Weeknight Meals

This summer, Marino grew about 85 tomato varieties in his garden; he uses his harvest in this caprese. Burrata cheese, a fresh mozzarella filled with cream and curds, is available at some supermarkets, Italian markets, and cheese stores. Fresh whole-milk mozzarella can be substituted.

Tasha Garcia and Julie Taras of Little Giant serve these peaches with their Lemon-Spice Bread Pudding . They would also taste great as a topping for pancakes or waffles.

This classic Italian dish is said to have been created in the 1800s after the opening night of Bellini's opera Norma.

At the restaurant, this dish is drizzled with tomato sauce, then garnished with salami and sautéed zucchini.

To make this dish even more decadent, add cooked chopped pancetta or cooked and crumbled smoked bacon.

Table 8 uses a dry-aged porterhouse (sold at well-stocked butchers). If it's unavailable, substitute regular porterhouse or Kansas City steak.

Crushed pretzels make a better-than-breadcrumb crust.

Link likes to use herbs from his garden in this recipe.

Meyer lemons add a floral note, but if you can't find them, regular lemons work just fine.

To make the prep easier, buy pre-sliced meat and vegetables; they're sold at some Asian markets. If you can't find pre-sliced meat, ask your butcher to slice it for you. Improv: Substitute bok choy for the cabbage, and onions for the leeks.

Imrov: Use fresh lemon juice instead of yuzu juice; try English hothouse cucumbers in place of the Japanese variety.

Taleggio is an Italian semisoft cheese. Its mildly piquant flavor sharpens with age and pairs especially well with the black truffles and prosciutto in this dish. Taleggio stands up to big Italian wines, like Barolo and Barbaresco.

The Cuban classic gets a delicious boost from the addition of flavorful Spanish smoked paprika. Spanish paprika (Pimentón de la Vera) is everywhere for a good reason: its magically smoky flavor. Look for it at specialty foods stores or order it from latienda.com.