Italian

Baker's sugar, a favorite of pastry chefs, is also called superfine sugar. It measures the same as regular but dissolves more quickly. It's available at some supermarkets. You can also make your own by whizzing granulated sugar in a food processor until powdery.

If you can't find burrata, substitute fresh whole-milk mozzarella.

We were surprised to learn that a lean meat could produce such a delicious ragù. The nice thing about this dish is that it cooks quickly and is substantial without being heavy, making it the perfect dinner as we head into spring. It's also delicious when prepared with veal.

Made without stock, this light vegetable soup (which was passed down from Elena's mother) is not only easy to prepare but amazingly flavorful. It really benefits from the final addition of egg and parmesan.

Elena slow-cooks her polenta the traditional way, which can be a soul-satisfying experience if you set aside the time. When polenta is cooked properly, each grain of cornmeal slowly absorbs the liquid until it swells, becoming perfectly tender and seeming to disappear within the whole.

The eggplant and garlic in this recipe are roasted until they are so soft, they create a spread that nearly melts into the crisp slices of baguette.

Straccetti di Manzo Generations of Roman cooks have relied on this trattoria favorite — made with classic ingredients — for dinner in a hurry.

Using prepared pizza dough, you can make these homemade cheese-filled calzones just as fast as your favorite pizzeria could deliver them.

Using purchased pizza dough to make one large calzone saves lots of time. lighten up: For a lower-calorie, lower-fat calzone, use part-skim mozzarella.

The simplicity of this pasta dish lets the escarole shine. Excellent as an entrée or as a first course served before roasted chicken or beef.

Packed with springtime vegetables, this meal is a quick fix for the winter blues.