30 Minutes or Less

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 30 min

For an attractive presentation, mound the salad on shredded lettuce and garnish with tortilla chips. Warm corn muffins and thickly sliced beefsteak tomatoes round out this substantial menu, and sliced fresh peaches and brown sugar wafers make a nice light dessert.

If you prefer, use honeydew melon for an equally good salsa. Offer buttered new potatoes and sautéed spinach with the fish. Afterward, serve slices of pound cake with rum-soaked raisins and store-bought caramel sauce. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe originally accompanied Ale-Battered Shrimp with Tartar Sauce .

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This pretty, easy-to-make first-course soup is flavorful and creamy, yet is extremely low fat-it has only one tablespoon of butter and no cream at all (except for an optional sour cream garnish). Pour your favorite beer or a fruity white wine throughout the evening.

Serve these versatile biscuits with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast or brunch or as an accompaniment to almost any dinner. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Not a Mexican salsa, this Italian "green sauce" is made of fresh basil, parsley, garlic and a big splash of vermouth. Swirled atop the cheese mixture, the salsa verde adds a lovely marbled effect to the fondue.

Crusty Italian bread and mixed greens with a red wine vinaigrette are good with the pasta. Afterward, put out big strawberries and bowls of mascarpone cheese (or sour cream) and brown sugar for dipping.

These beets would be a great way to liven up simple roasted meats such as pork and chicken.

This pasta dish originated in the region of Lazio, not Tuscany. However, it is popular throughout Italy — and America — today.

You can use frozen baby lima beans (with the same delicious result) instead of the fresh favas, which are harder to find.

With boiled potatoes and grilled vegetables, you have an easy dinner. Lemon sole or red snapper could be substituted for grouper. The sauce—our take on a Spanish classic—can also be used as a dip for vegetables or to spread on grilled bread.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.