Pan Bagnat (pahn bah nyah, saying the 'n' in pan through your nose) is a make-ahead sandwich from the south of France that's a whole meal, perfect for picnics. The filling is tuna, tomatoes, olives, some greens and a garlicky olive oil. And anchovies. Don't let the anchovies scare you away. If you love anchovies, the more the better. If you don't, adding a small squeeze of anchovy paste to the dressing will add depth, but you probably won't realize exactly what it is. Squeeze out about as much as the amount of toothpaste you'd use. Make sure you use a…

It isn’t every sporting event that has its own designated drink and dress code, but when it comes to the Kentucky Derby, it’s the mint julep and a hat that makes a statement. The drink is easy: muddle some fresh mint and sugar in the bottom of a silver julep cup, fill with crushed ice, add bourbon and top off with a healthy sprig of mint and a short straw. (The short straw is so your nose will be buried in the fragrant mint as you sip.) All you need now is a big hat and you’re set for this Saturday’s…

Asparagus is one of the vegetable world’s harbingers of spring. It may be tempura-ed, stir-fried, made into a cream soup, wrapped in thin slices of ham, put into an omelet or frittata or tossed with pasta. For me, asparagus is most appealing at its simplest: boiled, steamed or roasted, then dipped in Hollandaise sauce. I used to choose only the thinnest of spears, looking askance at the sturdier stalks, but recently I’ve come to appreciate asparagus in all its variety of sizes. Whether you prefer skinny or chubby, for ease of cooking, pick stalks that are generally the same in diameter…

I once shared a driveway in Missoula, Mont., with Carol, a transplant from Jackson, Miss. She was an enchanting anomaly, with her thick Southern accent and dainty shoes. Among other things, she introduced me to Sherwin Williams "Peanut Cookie" paint, Spode "Buttercup" china and the Jackson Junior League cookbook, "Southern Sideboards." One of the recipes I've used most often is for "Bride's Biscuits," a cross between a biscuit and a roll. They rise from three leavenings (baking powder, baking soda plus buttermilk and yeast.) Maybe either the bride or the one who gave her the recipe thought even the most inexperienced…

PARIS - In pâtisseries all over the City of Light, the almond meringue delicacies called macarons are proudly displayed front and center. Some might have a few macarons to choose from, usually vanilla, chocolate, coffee, pistachio and raspberry. Other very upscale pâtisseries will have gorgeous displays of macarons in colors and flavors that dazzle: anise, rose, violet, basil, salted caramel, green tea. Smooth and shiny, from palest ivory to intense fuchsia to ebony - sandwiched with a scant filling of fruit jam, ganache or buttercream - macarons are among the gems of the pastry world. They can be the size of…

If you’d like to give your chocolate-loving Valentine something homemade this year, bake a tin of deeply chocolate cookies. Make them large or small, topped with a sprinkling of sugar, or use frosting to write words of endearment. Make one very large cookie for a grand gesture. It would give you enough room for a marriage proposal or a short poem. When you make large cookies, they almost always get distorted when you transfer them to the baking sheet. It’s easier to roll the dough out on the parchment paper, then put the whole thing on the baking sheet. Cut out…

Lamb has always been a favorite of mine. A roasted leg of lamb was my first choice for childhood birthday dinners, and it’s hard to imagine anything that smells better than crispy grilled lamb chops on a bed of rosemary. On a cold winter evening, this recipe from the Cordon Bleu in Paris is just what I want. When you lift the lid on the cooking pot, a cloud of herby, garlicky, lamby steam is released, revealing browned chops on a bed of sliced potatoes. For this recipe you want the larger, flatter blade-cut shoulder chops that take well to braising,…

I first tasted Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing at The Mustard Seed restaurant in Missoula, Mont. I can’t recall anything else from the menu, and I ate there often, but the salad dressing was memorable. I would go there just to have the salad. I’ve had this recipe for so long, there is no paper trail as to where I found it, but I’m glad I did. This delicious blend of fresh ginger, toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce fancies up almost any salad or vegetable, so you can use it to perk up a plain main dish. The one essential piece…

