5 Ingredients or Fewer

One of the most popular flavors in gelaterie in Italy is crema, a simple frozen custard unenhanced by any flavoring. It has a rich, yellow color due to the brightness of the yolks of Italian corn-fed chickens.

Serve this dish with French bread to get all the delicious sauce.

Fruit simmered in cinnamon syrup is a typical after-dinner treat throughout Mexico.

The Spanish sauce known as romesco is usually high in fat; this version contains less oil, but just as much flavor.

One diner's instructions on how to find Mrs. Wilkes': "Walk along West Jones Street until you smell fried chicken."

Chef Ian Algerø‸en of Skadi restaurant serves this side dish with duck. It's also terrific with roast pork or Cornish game hens.

This recipe makes more ice cream than you'll need to fill the cones (see Coconut Tuile Cones with Passion-Fruit Ice Cream recipe), but it's so delicious you'll have no trouble getting rid of the leftovers. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 3 1/4 hr

Shop for smaller parsnips, which are more tender.

"I have been enjoying Aperto restaurant here in San Francisco ever since it opened eight years ago," writes Leslie Appleton, of San Francisco, California. "Everything prepared in that little kitchen is delicious and attractively presented. If you could obtain the recipe for the soft-centered chocolate soufflés served there, you would make me very happy." These can be prepared ahead.

In Rome, this is a typical way of preparing bitter greens. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

The secret to garlic bread that's neither too greasy nor too dry is having the correct proportion of butter to bread, so we give specific dimensions for the Italian loaf. If yours is a different size, you'll need to adjust the amount of garlic butter accordingly.

When choosing a steak, look for meat with good marbling (fat that runs throughout). This keeps the meat from shrinking and drying as it cooks.

Small imported Turkish bay leaves, available at supermarkets, are ideal for this recipe.