Sausage

O.K., it's time to think about dinner, but in the summer, just the idea of turning on the stove — let alone the oven — leaves you less than enthusiastic. That probably means using the grill, but you've had your share of hot dogs, kebabs and barbecued chicken. Our solution? Something unexpected grilled pizzas. The dough is a snap to make; the pizzas are small and easy to manage; and since the sausages and colorful summer vegetables are also grilled, there's almost nothing to clean up. Plus, we splurged and added three kinds of cheese. After you try this recipe once, you'll erase the local pizza joint's number from your speed dial. And who knows? You might just forget about your stove.

Serve these with a couple of tall, cold beers.

(Tortelli di Patate alle Salsicce con ragù) The recipe makes more pasta dough than you'll need for the tortelli. Roll out the extra, and cut it into 1/2-inch-wide ribbons for pappardelle, 1/4-inch-wide ribbons for fettuccine, or any length and width you prefer. The pasta can then be used fresh, or it can be dried for use at a later time (leave the pasta on floured kitchen towels at room temperature until it is dry). Or use all of the dough for any recipe that calls for one pound of fresh pasta.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Sauerkraut gets a smoky taste from bacon and sausage in a recipe from Orbit, a Polish restaurant in Chicago.

Duck, turkey or dark chicken meat can substitute for the goose with equally delicious results. Fine accompaniments are a green salad with Roquefort vinaigrette and hot crusty bread. For a quick and sophisticated dessert, add a bit of red wine and ground cinnamon to canned pears with their syrup.

Here's a hearty main-course soup perfect for a simple winter dinner. The chopped escarole fills a large bowl but wilts considerably when cooked.

Sweet and hot Italian sausages are delicious grilled over charcoal.

This zesty, eye-opening casserole can be made with either pork or beef chorizo.

This is one of my mom's concoctions. Could it be any simpler?

Serve with: Polenta and an arugula salad. Dessert: Purchased apple tart.

No carving required: Have the butcher bone the turkey breast, leaving the breast halves attached; then just slice at the table before serving. In addition to the sweet potatoes and cranberries, serve buttered green beans and bread alongside the turkey. Pour Chardonnay or Zinfandel, and finish off with the classic pumpkin pie, dolled up with one of the recommendations on the next page.

The test kitchen used wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta to simplify this.

A green salad completes the meal. What to drink: A riserva Chianti.

Sprinkle caraway seeds into tomato soup to begin the meal. Serve assorted mustards and pumpernickel bread with the choucroute, an Alsatian dish of sauerkraut and sausage. Then enjoy another flavor from Alsace: kirsch (clear cherry brandy), drizzled over cherry ice cream.

Mario Batali, star of the Food Network's Molto Mario, is one of the top chefs in New York City, where he owns three restaurants with Joe Bastianich — Babbo, Lupa and Esca. This dish, from Batali's book Simple Italian Food, is served at Lupa.