Plum Tomato

A full-flavored Italian blue cheese adds pizzazz to this pasta. Serve the dish with a salad, bread and a glass of white wine for a lovely weekday dinner.

The roasted vegetables add great depth of flavor to this soup.

This easy-to-make dish combines the sweetness of tomatoes with the briny essence of capers.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Turkey Meatloaf .

Tiring of the ultra-refined nouvelle cuisine that epitomized eighties dining, cooks rediscovered the comforting humble cuts such as short ribs and shanks. Orecchiette pasta or mashed potatoes are great to catch the gravy.

Accompany the fish with mashed potatoes, rice pilaf or buttered noodles.

Wendy Popp of Richmond, Virginia, writes: "My job as a physical therapist and my hobby, horseback riding, keep me pretty busy. But my sons — Sammy, two, and Weston, four — keep me moving the most, which has changed my cooking style. I used to be much more experimental, but now I need low-maintenance, tried-and-true recipes that will please the boys (including my husband, Jim) and impress dinner guests."

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

When adding the flour, it's important to do so delicately. It must be cooked to remove any raw taste. This thickens the soup nicely.

This is a great entrée for entertaining or for a special weeknight dinner for your family. Either way, no one except you will know how easy it is to make. And your secret is safe with us.

Play off the Provençal flavors by passing an arugula salad tossed with red wine vinaigrette. Sliced peaches topped with honey and sour cream would make a great finale.

(Tonno alla Livornese) Of the countless preparations for tuna that diners will run across in coastal towns in Tuscany, this one is the most well known. It comes from Livorno, a populous port famous for its seafood restaurants. Simple and quick to put together, the dish combines the best of the area, from the delicious red tuna available mostly in spring and summer to the tomatoes that have become a hallmark of all of Italy. The sauce begins with a trito, a mixture of aromatic vegetables. Ripe tomatoes, a bay leaf and plenty of fresh basil complete it.

A classic of the Balearic Islands, where lobster is found in abundance, this stew (known as caldereta) is intensely flavorful and fun to eat. Live lobster is essential, since the tomalley (liver) is a key ingredient. Serve the stew with plenty of crusty country-style bread.

A low-fat version of the Mexican soup.