Onion

Fèves au Lard Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 4 1/2 hr

Don't skip the green peppers when making these sandwiches. They give just the right balance to the pepper mixture, slightly cutting the sweetness of their red and orange companions.

"I love going to Peter Schott's here in Boise for special occasions," writes Tracie Merrell of Boise, Idaho. "The restaurant is elegant but relaxed, and the food is memorable, especially the mushroom soup with Brie croutons." Freezing the Brie firms it, so removing the rind and slicing the cheese are much easier.

"In our family we have a saying that the Greek kitchen is the original twenty-four-hour diner: It never closes," writes Georgia I. Chletcos of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. "The great thing about these home-style dishes is that they're generous to the cook and to everyone else: You don't have to be a pro to prepare them, there's always plenty to share, and you'll have a delicious meal on the table in no time." This light soup is based on a traditional Greek recipe called avgolemono.

"I had three kids in three years when I was a 'young married' in my twenties," writes Sheryl Hurd-House of Jupiter, Florida. "That's when I started cooking and realized I liked it."

North African spices combine with a touch of honey and lemon in a refreshing summer soup.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Pan-Seared Salmon over Red Cabbage and Onions with Merlot Gastrique. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

Boning the roast makes slicing the meat much easier at serving time: Have your butcher remove the backbone, or chine, from the whole rack and cut the meat off the ribs in one piece, then tie the meat back onto the bones. The roast can be served on or off the bones. To crack whole peppercorns, enclose them in a resealable plastic bag and crush slightly with a meat mallet. What to drink: A medium- to full-bodied red with peppery spice, such as Syrah (called Shiraz if it's from Australia).

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 1 hr

These delicious strudels can be put together one day before baking.

Bean thread noodles (also known as cellophane noodles) come in varying widths. For this recipe we like the wider (1/4-inch) noodles.

These delicious sandwiches are from the Corner Bakery Cafe in Chicago.

Happily, this fish dish can be made a day ahead. Simply remove it from the refrigerator and arrange 2 hours before serving. Even better, the sauce also can be made 2 days ahead and kept, well covered, in the refrigerator. It's from Mexico, One Plate at a Time (Scribner), by Rick Bayless, the celebrated Chicago chef and cookbook author.

Quickly sautéed shrimp over rice is a very old, traditional breakfast in the Carolina Low Country. But it would also make a nice quick-and-easy luncheon or supper dish, rounded out with a salad and maybe cornbread.

Mashed potatoes or squash side-dishes would be perfect with this.