Pasta

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This dish is best eaten right away. You can make all the parts — except for the pasta — way ahead of time and just throw it together at the last minute. (The slow-roasted tomatoes are also great in other roles — as part of an antipasto in the summertime, as an omelet filling, or as a topping on grilled bread.)

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. The pickles add crunch and tangy flavor to an old-time favorite.

Serve with: Mesclun salad with an herb vinaigrette and sliced semolina bread. Dessert: Vanilla ice cream sprinkled with crushed amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons) and drizzled with Kahlúa.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Make this with vegetable broth for a meatless main course.

Even lean, mean depression-era macaroni and cheese was comforting, a tribute to the twin powers of carbohydrates and melted cheese, which are just as irresistible now as they were then. Some fans love the crunchy crust while others crave the creamy center. This lush and ultra-tangy millennium mac and cheese aims to please adherents of both schools of thought.

Here's an all-new tuna-noodle casserole; just add a salad of arugula and sliced oranges. Dessert might be big spice cookies sandwiched with vanilla ice cream.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

For a savory addition, toss a little sautéed pancetta or bacon into this pasta.

M'Eloise Waters of Yakima, Washington, writes: "Throughout the years, I have enjoyed so many 'R.S.V.P.' recipes, and now I have a request of my own: the chicken pasta from Spazzo Mediterranean Grill in Bellevue, Washington. It has fresh herbs, walnuts, almonds, and caramelized onions."

This quick side dish goes well with fish, such as arctic char, or grilled chicken.

Mafalde, similar to dried lasagne noodles but not nearly as wide, work well in this dish, as do campanelle, the bellflower-shaped pasta shells. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

"I had three kids in three years when I was a 'young married' in my twenties," writes Sheryl Hurd-House of Jupiter, Florida. "That's when I started cooking and realized I liked it."

Robert Colombi of Paris, France, writes: "My mother was Sicilian and my father, Corsican, but I was born in Morocco and lived there for many years. I learned how to cook mostly from my mother (which is why pasta often turns up at dinnertime), but also from my many travels throughout Morocco (which is why my favorite spices are coriander, thyme, and cumin). As I became older, I developed a stronger interest in cooking, especially after I moved to France and got married. I guess I started to feel very nostalgic about the country of my childhood, and it became more important for me to remember and re-create those tastes for my French friends and family." This intriguingly flavored dish comes together in minutes.