Soup

The Mediterranean fish soup bourride is something like a bouillabaisse but has a consistency more like stew. Instead of putting the aïoli directly into the soup, as is traditional, Adams likes to dollop it onto toasts.

"For me, cooking is a very relaxing and creative process — I just wish I had more time for it," writes Katherine Burk of Seattle, Washington. "I make a point of fixing dinner during the week, but with my hectic schedule (I work in information technology), there are some nights I'm too wiped out to attempt anything more complicated than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Usually, though, I can put something together — my spicy black bean soup, for example — in under thirty minutes." A southwestern favorite, simplified: Most of the ingredients are pantry staples.

For this soup, cook your favorite winter squash.

The riper the tomatoes, the better the flavor of this delicate consommé. To clarify it, we've used the traditional French method of creating an egg-white "raft," which attracts particles from the simmering broth and is then discarded. Though the consommé is served cold, it is not jellied.

This recipe calls for sweet Gewürztraminer, but any other sweet white wine (excluding dessert wines) should do. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.

"Usually I rely on cookbooks or magazines for recipes, but occasionally I develop one of my own," writes Kimberly R. Diamondidis of Germantown, Maryland. "A few years ago, I created this delicious, hearty soup as a new way to enjoy turkey."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

The tofu in this chowder provides a richness surprisingly similar to that of cream but with much less fat.

This pretty, easy-to-make first-course soup is flavorful and creamy, yet is extremely low fat-it has only one tablespoon of butter and no cream at all (except for an optional sour cream garnish). Pour your favorite beer or a fruity white wine throughout the evening.

I'm not sure if shrimp is so popular because of its versatility or if it's the other way around. In any event, shrimp is one of America's favorite seafoods, so I was a bit surprised not to find a tradition of shrimp chowder anywhere in this country. The lion's share of chowders orignated in New England, but shrimp are only caught here in the winter, up in Maine. "Maine" shrimp (Borealus red shrimp) are small and delicate. They are good in a quick-cooked stew or pureed in a rich bisque, but they become very soft in the extended cooking time involved in making a chowder. In the Southern states, along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, big white shrimp are abundant, but they are traditionally cooked in gumbos and "muddles" (seafood stews). And I found no trace of an authentic shrimp chowder on the West Coast. So, starting with a clean slate, I was able to create a chowder that expressed what I think a shrimp chowder should be. The is a lovely creamy pink chowder with delicious fennel flavor.

Serve this lush, smooth soup as part of an Asian or Western meal. Large wedges of pumpkin with a pale gray-green skin are sold in Southeast Asian groceries and in Caribbean produce markets. Pick out the pumpkin with the reddest flesh. You can also use an orange "pie pumpkin."

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