Italian

Kevin Graham, of Graham's in New Orleans, occasionally adds a Parmesan sauce to go with the tomato cream.

This thick and comforting dish is delicious sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Wheat Berry Salad with Tomatoes, Tuna, and Capers) Kamut, a strain of wheat said to date back to ancient Egypt and now widely available in health-food stores, is a good substitute for Sicilian durum wheat. It is very similar in taste and texture when cooked. Spelt, though a bit chewier, is also acceptable. It too is available in health-food stores.

Named for the famous resort island in the Bay of Naples, this chocolate nut cake is one of Italy's few chocolate desserts. It's a specialty of all the fancy pastry shops in Chiaia, the district of Naples closest to the dock where the ferries leave for Capri. The cake is often decorated with a stencil of the island and of a solitary palm tree.

Freshly picked greens and herbs are essential to cooking in the Apulia region of Italy. Their assertive, often bitter flavor enriches many a modest dish. Here, a just-cooked tomato sauce is enlivened with the peppery taste of arugula.

Pasta Fazool is slang for the classic Italian pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans). This recipe includes Italian sausage and beef along with kidney beans and pasta. It's all topped with Fontina.

Cafe Vesuvio in St. Charles offers an absolutely delicious dish of angel hair pasta topped with tuna. We'd like to know how to make it. Nancy and John Noble St. Charles, Illinois

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This peperonata would also be delicious tossed with pasta and the small balls of mozzarella called bocconcini—and as a condiment on sandwiches.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In this simple recipe, an adaptation of Italian cooking legend Marcella Hazan's Bolognese-style pork loin braised in milk, the meat acquires a delicate texture and flavor and the milk slowly evolves into a rich sauce of golden curds. Don't be put off by its homely appearance!

This rich, slightly smoky sauce is cooked for only ten minutes.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min (includes cooling onion)

"As a fan of the television show 'Molto Mario,' " writes Melissa Raney Davidson of Upper Arlington, Ohio, "I was excited to have the opportunity to dine at one of chef Mario Batali's restaurants while I was in New York on business. The dinner I had at Pó in Greenwich Village was wonderful, and the panna cotta dessert was light and smooth — truly one of the best I've ever had." The restaurant is under new ownership now, but they still serve a similar dessert. Here is chef Mario Batali's recipe.