Saute

This free-form tart is wonderful topped with caramel sauce and Crème Fraîche.

Northern Italian cooks use peas often; in this side dish, the vegetable gets a boost from the Italian bacon called pancetta. If it is unavailable in your area, finely chopped regular bacon can be substituted.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Mi Piaci, a local restaurant, serves a pasta entrée with wild mushrooms called Fusilli alla Boscaiola," says Karen Mungioli, of Dallas, Texas. "Its flavors reminded me of a dish I had in Italy recently. I’d love to try my hand at preparing this authentic-tasting recipe in my home kitchen."

Davina uses this olive paste as a pizza topping, as a flavor pickup for purchased pasta sauces and as a spread for baguette slices.

Serve with basmati or regular white rice.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Bottled balsamic vinaigrette is a super base for this sauce. Round out the menu with packaged noodles au gratin and steamed baby carrots. Then offer chocolate layer cake from the bakery for dessert.

From coast to coast, diners in the eighties showed an insatiable appetite for crab cakes. Some chefs deep-fried them; others spiced them with Old Bay Seasoning. But the best crab cakes, like the ones here, let the sweet flavor of the crab predominate.

Here's a delightful variation on the fried-chicken theme, with cornmeal adding welcome crunch. To accompany the meal, serve white wine spritzers and fresh lemonade garnished with mint sprigs.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

Quick, light, delicious—a spring supper in thirty minutes, including chopping and peeling. I added a little pasta to the pan stew to give it substance. You want the scallop and pea flavors to dominate, so make sure the pasta shells are thin not thick. (Names, sizes, and thickness vary from brand to brand.)And you want shells, because they will catch the juices. You can, of course, omit the pasta if you prefer.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Hélène Wagner-Popoff writes, "My husband, Ivan, and I moved to Corsica from Madagascar eleven years ago on a whim. We restored an abandoned convent and saved the thousand-year-old olive grove surrounding it. The fact that I live in the country — with the luxury of having a garden full of wonderful ingredients — makes it easy for me to love cooking. I like to surprise my family and guests with unexpected flavor combinations that don't take a lot of effort."

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min