Pasta

The dressing can also be used for Chinese chicken salad or as a basting sauce for grilled steaks or chops. Look for rice vinegar in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Use any leftover sauce as an omelet filling.

The ruffle-edged egg noodles called trenette absorb some of the rich broth in the rabbit mushroom sauce.

The delicate 1/16-inch-wide pasta ribbons known as taglierini or tagliolini are the perfect foil for scallops and this elegant-and easy-sauce.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Lots of garlic adds great flavor to this dish. At the restaurant they make it with spinach pappardelle, but fettuccine is a convenient substitution.

The crisp Rosemary Toasts taste great dunked into this flavorful soup. To serve on the side, toss arugula with sliced red onions and basalmic vinaigrette, then top the salad with shavings of Parmesan cheese. For dessert, keep it simple with ripe pears and amaretti (almond cookies).

When preparing the following pastas in advance (up to six hours), keep them covered and chilled and then let them come to room temperature before baking.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

(PASTA ALLA NORMA) Because the small Italian eggplants generally used in this dish can be hard to find in this country, we have substituted Asian eggplants.

I appreciate a good lasagne but hate the work and time involved — precooking the noodles, layering the dish, and baking it for an hour. So I came up with this uncomplicated spaghetti recipe which combines all the elements of a good lasagne without the trouble.

Robert Colombi of Paris, France, writes: "My mother was Sicilian and my father, Corsican, but I was born in Morocco and lived there for many years. I learned how to cook mostly from my mother, but also from my many travels throughout Morocco (which is why my favorite spices are coriander, thyme, and cumin). As I became older, I developed a stronger interest in cooking, especially after I moved to France and got married. I guess I started to feel very nostalgic about the country of my childhood, and it became more important for me to remember and re-create those tastes for my French friends and family."