If you have been living under a rock for your entire life and never had a Linzer torte before. Linzer tortes are a nut-based cake with tons of jam. They are usually flavored with cinnamon, cloves, and lemon zest which gives them an incredible holiday feel.

Pommes Aligot, or cheesy potato fondue, is an incredibly easy dish to master. The key components are good mashed potatoes, lots of cheese, and the desire for a workout.

I love shaved fennel and orange salad. It is the perfect late winter salad that your whole family will love. It combines the perfect crunch of raw fennel with a citrusy sweetness. One of the best qualities is that it is highly adaptable to whatever you have on hand. You can make it solely with oranges or add grapefruit, satsumas, tangerines, or whatever other citrus fruit you like. You can add cheese, olives, onions, nuts, and a host of other ingredients depending upon what you have on hand.

I started out desperately wanting to make Mouclade, a curried mussel dish that originated in the French port city of La Rochelle but ended up with a more Asian feeling bowl of turmeric ginger mussels. In some ways, curry and mussels sound weird together, but the flavor combination is off the hook, especially when backed by coconut milk and hot chili peppers.

We met Johann Pepin at 'Les Pastras', his sprawling organic farm located on a desolate mountain top near the Provencal village of Cadenet under the cloak of secrecy. He cautioned us that "thieves were everywhere", before instructing us to lock our car doors and gather down below. I must admit I felt a bit uneasy as he slipped a black hood loosely over my head, gently guiding me into the back of an unmarked black van. Moments later we arrived at the edge of an unnamed field in an unnamed town in an unnamed country for what was surely going to be an epic truffle hunt. Such is the way with truffle hunters where secrecy is everything.

What I love most about steak Bareuzai is that it is so quickly prepared. No advanced planning is necessary other than to have a few ingredients on hand and perhaps a bottle of wine open. The only controversy seems to be whether or not you finish the sauce with a healthy spoonful of Dijon mustard.

I made this Honey Caramelized Pear, Burrata, & Arugula Salad with items I had at hand, and wanted to share it with you. The hardest step is the first. Once you poach the pear slices and caramelize them it is simply a matter of assembling the dish. Save the poaching liquid to make a sorbet or craft a cocktail. Honey caramelized pears also make a great foundation for a number of desserts. I used to make one with chocolate sorbet and pistachio cream.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is incredibly easy to make at home. I was craving vegetables when I photographed this version so I made it with a higher ratio of vegetables to chickpeas. Despite the recipe given below, it is best to follow your own passions and add whatever you like. Use my recipe solely as a springboard to your own creation.

A highly versatile warm raspberry and almond cake that is perfect for any occassion.

Poires Belle Helene is a classic French dessert composed of pears poached in a vanilla syrup served with vanilla ice cream then drizzled with a hot chocolate sauce. It’s a very easy dessert to master and can be easily altered to suit your tastes.

Of all the culinary treats that grace the French Christmas table, nothing inspires more child-like joy than a rich, chocolate Bûche de Noël.

Pommes Anna is the classic French dish of sliced potatoes layered in a pan with butter (lots of butter), browned on the stovetop, and finished in a hot oven until crispy. It is a dish I have made countless times over my career and still LOVE to eat today.

Enjoy this easy-to-bake lemon poppyseed cake. We eat it for breakfast or as an easy dessert. Perfect for when guests are visiting.

Savor the ethereal perfectness of a just-baked madeleine. The slightly warm madeleines with a crispy exterior and a cake-like interior bursting with the bright flavors of fresh lemon.

Tarte Tatin has been very popular worldwide ever since its inception in the 1800s.   The familiar story often retold is that of the Tatin family and their hotel in the small town of Lamotte-Beuvron in Central France, about 100 miles south of Paris. Caroline and Stéphanie (Fanny) ran the hotel and supposedly created the famous tarte by accident, but is this the only truth? 

Pebronata (Peh-Bro-Nah-Tah) is a Corsican daube or stew generally made from goat meat, although it is often made from beef, veal, or pork. There are 3 distinct steps in the creation of an authentic pebronata: cooking the pork, preparing the tomatoes sauce, and sauteing the sweet peppers. Pebronata is the perfect Fall dish to celebrate the end of peppers and tomatoes growing in your garden and the changes in the weather.

This easy tuna spaghetti is perhaps my sister Anne’s greatest contribution to the culinary arts. It’s an easy-to-make, quick pasta that literally takes less time to prepare the sauce than it does to cook the pasta. Perfect for busy families on the go. What I love about it is its versatility. You will notice in the ingredient list a number of optional items. Add those, don’t add those. If you don’t like tuna try adding shrimp to the mix or just eat it on its own. Dinner shouldn’t be complicated!

My apple trees are completely covered with ripe fruit ready to pick. As I started pulling a few off I began thinking about how to best use them. When I was a small child my mother use to make a really simple dessert that I adored. She would peel and core an apple then roll it in cinnamon sugar, stuff it with sweetened butter, wrap it in a thin skin of pie pastry, and bake it. It had all the great characteristics we love about apple pies but was quicker to make.

Confession Time. I planted way too many tomatoes this year and I was looking for the best, most tasty way to use them. I ended up making a Provençale Vegetable Tian - which is sort of a super healthy vegetable casserole.

Chickpeas stewed in tomato sauce is a popular flavor combination in Provence. I added chunks of homemade espelette sausages I had leftover from a sausage-making experiment. You could use spicy Italian sausages or even Moroccan merguez.