion thinly.

In 1985, I was the executive chef of Toby’s Bar and Grill in Miami. The restaurant was an early exponent of “new world cuisine.” The menu interwove Mediterranean, Latin and even Asian influences with reinterpretations of regional American classics. This dish began as something I would make for myself and the manager for lunch and was one of the dishes I cooked for my Tra Vigne interview in 1986. It remains on the menu even now. Michelangelo was one of my mother’s pet names for me.

Gazpacho of any kind evokes the joys of summer, but a garnish of flavored popcorn gives this recipe a playful twist.

If goat milk is unavailable feel free to substitute whole cow’s milk. It is an old Tuscan tradition to cook meat in milk (most notably pork). Befriend your butcher and he will guide you to the most flavorful cuts of meat, trim the steak exactly as you like or in this case, clean and truss the lamb shoulder.

If the duck seems like a stretch, you can feel free to use all pork or a combination of pork and beef.

Although eggplant is available year round, it really is just coming into season. Look for dark rich and silky eggplants with no blemishes. I prefer to salt my eggplants as the recipe recommends, which removes some of the bitterness, but if you are short on time you can skip that step.

Named after a restaurant in Florence, this dish was a popular item at our steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona. The frozen blue cheese grated on the salad just before serving is a wonderful flavor and temperature contrast to the grilled steak.

You’ll have more mayonnaise than you need. But that’s good news, as it tastes great on all sorts of vegetables and on poached fish, and can be used to bind a chicken salad or as a sandwich spread. If you have a hard time finding tangerines or tangerine juice, substitute freshly squeezed orange juice or even lemon juice. When I’m making mayonnaise, I always get a little anxious until I see it coming together in the blender. If the mayonnaise is too thick, thin it by pulsing in a little cool water while the machine is running. If you’re concerned about raw eggs, use a pasteurized egg product or an egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters.

I went to college in Miami where the avocados are gigantic but not nearly as flavorful as the California variety. I resorted to grilling them to add some extra kick and stumbled upon a huge flavor. Back in California, the rich avocados are truly spectacular on the grill. Sometimes it is as simple as adding an unexpected technique to an expected ingredient that makes all the difference in the world.

This sounds like an exotic recipe that might be difficult to prepare, but it is surprisingly easy. Please visit www.napastyle.com for the vanilla-scented syrup recipe.

This makes a delicious and easy one-dish supper. You can use any wild mushroom you like, or try dried mushrooms when mushroom season is over. And if you don’t want to light the grill, this can be done on the stovetop or under the broiler.

Salting eggplant ahead of time removes the bitterness. Cut each eggplant into 3/4 inch slices. In a large mixing bowl, toss the eggplant with the kosher salt and let stand for about 15-20 minutes. Rinse and dry the eggplant well, and toss with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, a pinch of gray salt, and a pinch of pepper, before grilling. Please visit www.napastyle.com for the piadine dough recipe or often you can find pizza dough (a suitable substitution) at your local grocery store.

Feel free to use a grill pan for indoor cooking.

You can really use any thinner cut of steak for this recipe, such as skirt steak. The combination of fresh fennel and dried fennel seed add an extra layer of flavor to the vegetables.

In the summer, my mother often served this steak with crusty bread and a bowl of her roasted peppers in tomato sauce on the side. Mom made and canned large batches of her peppers in tomato sauce, so the supper took very little time to prepare.

The flavors in the salsa cruda are outstanding. It’s simple to prepare the salsa earlier in the day and then grill the bread while the steak rests. The gorgonzola adds a wonderful twist. Serve with a simple green salad and roast corn on the cob.

I have included my recipe for Chimichurri sauce. It is a great sauce or condiment (just think of it like an Argentinean “pesto”) to so many foods, be it meat, fish, poultry or vegetables. It can even be used for a salad dressing.

Rib lamb chops are cut from the rack of lamb. If you prefer, use lamb loin chops, which some people like to refer to as lamb t-bones. The arugula or watercress balances out the richness in the meat and is a classic accompaniment. For another option, consider my Tagine of Lamb Stracotto with Spring Onions.

Lamb steaks aren’t in many supermarket meat cases, so you’ll need a friendly butcher to make this dish. But every butcher will know what you mean if you ask to have steaks cut from the top of the leg, using the band saw. It’s the same cut as a ham steak, and like a ham steak, it has a bit of the leg bone in it. Grilled until crusty and medium-rare, these thick steaks make much more satisfying eating than a butterflied boneless leg of lamb. I like to serve them with undressed greens, like watercress, and let the flavorful juices from the meat dress the greens.

