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right wine not only complements the meal, but enhances appreciation of it. On a hot summer day we eat differently than in winter. It would be ridiculous to spend time over a hot stove, stirring a bubbling polenta when the temperature outside reaches the sizzling point. On the other hand, cook a polenta on a cold winter day and you bring a warm glow to your family or guests. With this concept in mind, I have put together menus for this chapter. They are divided into spring and summer, and fall and winter.These menus are intended only as guidelines because there are countless possible menu combinations using the recipes in this book.

By changing a pasta dish, by substituting meat for fish, by eliminating a course, you can create your own menus. Each combination can fit a particular occasion or season. For example, a pot of bean soup followed by broiled chicken or Chicken Hunter Style, page 122, can become a simple yet excellent meal. Serve it for an informal gathering of friends. Why not cook several frittatas, make a tomato and basil salad and fill a cheese board with assorted Italian cheeses? Then eat this delightful meal informally outdoors on your patio, by a river or at a beach. Select a stuffed pasta dish and, working around it, build an elegant meal—a meal that will linger in the minds of your guests. And let’s not forget the everyday meals for our families. The same care should be taken in preparing the simplest of meals. After all, good food should not be kept in the closet and served only on special occasions. Good food belongs on the everyday table. We must all eat, so why not make the best of it?

Most Italian meals end with an unbeatable combination—cheese and fruit. Creamy Gorgonzola cheese and sweet, ripe pears is a marriage made in heaven. Fresh fruit, when ripe and sweet, can stand on its own as dessert. Of course there are many occasions when a beautiful dessert should end a meal. In formal entertaining, a spectacular dessert is not only advised, but recommended. If you plan a menu with a beautiful first course and end with an impressive dessert, you can be sure your dinner party will be a success.

To end an Italian meal without espresso coffee would be an absurdity. In Italy, espresso is a national institution. I remember when my husband first arrived in Bologna to attend medical school, he barely managed one or two cups of this strong coffee a day. By the time he graduated, he was drinking eight to ten cups a day. Today, after 30 years in this country I still start my day with several cups of espresso and end it in the same way. Many of my friends believe espresso is the source of my considerable energy.

The menus start with one really lavish holiday menu from Emilia-Romagna.

It just occurred to me that this is the last chapter of this book.After working on it for more than a year, I know I will miss the daily routine of preparing recipes in my kitchen and then sitting down to write them up. I hope I have achieved what I had in mind. I set out to share with you not only some of the food of northern Italy, but also to give you a little understanding of a very old, warm and beautiful country.

HOLIDAY MENU FROM EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Prosciutto with melon

Green Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce, page 50

Stuffed Veal Roast, page 155

Stuffed Artichokes, page 185

Baked Tomatoes, page 180

Buttered carrots

Oranges in liqueur

Sweet Fried Cream, page 230

Mature Barbaresco or Cabernet Sauvignon

FALL AND WINTER MENUS

Pan-Roasted Chicken, page 115

Peas with Prosciutto, page 184

Fresh fruit

Jam Tart, page 218

Vapolicella or Gamay Beaujolais

Hot Anchovy Dip, page 17

Basic Polenta, page 86, with Rabbit with Wine and Vegetables, page 117

Mixed Salad, page 196

Pears Poached in Red Wine, page 218

Barbera or Cabernet Sauvignon

SPRING AND SUMMER MENUS

Trenette with Pesto Sauce, page 74

Cold Veal in Tuna Sauce, page 154

Mixed Salad, page 196

Cold Zabaglione, page 229, with fresh strawberries

Trebbiano or Fumé Blanc

Rice and Pea Soup, page 31

Calf’s Liver in Onion Sauce, page 145