Whereas it is very important to turn whole bell peppers while they char so that they roast evenly, no turning is necessary when the peppers are cut into pieces.

In our book, any dish made with jumbo shrimp is special. Top jumbo shrimp with a one-of-a-kind garlicky sausage salsa, and the result is worthy of a celebration. That's why we're recommending you serve these with champagne or port. Should you have any of the chorizo salsa left over, add it to scrambled eggs the next day. Come to think of it, buy twice as much chorizo, and make an extra batch of the salsa for just that reason.

Poaching chicken is simple and making the sauce is, too, because it is nothing more than mayonnaise, with all kinds of different Cajun spices added. We've even used whole-wheat sandwich bread!

Once you have a roasted turkey breast on hand, you will be astonished at the number of ways you will find to use it. This is just one very simple example.

The capers in the pesto make a sizable contribution. If you don't have parsley pesto, stir capers into a flavored mayonnaise. Or use olive paste or plain pesto. The point is to use the spread, whatever it might be, to provide a burst of big flavor for the turkey and bread. Pane rustico is a crusty rustic bread traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven. Look for it in specialty markets.

Prosciutto is now available almost everywhere, as is green olive paste, to say nothing of really good arugula, which means this could be one of the easiest- to-make combinations in this book. If you want to add a little something here, these are lovely served with pieces of sweet melon or pear.

There is a way you can make these even more interesting. Use smoked prosciutto in place of the regular. Known as speck, it originated in northern Italy, where there weren't always enough sunny or dry days to cure the pork legs. Someone resourceful did the next best thing: moved the legs inside the chimney to dry. Smoked prosciutto has a deep rosy color and exquisite flavor. While it is still not widely available, it is becoming easier to find and is definitely worth the search.

Given how successful a Spanish tortilla is served as a panino, we thought we'd try it with another open-faced omelet: the Italian frittata. No surprises here-it works beautifully, too. In fact, when it comes to the perfect example of room-temperature food, there may be no better example than the frittata. Serve it as suggested below or in larger pieces for a superb brunch, late-morning breakfast, or late-evening snack.

A preparation note: While there are few ways to use leftover roasted potatoes that we can recommend, this recipe happens to be an exception. They work deliciously here.

We picked up the habit of tortilla in Barcelona, then worked on it in New York. The open-faced omelet, which is what tortilla means in Spain, can be served either at room temperature, as we do at Mangia, or hot, which you can do at home. Just bring the skillet straight from the broiler to the table, with the ciabatta in a basket alongside. And if ciabatta is not available, substitute a large baguette.

Roasted vegetables, wonderful bread, and cheese. It sounds straightforward, and it is, in a way. How the parts intermarry, though, is what makes these panini so very good. If you haven't roasted the vegetables ahead of time, roast them all at once, on the same baking sheet. Be sure to keep on eye on them, though, and remove each one as it is done.