If you like to cook, you can have no better friend than a good butcher. Old-fashioned butcher shops are rare these days, but you can probably find a market that has a butcher on staff and get to know him or her. When you need a special cut like these lamb steaks, it helps to have a personal relationship.

Please visit www.napastyle.com for the Potatoes Da Delphina recipe.

You can make this sauce a couple of hours in advance, but reheat it very slowly to prevent separation. A number of cheeses can be substituted for the Cambozola; try Point Reyes Blue, Roquefort or Gorgonzola. Alternatively, use this sauce as a base for lasagna, tossed with pasta or spooned over grilled steak for a stunning accent.

If you prefer the salmon recipe just visit www.napastyle.com. Grilling pizza is a wonderful way to involve the entire family.

I have a beloved ridged cast-iron grill pan that I use for these pork chops and peppers, but any large griddle or a pair of cast-iron skillets will do. I like the ridged pan because it makes appetizing grill marks on the meat and keeps the chops above any dripping fat. After an initial searing, the thick chops complete their cooking in the oven while you soften the peppers in the pan. To get some nice caramelization on the peppers, be sure not to crowd them. If stacked, they will steam instead of sizzle.

There is nothing better then a Prime Rib Roast, especially if you can find one that is USDA Prime. The problem is the amount of time it takes and the financial risk if carved undercooked. I solved the problem by creating this recipe. You get all the benefits of the roast with none of the risk. Please visit www.napastyle.com for my mashed potato and sautéed spinach recipes.

You’ll need high-quality imported oil-packed tuna for the sauce. Look for Portuguese and Italian brands. I drain off the oil in the can because it’s usually inferior quality and then replace it with extra virgin olive oil. You’ll also need caper berries, which are the fruit of the caper bush. You can make the sauce ahead and even grill the tuna before guests arrive and serve it at room temperature.

If you have trouble finding Teleme cheese for this recipe, feel free to substitute Gruyere (the classic cheese used for a Croque Monsieur) or Monterey Jack cheese. If your kids don’t like roasted red peppers, skip them. Serve this with French fries or a salad and away you go!

This dish is built of parts that can be enjoyed separately or together: grilled fish, a vegetable salad and the big accent flavor of a vinaigrette made from reduced fresh tomato juice and olive oil. In about 1992, we began experimenting to create the intensely flavored dressings we call “broken vinaigrettes.” Try this tomato vinaigrette on meat or sliced tomatoes.

The recipe calls for Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese made by good friends of mine close to where I live. If you have a challenge finding it, feel free to skip the cheese altogether or to substitute your favorite mild cheese such as Cheddar or Swiss. Also you can substitute homemade chips for your favorite variety. Keep in mind you can use your judgment to make smaller versions of these burgers.

There are so many types of salumi (plural for salami) out in the marketplace today. Buy a quality brand as it does make a difference. Feel like throwing a little Mortadella, Prosciutto di Parma or provolone on the tray? Feel free, we Italians love to improvise.

Add some extra hot sauce if you really want to kick up the spice.

Most people start to put BBQ sauce on their food too early when it comes to the grill, as often the sauce will burn as opposed to making things juicier and giving additional flavor. Make sure to brush the ribs with the sauce in just the last half hour. This way it enhances the flavor of the meat.

All of the preparation can be done as much as 6 hours prior to dining. Reserve the steak and tomato relish in refrigerator until ready to cook.

What are Manila Clams? Manila Clams originally arrived in the Northwest from Japan in the late 1940s and were mixed amongst Pacific oyster seeds. This sweet, even-cooking clam has overtaken the native littleneck clam to become the premier clam. Please visit www.napastyle.com for the Antipasto Calabrese recipe.

This is my take on lamb with mint jelly, which is so good it’s almost a shame to serve as an appetizer. If you like, feel free to prepare as an entrée; just add a nice green salad and my Olive Oil Smashed Potatoes. Recipe available at www.napastyle.com.

In Italian, Osso Bucco means veal shank. To me, it means a style of cooking: searing and braising any shank—lamb, beef, ham hock, turkey—until it’s so tender, you can pull it right off the bone. It is acceptable and even preferable to do this dish a day ahead. It is much easier to de-fat the braising liquid after it has been refrigerated. The meat can even cook while you sleep; for example, from midnight to 6:00 a.m. at 250°F. You can also cook the whole dish in a covered pot on the stovetop. There is a caramelization of flavors in oven braising that stovetop cooking does not replicate. If the shanks are cracked (cut through the bone in the middle) they will cook through to tenderness more rapidly, closer to 2 hours than 4 hours.