"The Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas was one of the first cookbooks I bought; followed quickly by "The Vegetarian Epicure: Book Two." After I used both with some regularity for a few years, they slipped to an out-of-the-way spot on my cookbook shelf, barely noticed - except for twice a year. Right before Thanksgiving, and near Christmas or New Year's, I search them out for the Liptauer Cheese recipe. Of course, I often forget which book I use, because between the two books, there are three recipes for Liptauer Cheese. The preferred recipe is in the second book, and Thomas calls…

The first time I ate Shepherd's Pie was after a flight that had been delayed by snow. Gathered around the table at our friends' cozy house in the north of England, nothing could have been more perfect for that cold January night. Since then, our version of Shepherd's Pie that we call Reindeer Pie has become a winter staple. The recipe is a take-off on Rudolph Pie found in the book "Feast: Food to Celebrate Life" by Nigella Lawson. Shepherd's Pie is really supposed to be made with lamb and Cottage Pie with beef, but we won't quibble. Reindeer Pie isn't…

Mincemeat: The very thought of it is enough to make you shudder. What’s in there? And most importantly, does it really contain meat? The answer to the meat question is: It depends. It used to have meat because it was a good way to use up those leftover meat scraps and bits no one knew what to do with. I asked a group of women about mincemeat. One, originally from Wyoming, said her mother used to make it. When asked about the recipe, she said, “Well, first you have to get some venison.” A recipe that begins with the application for…

One of the most important Thanksgiving foods at our house is yeast rolls. I go back and forth between plain rolls and rolls that contain mashed potatoes, but I think that potato rolls are my favorite. Make sure to use a floury, not waxy, potato, cooked and mashed well. Lumps aren’t a plus in rolls. Save the potato water: yeast loves it, beginning to feed and multiply happily almost immediately. Mixing and kneading can be done in a heavy-duty stand mixer. Use the paddle to beat the dough until smooth, then switch to the dough hook. Rising time depends on temperature.…

This quartet of pies features fall produce: apples, cranberries, pears and nuts. As for the Chocolate Coconut Pie, neither chocolate or coconut are particularly fall ingredients, but they are, after all, chocolate and coconut. It is always the right time of the year for chocolate and coconut. Topping sweets with salt is still in fashion, probably because it tastes so good. Adding a top dusting of coarse salt to the following version of the ever-popular pecan pie adds a bit of balance to the tooth-achingly sweet filling. A mixture of nuts adds flavor and texture to the Karo syrup recipe (I…

Making a meal shouldn’t be dangerous. I’ve never been tempted by those Japanese puffer fish that kill someone every so often, or even by pain-inducing incendiary chilies. I have, however, fallen for sweet meat squash. Sweet meat squash is very pretty — a flattened round of pale, silvery blue-green, sometimes with light brown speckles. It’s an excellent squash for eating with its dense, deep, orange-yellow sweet flesh. And the numerous plump seeds are just great for roasting and snacking. Let’s go back to the dense flesh. We’re talking very dense. In fact, the sweet meat is so hard that it is…

One of the best parts of fall is the arrival of apple season; time to drive to a local farm to pick your own or head for your favorite farmers’ market, where often you can find less common varieties. In our family, it’s the smell of cooking apples and cinnamon that signals that fall is here. My mom called it stewed apples, and it’s just apples and cinnamon and maybe a big dollop of honey — cooked in the big pot she gave me — until the house fills with the fragrance that is, to me, the essence of fall. When…

One of my sisters who lived in New Mexico and Colorado gave me a recipe for Chile Verde that I have made for years. It has evolved, as recipes do, and no disrespect is meant to anyone from New Mexico or Colorado if it seems to have strayed from what you were expecting. As with most regional recipes I’ve come across, almost everyone makes their own version, all insisting it’s the true recipe. I like to keep an appreciative, open mind, because good cooking is good cooking and authenticity is in the eye (or taste buds) of the beholder. Chile Verde…

Pavlova is an impressive dessert to make that's so easy, a 10-year-old could make it alone. To be precise, two 10-year-olds could make it by themselves, which they did. Invented in either Australia or New Zealand (depending on whom you ask) to honor the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the Pavlova was usually topped with tropical passion fruit. That fruit isn't as available here, so use your favorite seasonal fruit. Frozen fruit works, too, as do pomegranate seeds, caramelized bananas or chocolate sauce. The middle layer is usually whipped cream, but feel free to play around here. I like a mixture…

