Parsley

Bettina says that this recipe is one of her delicious and dependable standbys.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 20 min

"Pease porridge in the pot nine days old" fairly well summarizes the technique of stew preparation in Shakespeare's day. A thick soup would have been left cooking for days at a time, with new vegetables, stock, and bits of leftover meat continually added. This Italian version contains rich duck meat, a delicious and unusual addition to pea soup.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min

Karen Azar of North Providence, Rhode Island, writes: "My boyfriend and I recently dined at Terra Mar Grill in the Saybrook Point Inn, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He had the campanelle pasta, and it reminded him of a meal his mother used to make. Could you please obtain the recipe?" Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Serve this with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

A blend of cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon gives this dish its Moroccan flair.

This lively salad adds color, flavor and crunch to any grilled main course.

Don't let these cool — they're best served straight from the oven.

Serve these pancakes immediately, since they do not keep well in a warm oven.

Called Upper Peninsula Pasties, the original crusts, made with barley flour and little fat, were tough enough to survive a day in the copper mines. Boston-based pastry chef Greg Case has devised this more tender version. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

This recipe makes lots of stock. Freeze any that's left over for another use.

Great with beef stew or any other dish that has lots of gravy.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The tomato topping for these crostini is based on that of a "fettunta pomodoro" (a variation of bruschetta made with whole-wheat peasant bread) sampled at Florence's Cantinetta Antinori, owned by the well-know winemaking family. To create visual variety for our presentation, we have made half of the crostini with the black olive paste on top and the rest with the red tomato mixture on top. Those who prefer a simpler recipe can sprinkle all of the bread slices with Parmesan before toasting (doubling the amount of cheese) and top all of the crostini with the tomato mixture and then the olive paste.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.