Starter

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Riesling gives the dressing a delicate flavor. Crumbled blue cheese and toasted walnuts are sharp-crunchy contrasts with appeal.

Spiced cranberries top chilled orange slices for a sweet-tangy contrast in this colorful salad.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This Indian-inspired salad can also be served warm as a side dish.

You don't have to cook the lasagna noodles first - just assemble the dish, cover and bake.

Japanese connoisseurs of the noodle hold soba, made primarily of buckwheat flour, in particularly high regard. Here the nutty taste of the soba noodles is set off by a restorative broth in which miso is a savory option. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Cider was one of the most popular drinks in Colonial America, and each year some of the pressing was turned into vinegar. A tart-sweet cider vinaigrette dresses this light and lovely green salad, which includes thin slices of crisp apple.

This dip is especially attractive served in a hollowed-out head of Castelfranco radicchio, a white radicchio with loose, pink-streaked leaves that readily open to form a bowl.

For a particularly light and crunchy coating we used panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs) on these crab cakes rather than regular bread crumbs. Panko is increasingly available in this country, not only in Asian markets but also in seafood shops.

Teri Carpenter of Albuquerque, New Mexico, writes: "On a trip to British Columbia, we dined at Blue Heron Inn, on Porpoise Bay, in Sechelt. They served a fabulous onion and fennel bisque. Could you get the chef to share the recipe with Gourmet?" This bisque is so lush that demitasse cups make an ideal serving size. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

For more information about forming tortellini, see Wrapped Around Your Little Finger. Active time: 3 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr

Tahini, a creamy sesame seed paste, adds a new twist to the dressing for the salad.