Oven Bake

The kids won’t be the only ones licking their fingers when you serve this. My mother made a dish similar to this when I was a kid and we just couldn’t get enough of it; the leftovers were my favorite after-school snack, eaten cold right out of the fridge. The rosemary and garlic are subtle but make the flavor a little more complex, and brushing the cooked drumettes with the reduced marinade intensifies the flavors even more.

Even kids who are not big fish-eaters tend to like salmon—and they’ll like it even better when it’s baked in a cheesy crumb coating. Let them do the dipping and crumb coating to speed the work along. The fish sticks can also be dipped in ketchup, marinara sauce, pesto, ranch dressing, or vinaigrette if you prefer.

The polenta coating on these fried shrimp makes a shell-like exterior that is just irresistible. I like this with honey mustard for dipping; but if you want to dip yours in marinara or even ketchup, you have my permission. Don’t worry about the paprika; it gives a bit of color but not any heat.

Looking for fancy food made really easy? Look no farther. For this suave little number the pesto is purchased and the puff pastry is from the freezer. You will be amazed at what a spectacular dish you can make in about fifteen minutes with just five ingredients.

Intimidated by roasting and carving a whole chicken? This dish is just as aromatic and comforting, but is a lot easier to handle and serve. Everything cooks together in one pan, including the sauce.

I love to prepare and serve stuffed peppers because they make such a beautiful presentation; when you cut into them and the delicious filling spills out, it’s like getting a present. My mother is also partial to stuffed peppers, which she fills with vegetables, meat, pasta—almost anything.

This dish is real comfort food without the meat. It’s great for Sunday family dinners, as a side or a main course, and an equally great way to sneak some greens into your diet. You’ll need a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip for this recipe.

In my family, baked pastas were always the crowd-pleasers, and I still love them—especially the crusty, cheesy tops. Full of cream and butter, this is a rich indulgence. Put it together a day ahead of time and bake it just before serving if you like.

When my family and I made trips back to Italy to visit my grandfather’s family in Naples, his sisters often made one of these impressive timbales. It looked a bit plain on the outside, but when you cut into it, it was always filled with a delicious mixture, and as a kid I thought it was just so cool. I still do.

If you find regular lasagna with a tomato sauce too heavy for summer meals, this is a great alternative, and it’s a real stunner on the plate. A sun-dried tomato pesto is layered between the pasta and vegetables, adding a bit of sweetness to the dish.

Artichokes take a little time to prepare, but it’s time well spent for a dish this extraordinary. The filling becomes hot, bubbly, and creamy, like an individual serving of warm artichoke dip for each diner. You can get most of the prep work out of the way well ahead of time, too; the artichokes can be boiled earlier in the morning and baked later or, if you prefer, the whole dish can be prepared a day in advance, as it reheats very well.

This is the kind of side dish you would find on a steakhouse menu, rich and decadent. Frozen artichokes make this impressive dish quite simple to create. I like to bake it in individual gratin dishes because each serving gets its own crusty browned top, my favorite part!

In this frittata, pasta plays a supporting rather than starring role, giving the eggs a little body. It makes a very pretty, satisfying lunch served with a simple side salad.

Here’s a fun way to use up leftover pasta. When I was young, my mother would throw leftovers of any kind of pasta—red-sauced, white-sauced, whatever—into her frittata mixture for a quick snack for us kids. She generally made one large frittata, but I like to make them in individual servings; that way you can keep them in the fridge and grab one for a quick, nutritious snack, hot or cold.

After tomato, basil, and mozzarella, prosciutto and melon just might be the most classic Italian flavor combination of all time. It gets a whole new lease on life, though, when served as a savory cold soup. The tomato contributes a bit of acidity that tones down the melon’s natural sweetness, and salty prosciutto makes the whole dish sing. If you can’t find canned San Marzano tomatoes, which are a bit sweeter than regular canned plum tomatoes, go for an organic brand such as Muir Glen.

If you think stuffed mushrooms are bland, you’ll find these a welcome change of pace: the flavors are quite robust. These are equally good right out of the oven or at room temperature, and they make a nice hors d’oeuvre option for non-meat-eaters.

Rich and buttery Yukon Golds are my potato of choice when making these substantial fries, but you can definitely use Russets if you’d rather. Should you decide to season the oven fries with one of the seasoning mixes, do so before roasting. The flavor of the spices will deepen with baking and give the fries a really great texture.