Mangia

A prep person in the kitchen from Puebla, Mexico, showed us this fun and very flavorful family-style recipe. The ancho chile powder adds a smoky flavor and a dried chile scent. As for the oregano, if you have access to a market with Latino products, look for Caribbean or Mexican oregano. It has a hint of mint that makes it worth the search. The touch of crème fraîche-hardly a Mexican tradition was our addition. It resembles crema dulce, the Mexican sweet cream that you would add if you were in Puebla, and lends a note of soothing creaminess. The tortilla chips provide just the opposite: crunch. This is a south-of-the-border original, spirited, and very good.

A classic Mediterranean pairing-potatoes and chorizo-are combined here with chicken and peas to make a full-flavored, hearty bowl that can be served as a meal in itself, or as a prelude to a dinner of simply grilled or roasted fish. Chorizo, one of our favorite ingredients, should be good and garlicky- well seasoned, in other words. Look for it in butcher shops and larger supermarkets in the pork or sausage section of the meat department.

If you are making this in advance, be sure to add the roughly cut parsley right before serving so that you get the most out of its vibrant color and fresh flavor. When it comes to adding fresh herbs, Mangia's rule of thumb is the rougher the cut, the more the herb contributes.

Chicken and rice soup is one thing. Chicken and wild rice soup is another. This is a wonderful winter soup-just the one for the holidays and it can be made almost entirely in advance. All you will need to do before serving is combine the separate components, heat the soup through, and season it with fresh black pepper a seemingly innocent final touch that lends a sizable amount of warmth.

If chicken soup can be regal, then this one is. Sophisticated ingredients-sundried tomatoes and oyster and cremini mushrooms, plus porcini mushroom oil-make this especially flavorful. The porcini mushroom oil is a must; it lends a singular, concentrated flavor. There is no substitute. Look for it in specialty food stores and after opening, store it in the refrigerator. (Once you have a bottle, you will find other ways of using it.)

This makes a special Sunday lunch or early supper on a cool fall or winter weekend, served with a bottle of crisp white wine and Caesar Salad. It can be made in advance up to the addition of the porcini oil, which happens right before serving.

When made classically, bisque is a thick, creamy, super-rich seafood soup. At one time, a cup of bisque set the stage for still richer things to come. Times have changed, though, and so have people's preferences, including our own. We kept the seafood, but cut way back on the amount of cream, with no loss to either texture or flavor. Easy to prepare and slightly retro but still very au courant, this stands beautifully on its own, as a main-course bowl. Or use it as a first course and pull out all the stops: Capitalize on the bisque's intriguing pink color by garnishing the bowls with snipped chives, the blossoms still attached. A roasted or grilled fish entree to follow would work just fine.

Thesis remarkably rich tasting and full-flavored, more like a stew than a soup, thanks in large part to the generous amount of roasted tomatoes that serve as the base. You can prepare the tomatoes and make the soup base 1 day in advance. Then it is just a matter of reheating the soup and adding the scallops. The key to keeping them tender is to add them right before serving. With crusty bread and fruit and cheese, this makes a stylish light lunch or supper.

This very American fish chowder has a rich flavor without a cream base. The small amount of cream that is added at the end is there to "finish" the soup, to enrich and smooth it. This chowder is not about cream; it's about fresh salmon, corn and potatoes, and bacon. Serve it as a warming main dish, in bowls or in cups, followed by a crisp, clean-tasting salad. The flavors are fullest if you serve right after adding the cream.

These are beautiful party cookies and a delicious challenge for the experienced cook or cookie maker. The effort, including two different baking, will be worth it when you see just how lovely looking (and tasting) these are when finished. Delicate hazelnut dough cutouts are topped with strawberry or apricot preserves, ringed with piped almond paste, and then drizzled with melted chocolate. You have several options for making these: You can make 6 dozen of the same cookie; make the same cookie two different ways, varying the shape and filling; or bake half the recipe, freezing the remaining dough for another time. If you are new to making elaborate, multistep cookies, the last option may be the one to begin with.

To make the full recipe, about 70 cookies, you will need 3 or 4 large baking sheets, some parchment paper, and plenty of time. A final reminder: If you are making only half the recipe, remember to halve the almond topping and filling measurements as well.

This rich shortbread crust serves as the base for our Espresso Bars. The dough is simple to put together and even easier to handle: You roll it out between sheets of wax paper, then use the paper to transfer it to the baking pan. You need to make the dough at least 1 day in advance of finishing the bars because it needs to freeze overnight extra step, but a necessary one that prevents shrinking. And unlike most other pastry doughs, this one you bake while still frozen solid. If you are baking for a party or the holidays and want to avoid as much last-minute preparation as possible, you can make this dough up to 3 days ahead.

We started baking these bars in November 1996. They were an immediate hit then, and they still are. Mocha-flavored chocolate on a rich shortbread base is a great combination. The instruction in the recipe for wrapping the still-hot pan of pastry in plastic wrap is admittedly unorthodox but necessary. When the pan is enclosed so that it is airtight, the topping steams and achieves a lovely, custard-like texture. These bars are tailor-made for entertaining and have the advantage of being made in advance on account of the pastry. We know these bars keep for 3 days, but if your household is like either of ours, you won't have them for that long.