You probably aren't thinking ahead about what to do with all that leftover turkey that will be staring at you from the refrigerator at the end of next week. So what will you do after a few turkey sandwiches? African Peanut Turkey Soup could be a welcome change from the traditional Thanksgiving leftovers. It has rich flavor with a bite of cayenne. How much of a bite is up to you. I like it with cornbread, but warmed tortillas are good here, too. It could also be served over a bed of rice or couscous. A few notes: I always use…

Cauliflower isn't a vegetable that gets a lot of attention. It's white. It's crunchy. It's on the bland side. It's good under a cheese sauce or pickled, but otherwise, you don't hear much about it. This overlooked vegetable gets its chance to shine when combined with other vegetables and aromatic spices and herbs. I learned this dish from a Frenchman, which is why it is called Vegetables à la Greque (pronounced grek). I don't know what they call it in Greece, if it is even made in Greece. Don't be afraid of the spices and the raisins. The dish really comes…

Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? It’s especially nice for those who are too harried in the morning to have breakfast for breakfast. A Dutch Baby, a big puffy pancake made in the oven, is a great way to serve a group without having to stand at the stove making pancakes or eggs one by one. Plus, you probably have all the ingredients on hand. In that roundabout route that recipes often take, a Dutch Baby is really very similar to savory Yorkshire Pudding and popovers, with at least a nodding acquaintance to clafoutis, which is the French dessert version. All…

It is a rule of cooking that the smaller or thinner something is, the faster it cooks. Smashed Chicken, as it is known in my family, bears close resemblance to Chicken Scaloppini, but is actually an approximation of a dish made with skate that I had in a restaurant. In addition to chicken or skate, this recipe also works well with pork loin, any thin piece of mild white fish, or even sliced button mushrooms. The important thing here is to make whatever you’re cooking an even thinness. For chicken breasts or pork loin, that means pounding them between pieces of…

Sometimes you want a side dish that is hearty enough to be a vegetarian main dish. This bean, corn and tomato salad with a Southwestern vinaigrette easily does both. In addition, it could be served wrapped in warmed tortillas or scooped up with substantial tortilla chips. It’s a true multipurpose dish. The dressing may be prepared without heating the spices in the oil, but that extra step makes a difference. You can slide by with using dried oregano, but don’t even think about using anything but freshly squeezed lime juice. Two medium-sized limes yield 1/3 cup of juice, but I usually…

If you’re trying to add more whole grains to your meals, whole-grain pasta is a good place to start. But don’t try to take a favorite recipe and exchange regular pasta for whole wheat (or spelt or whatever.) The reaction will probably be that it doesn’t taste the way it usually does. Of course it doesn’t. Whole-grain pastas, like brown rice, have completely different tastes and textures than the more refined varieties. Use a new recipe, preferably one with bold flavors. Maybe after your family is used to the whole-grain pasta in this recipe, you might be able to sneak it…

Ratatouille, a vegetable stew from the south of France, is traditionally cooked on top of the stove, but grilling the vegetables adds even more flavor to the mix. The amounts of each vegetable are very flexible, but try for balance of flavors. Make more than you need because the leftovers get better and better. It's important when grilling to make sure the items are secure on skewers. If you use two parallel skewers, whether metal or soaked bamboo, the vegetables will stay more stable on the grill and will behave better when turning. Vegetables on the same skewers should be of…

When you can get great tomatoes, they don’t need much to improve on their flavor: a little salt, a little pepper, maybe a drizzle of olive oil, not to mention in a BLT with avocado. A cheesy pasta topped with uncooked tomato sauce is an easy main or side dish. Adapted from a Bon Appétit magazine too long ago to remember, this has been a family favorite from the first try. When my younger daughter was in kindergarten and was asked (as they all were) to name her favorite food, she said, quite rapturously, “Pasta With Four Cheeses and Tomato Basil…

Eating in should be at least as good as eating out, and maybe even better. There can be pleasure in the choosing and preparation of ingredients in order to end up with something you’ll proudly share. That’s the premise behind Eating In, our new Oregon Life column. In this column, we’ll explore how to get the best food on the table without unreasonable effort. This isn’t the place to learn how to bone a turkey or make tofu. While from-scrach is a good ideal, there are quite good prepared foods that deserve notice. And we’ll notice them. We’ll talk about techniques…