Pancetta

Bitter and bossy seeks warm and sweet: This robust dressing is capable of standing up to—and slightly softening—acerbic greens like dandelion or arugula. (Maybe it's the bacon...)

Use a vegetable peeler to peel the zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons, stopping when you get to the very center where it is all seeds. You can use this same technique with carrots and peel long carrot ribbons, or also choose to use half carrots and half zucchini. The zucchini (or carrots or both) sliced this way also make a light, fresh summer salad when tossed raw with lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs.

We're into the ruffles-on-ruffles look you get from using reginetti noodles and Savoy cabbage, but any short pasta and green cabbage can be used in their place.

Roasting the pancetta in one large piece renders out most of the fat, making it easy to dice into perfect 1/4" pieces.

If you like stuffing with smoked oysters, you'll like it even more with tart lemons on top.

This meal has everything you need in one dish. Chicken & roasted garlic tortelloni pair up with pancetta and broccoli rabe for a tasty dish worthy of entertaining.

Ravioli tossed with asparagus, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and pancetta creates a delicious meal. The lemon juice and olive oil drizzle provide a light, fresh taste.

Kabocha squash is made for purées.

This dish was inspired by pasta e fagiole, the classic Italian pasta and bean stew. Unlike macaroni, the grains stay nice and chewy, even when reheated days later.

I have written a recipe for panettone dressing before: the sweet seasonal fruit bread was cubed, toasted, and mixed with Italian sausage; this is very different, not least because I see it not as an accompaniment to turkey (which has its own interior stuffing) but to be served, at parties or over cocktails, in small squares, like savory brownies. As ever, feel free to substitute the plainer pandoro if you wish, though I do think the rich fruitiness is part of this unconventional appetizer's charm.

These savory puddings work as a brunch or side dish, with their corn husk "handles" making them look like cheerful sunflowers. After you remove the kernels from the cobs, you scrape the corn milk from the cobs with the back of a knife, then simmer the cobs in cream and milk. This mixture forms the base of the pudding batter, which you pour into corn husk–lined muffin tins. The result is part corn muffin, part soufflé.

The ultimate holiday vacation cooking project: lasagna with two homemade sauces and layers of homemade pasta.

Strisce means strips—any long pasta will work—and Chiantigiana refers to the Tuscan wine used to flavor the sauce.

For this dish, balsamic vinegar adds the sweetness needed to balance the sharp flavor of red wine vinegar.

Pancetta is the secret ingredient that makes this moist stuffing really flavorful. If you don’t have pancetta on hand, bacon works great too!

We're skipping the classic cubes in favor of tangled butternut ribbons baked into a moist flat cake for a seriously showstopping first course. Pair the squash with a mix of spicy arugula and ever-so-slightly-bitter chicory enhanced with savory pancetta and toasted hazelnuts. A sweet-tart apple vinaigrette is the final touch atop the most refreshing fall salad we've tasted in a long time. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of our Gourmet Modern Menu for Thanksgiving for 2 or 20. Menu also includes: Citrus-Sage Roast Turkey with Gravy (whole turkey or breast ); Mashed Potato and Cauliflower Gratin; Cabernet-Cranberry Sauce with Figs; Challah, Sausage, and Dried Cherry Stuffing; and for dessert, Apple Crostata with Spiced Caramel Sauce .

Let’s be clear: If you’re hosting the dinner party to end all dinner parties—Grandma’s good china is out of storage, the napkins have been ironed, and you’re polishing the silver—this is the ultimate first course. At first glance it may resemble a basic pear-and-arugula salad, but look closer and you’ll find that everything about it is just a little bit special, from the Champagne vinaigrette, to the creamy, salty ricotta salata, to the rich and savory pancetta. The ingredients do cost a little more, but it’s worth it.