Basil

Try the sauce with grilled fish or chicken, too. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Basil mayonnaise and avocado slices add an extra dimension to the good old bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Bloody Marys would go nicely with the food in this menu.

You remember s'mores — flame-roasted marshmallows and pieces of chocolate bar sandwiched between graham crackers. The marshmallows melted the chocolate, creating a gooey mess that was so irresistible, you just had to eat some more. My hors d'oeuvre version features flame-roasted mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil squeezed between grilled bread slices or crackers. Everyone still winds up with an irresistibly gooey mess — great party fare.

Try not to break up the large lumps of crabmeat, because the salad looks best when the fresh, white meat stands out.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This sandwich goes well with macaroni salad and sweet-potato chips. Scoop strawberry ice cream into waffle cones afterward.

Don’t skip the first step of salting the eggplant slices; it draws out excess moisture so that the eggplant will absorb less oil and stay firm when cooked.

Pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup, is traditionally made with long-cooked beef stock. Our quick version calls for deli sliced beef and canned beef broth instead.<

Cooked meatballs can be purchased at many supermarket deli or meat departments. They make this dinner a snap to pull together. Toss a salad, then tuck chocolate wafers into scoops of orange sorbet for dessert.

Arugula replaces lettuce in this clever pasta dish. Serve with: Whole-wheat breadsticks and carrot sticks with blue cheese dip. Dessert: Cherry-vanilla ice cream cones.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Meatless pasta loaded with bold flavors.

Toss this delicious pesto with 1 1/2 pounds of your favorite pasta, or spread it on slices of Italian bread.

Try a fruity, spicy red wine, such as a California Zinfandel, with this main course.

Broil slices of packaged polenta to go with the chicken. Round out the main course with an arugula salad and chunks of crusty whole wheat Italian bread. For dessert? Brownies topped with vanilla gelato drizzled with sambuca.

"I dined on the most sumptuous grilled radicchio salad at The Dish Bistro and Wine Bar the last time I was in Tucson," writes Cindy Shafer of Huntington Beach, California. "Please get the recipe — I must have it." Yellow and green beans, and artichoke hearts are grilled along with the radicchio in this recipe. Serve the salad while the vegetables are still warm.

Noël McAlpine of Dallas, Texas, writes: "When I was in Florence for a business conference, I had the pleasure of dining at Trattoria Garga. I really enjoyed the scaloppine al carciofi (veal cutlets with artichokes) and would like to add the recipe to my collection."