Macaroni

Here's a hearty vegetable soup that doesn't take as long to make as the classic but is much better than what you'll find in a can.

Maccheroncini al Pesce Spada This dish epitomizes what I have found true Sicilian cooking to be: fresh tasting, light, and fragrant.

Although this dish is lower in fat due to the skim milk and reduced-fat cheese, you'll love it so much you may never resort to the fluorescent-orange boxed stuff again!

(PASTA PICCANTE CON POMODORI E RUCOLA) Fresh-tasting, easy to make and perfect for weekday entertaining.

Clearly this is an Italian soup. Biete is Swiss chard, usually green, although I have a fondness for the drama and beefy taste of the red-stemmed kind.

It took me quite a while to remember a meal I used to loathe. You see, I was a kid who ate pickled herring and pig's feet with her dad. But my mom reminded me of the utter disdain with which I would greet the following meal, named for my brother's best friend, Eric Gisolfi. Eric has always been a hearty eater, but a picky one. This was one dish he never complained about. So, whenever he joined us for dinner I felt conflicted — fantastically happy that a new playmate would be joining us and absolutely devastated that I had to endure the ground meat and elbow macaroni so cherished by our guest. Try it out to see the mixed reviews you receive.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Buttered steamed broccoli and carrots are great with this ultimate comfort food; end with grapes and cookies.

Lighter, brighter flavors make this old-fashioned salad new again.

A wonderful first course, to be followed by roasted meat with vegetables. Pass some additional grated Parmesan cheese if you're not concerned about a few extra calories.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

We make half of this mac 'n' cheese plain, for kids, and into the other half we stir some chipotle chiles to give it a grown-up kick. Any tubular pasta will do, but we like to use cavatappi, a ridged, spiral macaroni that lends the dish a particularly festive air.

"Every time I visit my sister in Los Angeles, we make a point of having dinner at Mimosa, a popular French bistro," writes Frances Candler Brown of Birmingham, Alabama. "I like to think I'm an adventurous diner, but my order there has become only too predictable: a glass of wine, a salad and the restaurant's delectable version of macaroni and cheese." This French take on macaroni and cheese has a nice assertive flavor.

Soupe au Pistou During Marion Cunningham’s last visit with Richard Olney, he made a version of this recipe, which comes from Simple French Food. As he made it, he told her that he thought the trick to cooking is tasting — in the case of the soup that day, adding the right amount of salt and pepper, then cheese, then a little olive oil, and finally some macaroni. After making the soup in our own kitchens, following the recipe from the book (it's highly adaptable to seasonal produce or the contents of your larder), we can understand why this recipe is so loved among Olney’s fans.

Nearly every cook in Newberry County makes his or her own rendition of Dunbar macaroni. In Gourmet's kitchens, we combined some favorite additions to the basic recipe to come up with this version.

A robust mix of white beans and macaroni in a light tomato sauce, ready to serve in under 30 minutes.

For a thicker, more traditional soup, replace all the green peas with a half cup of drained canned white beans.

Ripe tomatoes, basil and fresh corn enhance a terrific side dish.