Weeknight Meals

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Even without the customary ham and chicken or turkey, these are satisfying. Scoop deli potato salad alongside, then offer gingersnaps and a fresh fruit compote with mint.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but may require additional sitting time.

Complete the entrée with roasted red-skinned potatoes and boiled green beans. Serve pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.

A simple but flavorful poultry main course.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Supermarkets, as well as butcher shops, sell a variety of chicken sausage — just use your favorite.

Khoresht Gheimeh This Persian stew recipe is adapted from the one that chef Homa Khakpour serves at Shiraz Kabab Cafe and Food Market. It's a terrific main course, which she pairs with chelo (steamed rice with melted butter). Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr

If you're planning to use the leftovers to make the fried rice with pork and kale , reserve 3/4 cup of this sautéed kale.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 hr

It wouldn't be Christmas without some red and green on the table.

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.)

For an elegant dinner, just add a salad of Bibb lettuce and Belgian endive with walnut-oil vinaigrette, and pass a basket of warm French bread. A purchased apple tart makes a lovely finale.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The aioli is quickly made by mixing garlic and tarragon into purchased mayonnaise.