A dreamy, creamy riff on the classic arroz de pato, this dish call in flavor favors from duck, cured ham, spicy sausage, and tangy oranges.

A true Southern staple, this dish is full of creamy stone-ground grits and riddled with grated white Cheddar cheese. Pass the plate, please.

Don’t you love a dish that can be tossed together at the last second yet tastes like someone’s Italian grandmother slaved over it for hours? Us, too.

Summer at its simplest, not to mention it’s most splendid, seeing as how five minutes of effort yields a meal that rivals round-trip tickets to Italy.

Lemon, ricotta cheese, peas, and pappardelle pasta. The name says it all. A simple dish that can be made in no time. It’s a real family-friendly dish. Honest.

Mac and cheese goes high falutin’ with a drizzle of chichi truffle oil and a few shavings of black truffle. Pricey, perhaps. But well worth it every once in a special while.

Pasta made by hand according to tradition is unspeakably more supple and gratifying than store-bought. It’s also way more vibrant.

Creamy Southern stone-ground grits are filled with Cheddar cheese, plump sauteed shrimp, crisp bacon, garlic, and green onion. A must-eat for grits fans.

This pasta, filled with earthy morel mushroom and ramps–wild leeks–is balanced by the richness of Grana Padano and mascarpone cheese. An easy weekday meal.

Whether you’re five or fifty-five, sometimes nothing is more satiating than a plate of spaghetti with butter and cheese.

Fregola is a toasted semolina pasta with a nutty flavor that’s very popular in Sardinia. This salad includes orange, grapefruit, onion, and herbs.

This dish, filled with wild garlic (a real flavor booster) and herbs, including basil mint, and parsley, adds up to a simple and elegant weeknight dinner.

An inspired meal in minutes, this harried weeknight spaghetti solution melds eggs, cheese, and pancetta into a creamy sauce that cloaks every last strand.

The secret to this intensely flavored mushroom risotto is not only are mushrooms part of the mix, but the risotto is cooked with mushroom-flavored broth.

This gratin is flavored with sharp Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses and smoky bits of bacon. Use other pasta besides elbow macaroni for a different look.

Pizzoccheri is a hearty flat buckwheat noodle found in the Lombardy region of Italy. The noodles are tossed in a butter sauce of cheese, onion, and sage.

Trennette, a long, narrow, flat pasta noodle similar to pappardelle, is tossed in a simple sauce of spicy, garlicky oil. On top is a scattering of parsley.

These gnocchi, soft pillows of potato love, are light and packed with flavor. Serve the gnocchi with browned butter or a tomato sauce. Gnocchi freeze well.

This macaroni and cheese dish is studded with bacon, and filled with sour cream and Cheddar cheese. This mac and cheese is what momma’s comfort food is all about.

Grits get the royal treatment with the addition of wild mushrooms, cheese, and truffle oil. These grits, with its earthy flavors, make an ideal partner to meaty dishes or by itself for instant comfort food.