Saute

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 30 min

This marmalade would also be delicious with roast Cornish game hens. If the sweet Maui onions aren't available, substitute Vidalia.

If you love spaghetti and meatballs, then you'll love this upmarket rendition featuring perciatelli-long, hollow pasta. The noodles are topped with a rich tomato and porcini mushroom sauce, and meatballs made with ground veal, Italian sausage and more porcini. Start things off with an antipasto platter of olive, assorted marinated vegetables and cured meats. Offer breadsticks alongside, and pour a full-bodied Chianti.

Note: To slice the cucumber in the following recipe into a paper-thin spiral, we used a Japanese rotary device known as the Benriner vegetable slicer.

Miso, a fermented soybean paste, can be found in Asian markets, specialty foods stores and in the Asian section of most supermarkets. It is usually sold in plastic tubs and has a long shelf life.

From the Snake River Grill in Jackson, Wyoming.

(Buckwheat Yeast Pancakes with Three Caviars)

This very typical Lao dish may also be made with fish, pork, beef, or, in Southeast Asian tradition, water buffalo meat. While laap is often made with raw meat or fish, our chicken-based rendition is stir-fried, as it was when Lao cooks served it to us. A powder made from toasted glutinous rice subtly flavors the dish.

Cardamom and nutmeg are lovely notes of spice in these super sundaes. Caramel ice cream would be good here, too.

Voli are marbles, the multicolored little balls that were so popular with kids during my childhood. But unlike the glass versions, which were quite expensive, the ones we used to play with were made of clay and colored in various bright, glossy shades. They were fragile, and their glaze would crack, revealing their dark red insides, similar in color to these delicious meatballs with bulgur. This recipe comes from the island of Rhodes, and bulgur is probably the grain originally used. Later, in the stewed meatballs of the mainland, it was replaced by rice.

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

Glazed turnips make a nice side dish for roasted meats or poultry. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

(Pollo alla Diavola) This entrée, a specialty of Florence, can be found at restaurants throughout Tuscany. If you see alla diavola on an Italian menu, it means that dish will be slightly spicy. Chicken alla diavola is usually flattened, then blackened on a grill or under the broiler, but the same technique works well on the stove, too. This recipe uses game hens to stand in for the smaller chickens of Tuscany, and a heavy pot takes the place of the brick.

For a quick and satisfying after-work supper, team this tasty chicken dish with some cooked noodles that have been tossed with olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.