Fettuccine

This satisfying pasta is an easy-to-make entrée to serve after a night on the town. Just add a salad, bread, and some sorbet and biscotti to complete the meal.

Cele Bullis of Gainesville, Georgia, writes: "My husband and I recently went to a restaurant in Alpharetta, Georgia, called Vinny's on Windward. He ordered a pasta entrée with lobster and cream sauce and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd love to make the dish for him. Can you get the recipe?" This can be prepared with 20 ounces of large raw shrimp instead of lobster, if you like. Peel and devein the shrimp, then sauté uncovered in butter until opaque in center, about three minutes. Cut each shrimp lengthwise in half.

More supermarkets are carrying fresh rabbit, as people rediscover its delicate flavor. Braising helps to keep it moist and tender. If you have trouble finding rabbit, however, you can substitute bone-in chicken, skin removed.

"I had a delightful dinner at Andiamo! Ristorante while on vacation in San Diego," writes Laverne Smith of Seattle, Washington. "Could you get their recipe for fettuccine carbonara? It was the best pasta I've ever had." Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the fettuccine will be hot when the sauce is finished; the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs that are tossed with it.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In Rome, this pasta would be served as a first course, but we prefer it as a main course. Traditionally, Romans don't use heavy cream in this dish, so you won't find any here either. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 25 min

In addition to the shiitake mushrooms called for here, look for morels, porcini or even button mushrooms, all of which are available during late spring early summer months.

Make this intriguing sauce ahead, then just heat it up while the pasta cooks.

Creamy mascarpone cheese and pureed roasted pumpkin are blended with just a delicious touch of cinnamon to make an interesting sauce for the fettuccine starter. Uncork a Dolcetto.

A mixture of cottage cheese, lowfat yogurt and lemon juice replaces the sour cream in the traditional version of this dish. Ground turkey makes an especially good choice for those watching their cholesterol intake.

Roasted peppers, marinated olives and artichoke hearts make good antipasti. Afterward, sprinkle melon slices with chopped fresh mint, and pass amaretti cookies.

Egg fettuccine, rather than regular durum pasta, makes all the difference in this dish. It's usually sold curled in nests or loose in trays. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 45 min

Sour cream and beets are inseparable in Eastern European cooking. Here's a fresh new way to enjoy them together.