Maggie Ruggiero

Why should kids have all the fun? A lovely way to keep the conversation going long after dessert, these soft, aromatic little confections are like Peeps for adults. Lillet perfumes the marshmallows with orange and honey notes and gives them a haunting buzz.

These potatoes look like doubloons and taste like a million bucks. The addition of nutty brown butter, briny capers, and toasty homemade bread crumbs makes them a splendid companion to the pork roast—or any roasted meat, poultry, or fish, for that matter.

The spice rub for this steak evokes the complex flavor of a rich Mexican mole sauce, but with almost no investment of time. It's great for a weeknight dinner party.

This two-in-one indulgence has the irresistible makings of a Cuban sandwich, including Swiss cheese, pickles, and sliced meats—but it’s also dipped in egg batter and fried like a Monte Cristo.

Here, chicken thighs and drumsticks roast on one side of a sheet pan while, on the other, a trio of tomatoes (plum, grape, and sun-dried) intensifies in flavor along with crusty potato and briny olives.

Side dishes made from fresh legumes, vegetables, and mint can be found all over Italy, but this quickly cooked version cuts down on labor by using frozen peas and artichoke hearts. It adds a bright touch of spring to cod’s meaty white flakes.

Braised dishes are often served with a creamy side like mashed potatoes, polenta, or grits. Black beans offer an earthy change of pace and complement the chile purée.

Increasingly available in supermarkets, the firm wheat protein known as seitan is mild in flavor and versatile in the kitchen. In this casserole, it takes on the earthy flavor of mushrooms, adding heartiness and heft.

The secret to a great pizza Margherita is to use the best ingredients you can find—and to approach them with restraint. (Just because a little cheese is good doesn't mean a lot will be better!) We always start with our all-time favorite pizza dough, adapted from chef Chris Bianco, of Pizzeria Bianco, in Phoenix. This slightly wet dough, in conjunction with a hot pizza stone, produces a crisp yet chewy crust, the perfect canvas for bright homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and verdant basil leaves.

Chicken cacciatore is a ubiquitous dish in Italian-American restaurants, but we think it is even more delicious when made with veal shoulder roast. Slowly braising the meat in a heady tomato sauce enriched with pancetta, olives, and porcini produces a dish so good, you'll find yourself sneaking nibbles all the way to the table. It's even better the next day—if you can contain yourself.

The difference between fresh and commercially prepared ricotta is proven dramatically with this cheesecake. Made with the commercial product, it tastes bland and somewhat grainy. When prepared with fresh ricotta, however, the cake dissolves creamily on the tongue and the ricotta's delicate sweetness shines through clean and true. To further emphasize the ricotta, we keep the other flavors to a minimum—just a smidgen of cinnamon, lemon zest, and vanilla is all you need.

Patience is the key to this soul-satisfying soup chock-full of winter greens. Its depth of flavor comes from cooking the soffritto—a mixture of pancetta, onion, celery, carrots, and the ribs from the chard—for a good 45 minutes and from browning the tomato paste. The result is so savory that there's no need for broth; water, canned tomatoes, and a parmesan rind work beautifully. And because this soup must cook slowly, don't worry about prepping all your vegetables before you begin—you can simply chop as you go.

This full-bodied stew will bring the crowd running when you lift the lid. First, pieces of chuck are browned to develop their flavor, then they’re braised in a red-wine beef broth. Adding the potatoes and carrots toward the end of cooking keeps their character and color bright.

Chicken soup is an automatic crowd-pleaser, but this Mexican-inspired tortilla soup does the classic one better. Homemade broth is key here, providing a base for brown rice, black beans, and chunks of sweet potato. Cooling pieces of avocado play off of a warm, earthy undercurrent of chipotle chiles.

Shake up your casserole rotation with a Greek pastitsio. Layers of ziti, meaty tomato sauce fragrant with spices, and silky béchamel come together in this deeply satisfying yet simple meal.

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.