Pasta

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

We used grocery rotisserie chickens for this recipe, but leftover turkey from the holiday table works equally well.

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.

Fennel seeds, balsamic vinegar, roasted peppers, and caramelized onions really rev up this easy side dish.

Crusty bread and radicchio with creamy Italian dressing make nice sides. End with red grapes and anise-dusted sugar cookies.

This sophisticated main-course pasta goes wonderfully with garlic bread, Italian-style mixed greens drizzled with vinaigrette, and raspberry gelato with Italian macaroons.