Cheese

Prepare this a day ahead so all of the elements can meld and the ladyfingers to soften fully.

The pesto works well as a sauce for pasta, chicken, or fish, too.

This dish has a livelier, fresher taste than traditional risotto because the vegetables are cooked separately from the rice and then spooned over it in a rich ragout.

Ann Gillespie of Alexandria, Virginia, writes: "Because I'm balancing graduate school and a family, I try to cook things that don't take a lot of time. But I love experimenting with ingredients, so most of my recipes are easy to make and use interesting flavor combinations. During the week, salads are our mainstay. When we get bored with veggies, we add different fruits, like the blueberries in the recipe here."

Ann Gillespie of Alexandria, Virginia, writes: "Because I'm balancing graduate school and a family, I try to cook things that don't take a lot of time. But I love experimenting with ingredients, so most of my recipes are easy to make and use interesting flavor combinations. This pasta dish is reminiscent of what my husband and I would cook when we were first married."

If you can find them, large, bright pink watermelon radishes will look and taste great here.

These little appetizer pizzas are perfect finger food.

Serve this hearty side dish with a pork or lamb roast.

No other vegetable signals spring like asparagus. In this recipe, it makes for a rich, creamy side dish that's beyond delicious. We love it with a simple roast chicken.

Marsha and John Antonelli of Whittier, California, write: "We recently had lunch at Bistro Jeanty, in Yountville, California, where the ham, leek, and three-cheese quiche was so outstanding we went back twice. Could you persuade the chef to share this excellent recipe?" Extremely creamy and rich, this quiche could be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can make your own crust, but the premade kind will save some time.

With its tantalizing aroma of garlic, sesame, and Asiago cheese, this Middle Eastern flatbread may well be gone before you can even put it on the table.

This dip is also delicious with thin baguette slices, toast, crackers, or tortilla chips.

Featuring flat little pieces of pasta filled with semisoft cheese, this soup is made by families in the countryside around the ancient spa town of Brisighella, in Romagna. If you don't have time to make the broth called for here, use your favorite homemade broth instead.

For brunch or a light supper, this open-face sandwich is spicy and satisfying.

Burricotti are superb whole-milk mozzarella rounds filled with ricotta (see box). Fresh ricotta also works well in this recipe, which would be a great cheese course, or a simple dessert.

Real French Muenster (available at specialty foods stores) will make a big difference in this soufflé. What to drink: A dry white wine with plenty of perfume, like Gewürztraminer.