Cheese

Cream cheese enhances the texture of the custard in this tart. To create the pretty wave pattern, use an icing comb, available in cookware stores. Begin making the dessert a day ahead.

Cream cheese was added to the ricotta for this smooth, luscious dessert. But if you can find fresh ricotta, which is less grainy than some of the commercial types, use it and omit the cream cheese.

This recipe is an adaptation of a rolled omelet from Gostilna Devetak, a trattoria in Friuli, Italy, which we featured in our October 1997 issue.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Nourishing and quick to make, this one-pot meal is perfect for a workday supper. Make the tomato soup ahead, then reheat it and poach the eggs just before serving. For this dish, I like to use medium eggs or, for an even more special touch, quail eggs if I can get them.

See how to <epi:recipelink id="">devein shrimp</epi:recipelink>.

You’ll need to purchase a 1-pound package of frozen pizza dough, even though only a quarter of that is called for here. Refreeze the remainder for another use.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

An interesting mix of spices lends wonderful flavor to this simple pasta dish — known as pastitsada — from Tavern Tripa.

These potatoes, oven-crisped on the outside and tender inside, go especially well with red meat.

This recipe is best made with fresh ricotta, which is very dry and flavorful. If you cannot find fresh ricotta, use 2 cups supermarket whole-milk ricotta and drain it (see below).

In the Today's Gourmet series, I wanted to create dishes that were elegant, modern, original, light, and reasonably quick to prepare. TV demanded that the dishes be visually attractive, too.... Partially drying the tomatoes in the oven concentrates their taste, giving them a wonderfully deep flavor and great chewiness. The red of the tomatoes, the white of the cheese, and the green of the basil make this dramatically colorful salad especially enticing. Serve with good crunchy bread.