Simmer

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A simple and satisfying version of a typically time-consuming restaurant classic.

An adaptation of a recipe from Mexican Light Cooking by our friend Kathi Long, a chef and author in Santa Fe.

Hummus, a dip/spread traditional in many Middle Eastern countries, is usually made with chick-peas (garbanzo beans), but we use white beans for a change of pace. It is delicious with steamed potatoes and artichokes as well as blanched broccoli, cauliflower and green beans.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Use any leftover sauce as an omelet filling.

These are terrific as hors d'oeuvres at a cocktail party or on their own as a main course. Have your butcher cut the ribs into two-inch lengths, or you can do it yourself at home with a cleaver.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The delicate 1/16-inch-wide pasta ribbons known as taglierini or tagliolini are the perfect foil for scallops and this elegant-and easy-sauce.

Although the morels add a woodsy intensity to the flavor of the consommé, they are not essential. You can substitute other dried exotic mushrooms or eliminate them altogether and simply float a thin slice of fresh white mushroom on the soup right before covering the bowl with the pastry.

Curry powder, cumin, and cinnamon give this dish a hint of the exotic.

This simple and delicious starter gets a hint of spiciness from cayenne pepper.

A make-ahead smoked salmon butter and some fresh cod dress up clam chowder beautifully for company. Team the stew with a favorite coleslaw and warm buttermilk biscuits for a cozy winter meal.

Some soups genuinely do inspire a devotion akin to love, and this is one of them. In the cold of winter, when Gourmet editors ponder the matter of what soup to cook up in a steamy Saturday morning kitchen to provide comfort all weekend long, they decide with remarkable frequency to make the following one. Those in the know also add about a pound of smoked sausage; even the best can be made better.