Mozzarella

This simple weeknight dish relies on zucchini ribbons instead of noodles, and is stuffed with a zippy ricotta-pea filling.

Long sweet peppers show up at farmers’ markets during the peak of the season and may be sold as long sweet yellow, sweet banana, Hungarian Sweet, or Cubanelle. You can substitute two medium red, orange, or yellow bell peppers (don’t use the green ones).

This summer, take your peaches to dinner. Combine the fruit with a zippy dressing, ripe tomatoes, and creamy cheese for the ultimate sweet-salty-savory salad.

Top-of-season cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella turn flatbread—either homemade or store-bought pizza dough—into a refreshing, delicious summer appetizer.

When summer is at its height and the peaches are so ripe that you can smell their sweet aroma just by walking by, it's time for this bright salad.

The moderate heat of jalapeños is a perfect counterbalance to this rich filling, a combination of cream cheese and smoked Gouda. The results are nothing like the breaded, deep-fried apps you get in sports bars.

Browning sausage in the same skillet used to bake this pizza not only preheats the pan (the key to a crisp crust), it also infuses that crust with rich, porky flavor.

Chopped cauliflower adds earthy sweetness and turns as tender as the pasta in this more substantial version of mac ‘n’ cheese.

Pull-apart bread is the very definition of fun. Just plop it down in front of a table of people and watch it disappear within 2.4 seconds. It really is that good, and can pass as an appetizer or accompaniment to a pot of soup.

The classic tomato and mozz summer salad gets a roasty cold-weather makeover.

Bake well-sauced pasta, plus plenty of cheese and a few eggs to hold things together, in a cake pan and the edges turn crunchy, crusty, chewy, and downright irresistible.

If this brings back memories of the “house salad” from that Italian-American restaurant you grew up eating at, then we consider our jobs done.

Detroit-style pie is a thick, rectangular pizza with super-crispy edges, and the sauce is layered on top of the cheese. It is sometimes twice baked, and always delicious.

Nothing feels more decadent than giant shells of pasta filled with creamy mozzarella, Parmesan, and ricotta.

Real talk: This is a dish to make when the tomatoes are peaking—at the farmers’ market, you should be able to smell them before you see them.

Because the dough rises while you sleep—and because pizza with an egg baked on top is the very best pizza—there's no better time of day to serve this sausage and spinach pie.

Seek out a tortilleria for fresh corn tortillas if possible; it makes a difference.

Most people have heard of a torta—one of the traditional sandwiches of Mexico—but the cemita is its own unique breed of Mexican sandwich.