Mangia

Buttery Yukon potatoes go nicely with rich roasted eggplant and a sundried tomato sauce. If Yukon potatoes are not available, red-skinned potatoes can be substituted. You can make the preparation very easy for yourself: Either roast the eggplant the day before or roast it at the same time that you roast the potatoes, which should be about 2 hours before serving. That way you can hold the roasted v...

This is a variation on the classic Caesar Salad, with grilled radicchio replacing the traditional romaine. By grilling radicchio, a red-leafed chicory, you lose some of its slightly bitter taste. You can also pansear it, if you like. The radicchio is best grilled shortly before serving. The croutons and cheese, though, can both be prepared ahead of time. And even if you are not all that keen on an...

This is a colorful combination for fall dining and makes a good accompaniment to turkey or lamb. The squash rounds are very tasty as a leftover, too: Slip them into sandwiches as in post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches or cut them up and add them to a pasta salad, along with a salty cheese, like ricotta salata.

Classic Pesto is made with basil. Mint, which is in the same family, also makes a tasty sauce. Use it as a dressing, as we do here, or as a dip for steamed vegetables, or as a spread on sandwiches. There are a couple of key factors to serving marvelous-tasting tomatoes: Start with the best tomatoes you can find, preferably luscious and truly ripe, and do not under any circumstances refrigerate the...

Make these in the spring, when new-crop baby artichokes are available. Look for ones that are no longer than 1 ½ inches. Their sweet flavor takes on a nutty edge when roasted. Good alone, these chokes are also nice with pork or chicken. Leftovers can be added to pasta or white beans.

The herb of choice here is fresh tarragon, and it goes beautifully with the mustard and cream in the dressing. When you want an elegant accompaniment to roasted meat or fish, something without vinaigrette, serve this. It is especially nice at Easter, with lamb.

This is a showy, marvelous combination. It takes time to prepare, but as everyone knows who loves club sandwiches, it is worth every minute of cooking and cutting. The truth is that none of it is difficult, and most of it is fun. We selected focaccia, a flatbread originally from Genoa, as the vehicle of choice here. Sliced horizontally through the middle, it is sturdy enough to hold a whole lot of...

This sandwich makes us feel as if we're in Nice, France. We close our eyes, and we're walking down a sidewalk there, munching on this sunny, glorious combination. It makes a wonderful lunch and is perfect for summer entertaining. To enjoy your own party, follow our suggestions at the end of the recipe for making some of the components in advance.

This classic niçoise sandwich is the essence of summer. Pan bagna means "bathed bread" and refers to the oil that is generously spooned on thick slices of country bread, which, in turn, are topped with juicy tomato, red onion, and anchovy fillets. These three ingredients comprise the main components of a pan bagna, but hard-boiled egg, olives, and green peppers can also be added. If you...

This tuna salad was on the menu the very first day Mangia opened. Right from the beginning, it was one of our bestsellers, and it still is. People just don't get tired of it. You can add lettuce, watercress, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, cornichons (they are particularly good), crisp bacon, olives or just about anything you like. And, if you place all (or some) of these ingredients separate...

Tradition has it that you should buy soft-shell crabs live and dress them right before you cook them. In reality, it is more convenient to have your fishmonger do it for you. If you decide to do it yourself, however, hold each one down firmly with one hand; then with a pair of scissors in the other, cut about half an inch off their "face," where the eyes and the gills are. That is all th...

Mangia is always looking for interesting breads for its sandwiches. Pullman bread may or may not be available where you live, but it is worth keeping an eye out for it. Also known as pain de mie, it has little or no crust. It is baked in long rectangular loaf pans with lids, which produce a dense crumb that is ideal for slicing. This brings us to its name: The shape of the baking pans is reminisce...

One day we decided to add walnuts to aïoli, Provence's fabulous garlic mayonnaise, and it worked! When you are in the mood for something other than plain mayo, good as it is, remember our moment of inspiration and make aïoli-walnut or plain. And when you do, plan to make it ahead, which will allow it to mellow in flavor. Great on sandwiches like this one-it makes this sandwich, in fact-it is...

Chorizo is an air-dried pork sausage. It is spicy, with a robust flavor. An essential ingredient in Spanish, Portuguese, and Mexican cookery, most of the time it is used as a condiment; but in this case, for these sandwiches, it stars. There are many types of chorizo, as well as many brands. Really good chorizo is available at specialty markets.

A pecan coating makes these chicken breasts very appealing, and two different condiments-red onion jam and mustard mayonnaise contribute mightily to the delicious whole. Improvise here, if you like. Serve the chicken, without bread, with lovely little pots of the spreads on the side. Then make a salad with the lettuce and tomatoes. One of our vinaigrettes would work just fine. In other words, serv...

We tasted a salad like this, with chicken and a splendid nut sauce, in Turkey one summer. When we got home, we decided to try it with hazelnuts. It is elegant company fare, thanks in large part to the hazelnuts. Ciabatta loaves, made from flour, yeast, and water, are shaped like an old and much-used slip- pers-hence the name, which is Italian for "old slipper." If they are not available...

For some of us, meatloaf sandwiches, spread with ketchup or mayonnaise, summon up fond memories. They were the treat, the "special of the day," in the lunch box we took to school. Nothing rivaled a mother's meatloaf sandwich. We've gone beyond the ketchup and mayonnaise here. We've placed the meatloaf, topped with sautéed cremini mushrooms, on brioche bread. Call it a grow...

At Mangia, we have a somewhat less formal name for this: Barbecue on a Bun. This is very similar to pulled pork if you have ever had that great Southern favorite. The meat, cooked slowly and for a long time, should almost fall apart when poked with a fork. There is nothing better to serve with pork made like this than fresh coleslaw. While the barbecued meat can be made in advance, the coleslaw sh...

This is a great sandwich. Steak sandwiches should be, after all. And it is really easy to prepare because both the steak and sauce can be made in advance. Shell steak is as much sought after as filet, but it is not as expensive. Its robust flavor is complemented here by the emphatic taste of capers. If you want to allow your guests to assemble their own sandwiches, place the steak on a platter, th...

These panini are so simple to prepare and so delicious, that they should become a summer staple when tomato season is in swing. Use only fresh mozzarella and luscious, juicy tomatoes. If you can't find focaccia, try country bread-just toast the slices in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. (If the slices are too big, cut the 6 slices in half before toasting. These are the best b...