French in a Flash: Whole Wheat Pissaladière Pizza with Tapenade, Pine Nuts, Goat Cheese

My mother was born in Marseille only by accident. Mémé was traveling from Paris to visit my great-grandparents who were then spending a few years living in the new country of Israel. Mémé had gotten as far as the port...

Pissaladière

Pissaladière is a kind of pizza or tart from the South of France, bathed in sweet onions and studded with anchovies and olives. It's the perfect afternoon snack or lunch with a glass of wine.

French in a Flash: Red Pistou Pasta with Shrimp and Crunchy Herbes de Provence Crumbs

Red pistou is made from tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil, usually in that order. Delicious, sharp, pungent, intensely summery, let's just say it stays with you—on your mind and on your breath. This homemade version pairs the pistou with pasta, and a tumble of crunchy, salty, herbes de Provence-spiked breadcrumbs and a studding of seared shrimp.

French in a Flash: Olivey French Lentil and Barley Salad

This salad is made from French Puy lentils and barley dressed with fresh thyme, lemon, and tapenade, and tossed with parsley and scallions. It goes perfectly with roast salmon, my virtuous food.

French in a Flash: Campanelle with Eggplant Caviar

For this pasta dish, I purée roasted garlic, basil, and a touch of chili with the eggplant, and toss it over trumpets of campanelle pasta, studded with toasted pine nuts and laced with strings of fresh basil. Since eggplant is in season in the late summer, along with basil, now is the time when this dish is cheapest and best. Don't waste another second!

French in a Flash: Drunken Angel Hair with Leeks and Cream

What I love about this dish is that if I have a bottle of wine that I don't like, a really cheap bottle, or the ends of four or five bottles, I can use them all.

French in a Flash: Niçoise Panzanella Bread Salad

Salade Niçoise is iconic, as is the Pan Bagnat which is just a Salade Niçoise sandwich. This is somewhere in the middle: a bread salad full of all the flavors that make a Salade Niçoise a Salade Niçoise: cherry tomatoes, tender blanched haricots verts, anchovies, garlic, lemon, olive oil, thyme, basil, and the best part, albacore in olive oil.

French in a Flash (New Year's): Black Truffle Pasta

Black truffle pasta: I love the gluttony of it. It feels extravagant, but it neither breaks the bank nor your back. And, with any luck, it is a preview of the riches to come in the new year.

French in a Flash: Crispy Salmon with Lentils du Puy and Two-Mustard Crème Fraîche

Salmon with lentils is a traditional French pairing. Besides making a rustic, hearty, and beautiful meal, it's also inexpensive.

French in a Flash: Salmon en Croûte with Rosemary and Asparagus

The French version of the "complete meal in a box" is the en croûte ("in crust"). Consider puff pastry your packing material. Then pack everything you need for your meal—your protein, your vegetable, your sauce—inside, with the package doubling as your carb. Foolproof. Genius, even.