Ask your butcher to french the lamb racks for a more elegant presentation. If you have trouble finding pink chickpeas, feel free to substitute a non-heirloom variety.

Beef chuck is recommended for the recipe but if you prefer skirt steak, flank steak or any other cut feel free to substitute. Please visit www.napastyle.com for the Grilled Avocado Rockamole recipe.

Do not peel the eggplants. Cut them lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Salt for 20 minutes, then rinse and dry. This is a marvelous dish the next day and the day after that. Visit www.napastyle.com for the Autumn Tricolore Salad with Spiced Candied Walnuts recipe.

The pungent, lemony tang of this dish is reminiscent of Mediterranean cooking. If the idea of folding parchment paper into baking containers intimidates you, use aluminum foil lined with waxed paper or even a paper bag, folded over like a school lunch bag. Cut the onion in half lengthwise, and cut each half in half again crosswise. Cut the slivers lengthwise from each half. They will have an attractive crescent shape. You can also simply cut the onions into 1/4-inch dice.

This dish came about because I had Bagna Cauda Butter in the freezer. Melted into the pasta and clams at the last minute, the butter delivers subtle notes of anchovy and garlic. This sauce will turn you away from old-fashioned white clam sauce forever. Start the clams in a very hot skillet, and they'll open twice as fast.

Maine Lobsters are arguably the best in the world. The cold water makes them sweet, like no other in the world. Lobster Thermidor was created in 1894 by Marie’s, a Paris restaurant near the theatre Comédie Française, to honor the opening of the play Thermidor by Victorien Sardou.

If you have access to a stewing hen, by all means use it. Your sauce will be the better for it, but this dish is still quite tasty made with a young supermarket bird.

Sometimes it is the simple things that really are the best. I try to keep some marinated goat cheese in the refrigerator at all times and pull it out for unexpected guests or to top a salad as suggested. Try also with some scrambled eggs or in an omelet

I discovered this dish on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, an area famous for lemons and wild fennel. The salmon is a sort of ceviche, cooked in lemon juice with olive oil. It’s best after three or four hours of marinating, before the color change that marks the transformation from raw to cooked is complete.

Any extra dry rub can be tightly sealed and stored for several months.

A mixed grill is just that so feel free to substitute…perhaps a steak instead of lamb, or different types of sausages. Consider also grilled mushrooms and onions drizzled with a little balsamico!

Dust meats or other ingredients just before cooking, or the flour will get gummy. The flour needs to cook for a few minutes to lose its raw flavor. It is important when adding liquids to a roux to stir while the mixture comes to a boil. Otherwise, the flour may stick to the bottom of the pan and scorch. The flavor of the stew depends on a good caramelization of meat and vegetables.

It is melon season so use the best melon you can find whether it is cantaloupe, honeydew, Crenshaw or another variety. If you don’t have a mandoline slicer, cut the melon by hand as thin as you can.

I call this “Forever Roasted Pork” because it takes (almost) forever to roast, about eight hours. The meat is well seasoned and cooked in a slow oven until it is so tender it shreds. Once it’s done, I challenge you not to stand at the kitchen counter and pick. Visit our recipe page at www.napastyle.com to get the Honey Roasted Apple Sauce and Savory Bread Pudding recipes.

These richly browned mushrooms are the first dish I ever cooked well while still a teenager in California’s Central Valley. The key to success is being patient. You want to avoid stirring them at first so they get deeply caramelized and don’t release a lot of liquid. Although a lot of cooks look down on button mushrooms, I’m a big fan. You just have to handle them right. Don’t rinse them or they’ll take up water; just wipe them with a damp cloth or brush them with a mushroom brush to clean.

If you prefer, you can prepare the filling and serve as a chili dish rather than in tortillas. A very versatile dish with enticing flavor.

Some people believe that knowing the sex of the eggplant helps to avoid bitterness. Male eggplants are believed to be sweeter as the female tends to have more seeds. The sex of the eggplant can be determined by the blossom end, the end opposite the stem. The female has an oval scar or indentation at that end, the male a round scar.

In the United States wonderful mussels are grown on both northern coasts from California up to Washington and from Maine up to Canada. I prefer the smallest mussels I can get as I find them sweeter than their larger cousins. Make sure they are tightly closed and remember to remove their beards as the recipe recommends.