This recipe serves two, but it can easily be doubled or cut in half. Potatoes and eggs cooked like this are best when prepared from start to end in the same pan, so the potatoes stay crispy and hot. You might want to do one panful at a time the first time you try this recipe, but once you eat this, I guarantee it will become a favorite and soon you'll get the knack of working two pans at once. Serve for breakfast, or as lunch with a salad.

1 medium Idaho potato (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
4 large eggs
Salt (preferably sea salt)
Freshly ground black pepper

Makes 2 servings

Peel the potato and cut it in half crosswise. Stand the halves cut side down and cut into 1/4-inch slices, then cut the slices into 1/4-inch strips. Divide the oil between two 8-inch nonstick or well-seasoned skillets and heat over medium-high heat. (If you don't have two such pans, cook the potatoes and eggs one serving at a time.) Divide the potatoes between the pans of oil and cook, shaking the pans and turning the potatoes as necessary, until they are golden on all sides, about 6 minutes. Hold the potatoes in place with a slotted spoon or wire skimmer while you pour off all but about 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil from each skillet. Return the skillets to the heat, sprinkle half the rosemary leaves over each, and toss well. Break two eggs into each pan. Season generously with salt and pepper, and mix the potatoes and eggs together with a fork until the egg is cooked to your liking. Serve hot.


Fruit Jam Tartlet Cookies
Crostata

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, plus more for the baking sheet
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup ice water, or as needed
1 1/2 cups chunky apricot, cherry, peach, or plum preserves

Makes 36 cookies

Stir 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Drop in the butter and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Using the tips of your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the pieces of butter resemble small corn flakes. (Work quickly, to keep the butter as firm as possible.) Beat the egg yolk and 1/4 cup ice water in a separate, small bowl until blended. Drizzle over the flour-butter mixture and toss just until you have a rough dough. Don't overmix. If there are some pieces of unmoistened dough, drizzle more ice water, about 1teaspoon at a time, over the dough, and toss lightly to mix. Turn out onto a work surface and knead lightly a few times, just to gather the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Lightly butter a 9 x 13-inch baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut off and set aside one-third of the dough. Roll out the remaining two-thirds of the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10 x 14-inch rectangle. (Don't worry if it's not perfectly shaped--you'll have a chance to patch the dough.) Flour the surface lightly, as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, covering the bottom completely and pressing the dough along the sides. Trim any overhanging dough, and use the pieces to patch any holes and gaps. Spoon the preserves in an even layer over the dough. Roll out the remaining dough to a circle about 10 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 1/2-inch strips. Form a lattice pattern over the preserves with the strips of dough by arranging half of them diagonally, then laying the second half of the dough strips perpendicular to the first. Bake until the dough is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove, and cool completely before cutting into squares. Crostate can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.


Soft Polenta
Polenta Morbida

Traditionally, we made polenta with coarse-grain cornmeal and cooked it for 40 minutes or even longer. Today, there is instant polenta, which cooks up nicely in about 15 minutes from start to end. I'm introducing you to polenta by cooking instant polenta; once you master the instant, you can move on to the traditional coarse polenta and you'll notice the difference in texture.

Polenta is unbelievably versatile. I could give you a thousand ways to enjoy it, because that's how many ways we ate it while we were growing up. It is delicious poured into a bowl and served as is, or allowed to chill and sliced, at which point you can grill or fry it for the next day's meal. You can even make a "mosaic" by folding diced cooked vegetables into the soft polenta, packing it into a loaf pan while it is still warm, then allowing it to chill. When you cut the chilled loaf into slices, the vegetables will form a mosaic and make an even prettier presentation when cooked.

2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon coarse salt, or as needed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups "instant" polenta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Makes 6 servings

Bring a kettle filled with about 4 cups of water to a boil, then lower the heat to very low and keep warm. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Toss in the bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt and stir in the olive oil.

Working with a small handful of the cornmeal at a time, let it fall through your fingers into the boiling seasoned water, while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (Pay special attention to the corners as you stir; it is there that the polenta will stick and scorch first.) It should take about 5 minutes to add all the cornmeal.

When all the cornmeal is added, the mixture should be smooth and thick and begin to perk like a little volcano. Lower the heat so the polenta continues to perk slowly, and cook, stirring constantly, until it is smooth and shiny, about 5 minutes. If at any point during the cooking the polenta becomes too thick to stir easily, add some of the water from the kettle--about 1/2 cup--to loosen the consistency a little. It is possible that you will not need to add all the water in the kettle before the cornmeal is tender. The polenta is ready to serve at this point, or you can choose to cook it an extra minute or two, to intensify the flavor.

Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the butter and cheese, and pour into a ceramic serving bowl. Let the polenta stand for up to 10 minutes before serving. The longer the polenta stands, the firmer its texture will be.


Chocolate Soup
Zuppa al Cioccolato

5 cups milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated or chopped fine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Ground cinnamon
Brioche or panettone, torn into pieces, or hard buttery cookies

Makes 6 servings

Stir 1/2 cup of the milk and the flour together in a small bowl until smooth. Bring the remaining 4 1/2 cups milk just to the simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Ladle 1 cup of the simmering milk over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, let sit a minute, then whisk to dissolve the chocolate. Stir the chocolate mixture into the simmering milk. Strain the flour mixture into the saucepan, then stir in the sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Return to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand a minute or two. Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Pass the brioche, panettone, or cookies for dunking separately.