One-Pot Meals

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The bouquet garni for this stew includes orange peel (use a vegetable peeler to make wide strips) and some of the wispy fronds from the top of the fennel bulb that goes into the soup.

This duck recipe is unusually light and delicate.

(Bacon and Root Vegetable Stew)

Serve with: Buttered noodles and steamed Swiss chard. Dessert: A bakery Linzertorte.

"A good newspaper review of the Cosmos Cafe in Houston convinced me to try out the restaurant and particularly the owners award-winning green chili," says Janice E. Bryant of Humble, Texas. "It was everything chili should be—hearty and hot with a great kick from poblano chilies." Serve the chili with warm corn tortillas, and pass bowls of chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions and sour cream for garnishes. This recipe can easily be halved for a smaller crowd.

Market Tip: Avoid packaged ground lamb, which can be extremely fatty. Instead, buy shoulder meat or lamb stew meat, which has some fat, and ask the butcher to grind it.

This modification of a classic soup uses less cream than traditional versions.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A simple lemon and oil dressing-which works with just about any fresh vegetable-turns some of your garden's finest into a light summer pasta salad. Serve it in lettuce cups for a nice presentation.

Marinate thinly sliced radishes and sweet onions in a Sherry vinaigrette for a side salad. Serve coarsely mashed potatoes with the turkey, and for dessert, layer strawberry ice cream with sugared strawberries in large wineglasses.

"Cooking with friends — that's pretty much what my life has been about," writes Louise Pickerel of Muskogee, Oklahoma. "When I moved here from Texas ten years ago, it was hard to leave the people I'd known for so long, but I've probably met two hundred new people since then. I have always entertained, but now that I'm retired, I finally have more time to play bridge and cook." Louise likes to serve this chunky soup with ham or roast beef sandwich wraps.

For best results, buy small clams for this quick and sophisticated recipe.