Simmer

A lovely summer dish. Be sure to make the oil several hours ahead.

Tangerine juice adds an intriguing note to the velvety sauce. Look for the largest possible tangerines to make squeezing easier.

This lobster salad is wonderful on its own—but piled onto a hot dog bun it becomes a perfect lobster roll.

Purchased roast chicken and frozen corn kernels simplify the preparation. Serve the chowder first, then a variety of grilled sausages with the mixed-greens salad and corn bread alongside. Kids will likely prefer the Pastry-Wrapped Sausages over plain grilled ones.

We recommend using a sturdy food mill (available at cookware stores) to help produce a thick stew base from simmered vegetables and fish. Alternatively, you can use a large heavy-duty mesh sieve to strain the seafood broth. Then push through enough fish and vegetables to make 13 cups of stew base. Serve cioppino with sourdough toasts.

Piquant and full of spices, this chutney is an unexpected, pleasantly bright condiment for scrambled eggs. Active time: 45 minutes Start to finish: 1 week (includes allowing flavors to develop)

"I come from a big family, so I learned how to cook to help my mother feed all of those hungry mouths," says Molly Shannon Daum, Evergreen Park, Illinois. "Dad loved whatever I made, and he would always tell me that I should have my own restaurant named Molly's Marvelous Makings. But despite Dad's suggestion, I decided to study nursing. Nowadays I usually don't get home until seven o'clock at night, which means that dinner has to be quick. Sometimes my husband, Tom, helps out in the kitchen, but mostly it's up to me to get something delicious on the table fast. Since the opportunity to prepare challenging meals doesn't come up often, I save the complex cooking for the times when we entertain. That’s when I get to use the recipes that might have appeared on my menu if I'd taken Dad's advice." Molly also uses the dressing on salads.

Pasta e Fagioli Venetians prize a soup made thick by using mashed beans. This recipe is based on the preparations at Venice's Fiaschetteria Toscana and Osteria alla Bomba. A tablespoon of salt may sound like a lot, but it is needed to bring out the beans' flavor.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

This autumnal dish is especially appropriate and welcome as the first course on a cool fall evening. The subtle sweetness of the squash is enhanced by the flavors of the pears, orange, and ginger, making it a great addition also to the Thanksgiving Table.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 45 min

This recipe is an accompaniment for Sweet-Potato Gaufrettes with Duck Confit and Cranberry Black Pepper Chutney. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 30 min

"During parents' weekend at Bowdoin College here in Brunswick, a group of us went to Rachel's Wood Grill, a restaurant in nearby Portland," says Jennifer Buechner of Brunswick, Maine. "Dinner was great, but the tiramisù we had for dessert was out of this world. I'd love to serve it for a graduation dinner." A perfect do-ahead dessert for a party.

Serve this fragrant main dish with basmati rice pilaf and a salad of cucumber, yellow bell peppers, and red onion. Melon wedges sprinkled with light rum and garnished with mint make a refreshing finale.