This is the real thing: an old-fashioned roast turkey. Roasting the turkey using a water-soaked cheesecloth gives the bird crisp skin and moist, juicy meat.

This grilled vegetable sformato is pretty and filling enough to be a main course. Inside the sformato are peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cheeses, pasta, and pistachios. It makes a stunning weekend meal.

Beef goulash, the Austro-Hungarian dish, is a simple meal. Beef is seared and simmered with the goulash ingredients. Beef goulash is a great autumn dish.

Uova in Purgatorio
by Gianni Scappin and Vincenzo Lauria
from A Tavola: Recipes and Reflections on Traditional Italian Home Cooking
(Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2009)
Serves 4
This simple dish, called eggs in purgatory because the sauce the eggs float in bubbles …

Spaghetti al Vino Rosso
by Gianni Scappin and Vincenzo Lauria
from A Tavola: Recipes and Reflections on Traditional Italian Home Cooking
(Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2009)
Serves 4
This unusual spaghetti dish from Umbria is cooked more like a risotto than a …

Coniglio all’Ischitana
by Gianni Scappin and Vincenzo Lauria
from A Tavola: Recipes and Reflections on Traditional Italian Home Cooking
(Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2009)
Serves 6
Ischia Island is currently a hot culinary destination, but for much of its history, the island …

Linguine ai Frutti di Mare
by Rick Stein
from Complete Seafood
(Ten Speed Press, 2004)
Serves 4
The good thing about this dish is that depending on your guests, you can mix and match shellfish to suit their preferences. One …

by Sara Engram and Katie Luber with Kimberly Toqe
from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices
(Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009)
Serves 4
Elegant but easy, a frittata is perfect for those special-occasion breakfasts. The basil and anise …

by Paula Wolfert
from Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking
(John Wiley & Sons, 2009)
Serves 4
In France this beef roll dish is called alouettes sans têtes, meaning “doves without heads.” The beef slices are stuffed with pancetta, garlic, and …

by Paula Wolfert
from Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking
(John Wiley & Sons, 2009)
Serves 8
This famous ribollita soup is not really a soup in the literal sense; rather, it is a thick panade, or porridge, of bread, vegetables, …

by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky with Susan Simon
from Pasta Sfoglia
(John Wiley & Sons, 2009)
Makes 2 batches serving 4 to 6
At my second full-fledged chef’s position at the Galleria Italiana in Boston, the owners were two …