Rigatoni

Cracklings made from the leftover duck skin top this satisfying pasta dish.

Editor's note: This recipe was included with two others from our roundup of great cookbooks for Dad. Lasagna needs to be constructed. That doesn't mean you need blueprints or permits, but it is a whole production. Pizza Noodles are like a sloppy lasagna. You can throw everything together, practically blindfolded. And what kid can resist the name?

Use the season's first wild mushrooms in this satisfying vegetarian pasta.

We used a food mill to coarsely purée the tomatoes, but you could use a blender.

The pasta is divided among four 3 1/2-quart baking dishes so they can be baked individually for open-house-style serving. But you can use any size bake-and-serve dishes — even a roasting pan or a paella pan.

At Luca this is prepared in individual dishes. For a family-style dinner, double the recipe and prepare it in one large baking dish. Use your favorite marinara recipe or a purchased sauce.

Nowhere are vegetables as important as they are in Sicily, and few vegetables are as popular-or have as long a history-as the eggplant. There are said to be hundreds of ways to prepare it. Peppers and artichokes are almost as well loved and common. A country cook often gets produce from a small kitchen garden called an "urtu".

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

From Lidia's in Kansas City, an informal company dish that's sure to satisfy.

Freshly picked greens and herbs are essential to cooking in the Apulia region of Italy. Their assertive, often bitter flavor enriches many a modest dish. Here, a just-cooked tomato sauce is enlivened with the peppery taste of arugula.

(PASTA ALLA NORMA) Because the small Italian eggplants generally used in this dish can be hard to find in this country, we have substituted Asian eggplants.

Pasta chi Civa is traditionally served during Carnilivari (Mardi Gras) in Polizzi Generosa to fortify the revelers.

To round out the menu, offer a tossed green salad and uncork a Chianti to go with this delicious pasta dish. Sharpen your chopping and mincing skills with our technique video.

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.