Olive

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Marinated peppers, mushrooms and eggplant make nice accompaniments to these Mediterranean-style pizzas. Finish up with almond cookies and mixed berries.

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

(Onion, Anchovy, and Olive Tarts)

Serve as a relish with the meal, or offer as cocktail nibbles. Make these one or two days before the party.

Suzanne Rackley of San Rafael, California, writes: "My husband and I had a fabulous dinner at Cobalt in New Orleans. I had the salmon with Martini sauce, and it was great. I would love to impress my friends and family with a new way to serve our favorite fish."

We used smoked bocconcini (small mozzarella balls) for this recipe, but you may substitute unsmoked bocconcini or smoked or unsmoked regular mozzarella, cut into slices and quartered.

Candida Sportiello writes: "As owner and chef of Il Giardino restaurant, on the tiny island of Ventotene off the coast of Naples, I've been cooking professionally for twenty-five years — but I've been cooking for pleasure for a good fifty years. As is the Italian way, most of my favorite recipes were handed down from my mother and grandmother, so they date from the early 1900s." "I love having so many amazing ingredients at my fingertips on Ventotene: fish, lentils, wild asparagus, mushrooms, fava beans, and artichokes. They make it easy to produce home-style cooking at its best."

Chopped pimiento-stuffed olives, bacon, and Dijon mustard take a standard to new heights. Offer potato chips, cherry tomatoes, and sliced deli-style pickles alongside.

When buying green beans, look for the skinniest ones—they have the best texture. Offer plenty of crusty bread, and open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to go with this hearty main-course salad.

Pasta Mille Gusti This recipe for "pasta with a thousand flavors," as Aeolian Islanders call it, is based on one developed by Fraser's friend after the writer herself was unable to persuade any locals to share their recipes. We recommend Bella di Cerignola olives, which are quite mild. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr