Cured Meat

Pasta e Fagioli Venetians prize a soup made thick by using mashed beans. This recipe is based on the preparations at Venice's Fiaschetteria Toscana and Osteria alla Bomba. A tablespoon of salt may sound like a lot, but it is needed to bring out the beans' flavor.

Round out the picnic with a green bean salad, peaches, and biscotti.

Pumpkins may be all the rage just now, but we've noticed another squash that's garnering a lot of attention lately. The inconspicuous kabocha squash—too bumpy, squat, and unseasonably green to be taken seriously as porch décor—is finally being hailed for its inner beauty. With deeply flavored meat more fiery orange than that of its famous cousin, the kabocha caught the attention of several readers, all of whom wrote to request recipes from various restaurants for kabocha soup. Such an incipient following may portend great things. Is there a Great Kabocha? Not yet, Charlie Brown, but here's a great kabocha soup. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Margaret DeMatteo of Stirling, New Jersey, writes: "My husband recently took me to the nearby Perryville Inn to celebrate my birthday. We had a fabulous 'BLT' appetizer made with layers of fried green tomatoes, pancetta, and basil mayonnaise. I would greatly appreciate it if you could get the recipe."

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

If you have leftover roast chicken or turkey, use it here and save a step. You'll need 3 cups of shredded meat.

Egg fettuccine, rather than regular durum pasta, makes all the difference in this dish. It's usually sold curled in nests or loose in trays. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 45 min

A favorite steak-dinner starter served at Cattlemen's Steakhouse in the historic Stockyards City area of Oklahoma City.

Thanks to precooked bacon and enhanced bottled dressing, this salad is a snap. For dessert, go all out with brownies à la mode.

Linguine alle vongole
Adapted from Esca For this pasta dish, David Pasternack strongly recommends using a hard, sturdy dried pasta—in other words, don't be tempted to buy fresh or egg linguine. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Chiles Rellenos con Huevos y Tocino con Salsa de Queso Chihuahua Translated, Las Ventanas al Paraíso means "Windows to Paradise." With an ocean view from nearly every room, four infinity pools that seem to stretch to the sea, and a personal escort to your room (no front desk), the name is no exaggeration. The peacefulness is a sharp contrast to the bustle of Los Cabos, just outside the property's doors. If you can bear to venture outside your beautiful room, try the resort's two restaurants — the Sea Grill, where you'll find contemporary Mexican offerings like this breakfast version of chiles rellenos, and The Restaurant, which uses local ingredients to create delicious Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

(Salade de Lentilles Vertes aux Lardons) Smoked ham and bacon give this lentil salad a rich, robust flavor. Serve it alongside roasted meats or poultry.

Team this hearty side dish with a pork or chicken entrée, or just add some crusty bread and make a meal out of it.

Rich and sweet, these onions are adapted from Angela Shelf Medearis's recipe for Honey-Baked Onions in The African-American Kitchen. They're great with baked ham, pork roast, or broiled chicken.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min