This creamy fondue hails from the Italian Aosta Valley. It is made with a combination of Fontina cheese, egg yolks, milk, and flour. The ingredients are combined and heated until the mixture is well-incorporated and attains its creamy, dense texture.

Aosta-style fondue is sometimes enriched with the addition of white truffle shavings which can be incorporated in the fondue or served on the side. The oldest written mention of the dish dates back to 1854 when a recipe for the truffle based version was published in Trattato di cucina, pasticceria moderna, credenza e relativa confettureria—a cookbook written by the Italian author Giovanni Vialardi. 

Polenta is an ancient dish of Northern Italian origin, most commonly made from coarse corn flour cooked in water. Although polenta today is characterized by its intense yellow color, before the arrival of corn in Europe in the 16th century, it was made with spelt, rye, and buckwheat, which gave it a much darker color.

In Roman times, polenta was called pulmentum, and it was a staple of both peasants and Roman soldiers, who were given portions of grain as field rations. In Italy today, polenta is still made using a copper pot called a paiolo and a long wooden spoon known as a tarello. 

Polenta concia (or cunsa in local dialect) is a rich, creamy version of polenta that is traditionally prepared in a copper pot. The list of ingredients explains why it is also known as polenta grassa, meaning fat polenta: the dish consists of cooked polenta and Fontina Valdostana cheese (or similar Alpine cheeses) that are topped with sizzling melted butter.

Just like many other mountain dishes, polenta concia definitely isn’t low on calories, but it is a perfect comfort food for cold winter days, especially when paired with a glass of full-bodied local red wine such as Enfer d'Arvier.

Carbonade valdostana is a rich Italian beef stew originating from the Aosta valley. It is prepared with a combination of beef (cut into cubes or strips), onions, flour, butter, red wine, and herbs and spices such as cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel, and bay leaves.

Once the stew has been prepared, it is traditionally served piping hot over polenta, but it can also be served with garlic mashed potatoes or pappardelle pasta. Originally, the dish was prepared with beef that was preserved in salt, but nowadays regular beef is more often used in the preparation of carbonade. 

Hailing from the Aosta Valley, crespelle alla Valdostana is an Italian specialty that consists of savory, stuffed crêpes smothered in gooey Fontina cheese and béchamel sauce. The batter for the crêpes is made with a combination of flour, milk, eggs, melted butter, salt, and pepper, while the filling typically includes diced or sliced Fontina cheese, cooked ham (such as gran biscotto ham), and (sometimes) mushrooms.

Once fried to perfection, the crêpes are filled, then rolled or folded into a fan shape and placed snugly into a baking dish before being baked with additional cheese, béchamel sauce, and knobs of butter on top. This traditional dish can be served on its own or as an accompaniment to grilled meat, and it pairs well with wines such as Blanc de Morgex or Erbaluce di Caluso.

Even though tiramisù is actually a fairly recent invention, this dessert of coffee-soaked ladyfingers layered with mascarpone cream enjoys an iconic status among Italian desserts. Its name stems from the phrase tirami sù, an Italian expression which literally means pick me up, a reference to the uplifting effects of sugar, liquor, and coffee.

The origins of tiramisù are heavily disputed between Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions, but it is often suggested that the first was made in Veneto in the early 1960s. The earliest documented recipe for tiramisù (interestingly, without alcohol!) was printed in the 1981 spring edition of Vin Veneto magazine in an article on coffee-based desserts by Giuseppe Maffioli, a renowned food critic and member of the Italian Academy of Cuisine. 

A variety of Italian pasta ripiena (lit. filled pasta), agnolotti are tender, bite-sized pillows of dough, plump with a creamy cheese, meat, or vegetable filling. Agnolotti originated in the Piedmont region circa 12th century, and they are often regarded as the first of many stuffed pasta types in northern Italian cuisine.

Unlike ravioli, which are made with two separate pasta sheets and stamped out, agnolotti are made with a single sheet of dough that is folded over the filling and typically cut into little rectangles. However, throughout the region, agnolotti come in various shapes. 

Traditionally prepared during winter months, bollito misto (lit. mixed boil) is a hearty meat dish of Piedmontese origins, even though nowadays it can be found throughout northern Italy. This elaborate main course consists of several different beef and veal cuts (tagli) as well as various additional meats (ammennicoli or frattaglie).

In Piedmont, bollito misto most often includes beef shoulder or brisket, veal neck or tongue, cotechino pork sausage or zampone stuffed pork trotter, chicken or capon, oxtail, and half a calf’s head. Served immersed in a flavorful, steaming-hot cooking broth, the meat is typically accompanied by an array of different vegetable side dishes, while the traditional condiments for bollito misto include bagnetto verde or salsa verde, a sauce made with parsley, garlic, and mashed anchovies; a spicy onion and tomato sauce known as salsa rossa or bagnetto rosso; and mostarda di Cremona, a jarred sweet and sour candied fruit relish that is preserved in mustard-flavored syrup. 

Agnolotti del plin is a traditional dish from Piedmont that is made with small, usually boat-shaped agnolotti pasta. The pasta is traditionally filled with veal, pork or rabbit meat, this was mainly done with leftover roasts, but vegetables such as cabbage or spinach are also occasionally used.

The name of the dish stems from the local dialect in which plin translates as a pinch, referring to the preparation method of sealing each agnolotto with a firm squeeze. Agnolotti del plin can be served doused in melted butter, a combination of butter and fresh sage (burro e salvia), tomato sauce, ragù, or meat drippings sauce (sugo d'arrosto).