Pasta

"Athens, Georgia, has a great restaurant called The Basil Press," writes Linda Buchman of Hilton Head, South Carolina. "During my last visit there, chef Andrew Urell prepared an angel hair pasta with curried crab and shrimp. I'd love to try making it at home." At the restaurant, this is served as a side dish for grilled salmon.

Karen Azar of North Providence, Rhode Island, writes: "My boyfriend and I recently dined at Terra Mar Grill in the Saybrook Point Inn, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He had the campanelle pasta, and it reminded him of a meal his mother used to make. Could you please obtain the recipe?" Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Located in a century-old coal warehouse that stoked the train coming from Albuquerque, the Zia Diner is in the National Register of Historic Places—and on many lists of favorite neighborhood restaurants. Regulars fuel up with such popular dishes as chicken-fried steak and meat loaf with green chilies and pine nuts. The latter provided the inspiration for another Zia Diner classic: spaghetti with chili and pine nut meatballs.

From Lidia's in Kansas City, an informal company dish that's sure to satisfy.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 30 min

Trenette is a ribbon pasta about 1/2 inch wide with 1 fluted edge. This recipe was created to accompany Trenette with Rabbit and Shiitake Mushroom Sauce .

Valerie Silveira of Bellevue, Washington, writes: "My husband and I recently dined at Cafe Juanita in nearby Kirkland, where we had a lovely appetizer of pasta with a creamy lemon sauce and prosciutto. That was six weeks ago, and I've been thinking about this marvelous dish ever since. I would very much appreciate your publishing the recipe so that others could enjoy it, too."

Kim Massman of Santa Monica, California, writes: "Help me, please. Since dining at The Federalist in the XV Beacon Hotel in Boston, I haven't been able to get the macaroni and cheese out of my mind. It was made with pasta, ham, and a creamy cheese sauce." The ham lends a salty flavor to this dish. Wait until the sauce is combined with the pasta and ham before seasoning with salt.

A complete vegetarian main course, with fresh herbs and Moroccan accents.

It's important to make this tender fresh pasta into pansoti as soon as you have cut the dough into squares: The squares dry out quickly and become difficult to seal.