Tomato

I make this one when I watch GoodFellas. Shave the garlic nice and thin, like Paulie would, but don’t use a razor blade like he does in the movie. A sharp knife is fine.

Italian-style Sloppy Joes—get it? Hah! I kill me! Funny! Well, I thought so, anyway . . .

Talk about flexible, this chicken is a cheerleader. Yes, it’s equally good steaming hot or icebox cold. Eat this dish four seasons of the year, hot or not, indoors or out. It’s G-R-E-A-T . . . great!

The French are notorious for their stuffy and particular attitudes . . . especially when it comes to food, but they’ve got nothing on the Sicilians. It takes a Sicilian ’tude to think one could improve on a French classic, especially in 30 minutes. Well, this Sicilian says “Bring it on.”

Rich, but not heavy, this dish is delish.

Fancy? Yup! Got people you need to impress? Invite them over . . . you’ll get the raise. Then you won’t be so tired.

If you have a mini meatball in your house (or you’re just a kid at heart) this one will feed you well, stomach and soul!

This one reminds me of the California surfer scene. It’s a way-cool mega-rito, dude!

This meal is high protein and high fiber, so it gets high marks.

I love sandwiches because they are one-stop shopping: meat, salad, and cheese, all stuffed into bread. Oooooh-la-la, this is one fancy French grinder. Vive la Hoagie.

This is one of my mom’s recipes so it’s better than good . . . it’s the best.

French bread pizza from Stouffer’s was my favorite frozen food as a kid. Now that I’m all grown up I make my own, because I can overstuff them. (My appetite grew, too.)

When you’re watching the big game it’s important to have some smashmouth, tough-guy food like this.

Wade, my good friend and coworker for many years, joined me at a fancy restaurant in Las Vegas in honor of our friend Lucky’s birthday. He saw me cringe as he politely asked our server to request that the chef prepare a “Chicken Caesar” for him. The broad menu of culinary creations just struck him as too complicated for a late-night-following-a-long-workday meal. I rolled my eyes and the server gave a bit of a twitch. In hindsight, I have rarely been so ashamed of my own behavior: me, an Upstate New York blue-collar girl, suddenly acting too haughty to even sit with someone who would request a Chicken Caesar outside of a highway pit stop. Chef Eric Klein at SW at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel made Wade a fabulous free-range roast chicken Caesar salad. Eric was neither shocked nor insulted by the simple request. Instead, he made a humble visit to the table to remind us all of the Golden Rule of food: the customer is always right. Wade, this burger is for you. Viva Chicken Caesar!

I loved and still miss Julia Child. She consumed life as robustly as she did a good, crispy skinned chicken. If I had ever had her over for lunch, I would have made her this simple stew.

Bacon, Leek, and Tomato Soup is a soup for all seasons! So easy and too delicious; you’ll make this one January or August, year after year. It is especially welcome on rainy nights.

The ingredients list is the whole sales pitch. Need I say more?

This is a chop, drop, and open recipe. Place your cutting board next to the stove, heat up the pots, chop everything on the board, drop it into the pan, then open up your cans. As soon as the stoup bubbles, dinner is done.

Eat this meal in front of the TV. Invite Clint Eastwood and the cast of your favorite spaghetti western (mine’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly).

Meaty, easy, and Mediterranean-style, this recipe will make any list of favorites.