Penne

Offer this simple, hearty dish with a green salad, crusty garlic bread and a light red wine, like Beaujolais.

This dish, a specialty of northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna, is named for the regions capital city. Although the meaty sauce is classically paired with tagliatelle (ribbon pasta just slightly wider than fettuccine), it also marries well with a variety of pasta shapes that trap the savory sauce.

For a richer dish, splurge by adding an ounce of reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms to the sauce.

Canned tuna sparked with lemon and capers creates a superb sauce that complements many pasta shapes — penne, shells, or linguine, to name only a few. I prefer solid-pack tuna in olive oil for the best flavor and texture. I sometimes add a small handful of unpitted black olives — Kalamata or Gaeta — and a large, ripe tomato, seeded and diced, for a delicious variation. Italians would never serve cheese with fish, but you have my permission to break the rules!

This dish is ideal for entertaining, because you can prepare the sauce ahead and then simply toss it with the cooked pasta. Do not overcook the shrimp!

Mary deMuth of Rowlett, Texas, writes: "Because my husband is in a graduate program, we've been able to meet people from all over the world. It has been a great experience for our three children — and a chance for me to add to my recipe collection. We frequently have other students over for dinner, so I'm always learning new dishes. Next year our family will be moving to southern France, and we're very excited about the food we'll have there. We hope to make many new friends who will share their Provençal specialties." This side dish is a perfect contribution to any potluck picnic. Toss in a can of drained tuna for a more substantial salad.

For a savory addition, toss a little sautéed pancetta or bacon into this pasta.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This spicy pasta dish is a real treat for mushroom lovers. Use as many different varieties as you can find.

More sophisticated than macaroni and cheese—and just as good. Use a cheese slicer to make the very thin slices of Fontina called for here.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 40 min

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A full-flavored Italian blue cheese adds pizzazz to this pasta. Serve the dish with a salad, bread and a glass of white wine for a lovely weekday dinner.

This is a satisfying vegetarian main course that takes full advantage of the flavor possibilities of garlic, here cooked until soft for sweetness and body, sautéed until golden for depth, and added raw for brightness.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Make this with vegetable broth for a meatless main course.