This is a classic recipe of obscure origins that Wikipedia says dates back to the mid-20th-century. It's classically made with long, thin pasta like spaghetti and linguine. Personally, I prefer shorter pastas. They're easier to eat with a fork without slurping.

Original recipes call for using all the bacon drippings as well, but I had a small heart attack just reading the recipe. If you choose, reserve it and add it when you add the eggs to the pasta.

PASTA CARBONARA

• 5 slices bacon
• 8 oz. farfalle or other small pasta
• 2 cups frozen peas, not thawed
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesean cheese (about 2 oz.)
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain and chop into small pieces. Set aside.

Combine the eggs, Parmesan, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until combined.

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to package directions. About 4 minutes before the pasta is done, add the peas to the boiling water. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta and peas and return to the cooking pot.

Over low heat, add the egg mixture to the pasta and stir until the sauce is thickened and the cheese is melted.

Note: The canonical recipe uses the heat of the pasta to cook the eggs, but I find that isn't enough and the eggs are too runny for my taste. How long you cook it is up to you, just be careful not to use high enough heat to make scrambled eggs.

Serve to plates and top with chopped bacon.

Source: Adapted from an epicurious.com version of a classic recipe.

I really like this recipe. It's actually quite easy. Assembling the manicotti takes only about 10 minutes. This is half the original recipe; it can be easily doubled to make a 13×9 pan. Don't leave out the basil or use dried basil.

BAKED CHEESE MANICOTTI

Tomato Sauce:

• one 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• one 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (preferably "petite diced")
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp. chopped basil

Pasta and Filling:

• one 15 oz. container ricotta cheese (reduced fat OK)
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
• 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped basil
• 8 no-boil lasagna noodles

In a non-reactive saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and salt and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

Prepare the filling by mixing the ricotta, half the Parmesan, mozzarella, egg, salt, parsley, and basil. Set aside.

Place the noodles in an 8×8 pan and cover with boiling water. Let soak for about 5 minutes, or until soft and pliable. Remove them from the water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Discard the water and wipe out the pan. Spread about 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 375 deg.

Assemble the manicotti: spread about 1/4 cup cheese filling on the bottom 3/4 of one of the noodles, leaving the top 1/4 uncovered. Starting at the bottom end of the noodle, gently roll it up like a miniature jelly-roll. Place the noodle seam side down in the pan. Repeat with the remaining seven noodles. Spoon the rest of the sauce over the assembled noodles, making sure to cover every noodle.

Cover with foil and bake for about 30 min, or until the sauce is bubbling. Top with the remaining Parmesan and broil for a few minutes until it is melted and browned in spots.

Serves about 4.

Source: Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

The original recipe for this says that it's the most popular Indian restaurant dish in the world and was probably popularized by the British. I have a hard time not eating half the chicken after it comes out of the broiler and before it goes in the sauce. Even with the peppers and spices, this isn't hot, just spicy, if that makes sense.

The first time I made this, I left out the cilantro, since I'm not a big fan and don't usually have it on hand. The second time I added it. I'm undecided as to whether it's necessary or not.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Chicken:

• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 Tbsp. grated ginger

Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, diced (I used red, any kind will do)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, minced
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. garam masala
• a 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Combine the cumin, coriander, and salt in a small dish. Sprinkle the chicken with the spice mixture on both sides and rub it all over. Place the chicken on a place and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.

While the chicken is in the refrigerator, combine the yogurt, garlic, and ginger in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat the broiler, and place a rack about 6" from the elements. (For me this was the second location from the top.) Place a cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place a saucepan over medium to medium high heat and add the oil. When it's hot, add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent and softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, minced chile, tomato paste and garam masala and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 sec. Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

While the onions are cooking or the sauce is simmering, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and dredge in the yogurt mixture. Get as thick a yogurt coating on the chicken as you can. Place the chicken on the rack and broil for about 20 minutes, flipping once. The time will be very dependent on your broiler, so use your judgement. Browned (not burnt!) edges and surfaces on the chicken are just fine. If you have an instant read thermometer, shoot for an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C).

Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then cut in half lenthwise once, then crosswise several times until you have 1-inch cubes of chicken. Add to the sauce. Stir in the cream and cilantro. Serve over white rice.

Serves about 4.

Note: I think the rack is important here. I don't have one at the moment, so just cooked the chicken on the baking sheet. Either the chicken or yogurt gives off a lot of liquid and the chicken wound up sitting in it under the broiler.

Source: Cook's Illustrated, September/October 2007

I like blue (bleu?) cheese and I like caramelized onions, so this seemed like a great match. I love the stuff. Equally good on chips or on raw vegetables. I've seen this exact recipe in at least two different places, so I'm not sure where it originated. The original called for "sliced" shallots, but I think it works better with them minced. Regular or low fat mayo and sour cream work just fine here. The non-fat versions of either are atrocious and should be banned from your kitchen on principle.

BLUE CHEESE AND CARAMELIZED SHALLOT DIP

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 4 oz. shallots (about 4 medium)
• 3/4 c. mayonnaise
• 3/4 c. sour cream
• 4 oz. blue cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Peel the shallots and cut them into 1/8 inch dice. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, briefly cook the shallots until wilted. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally. The shallots are done when they are nicely golden brown. Set aside and let cool a few minutes.

This can be done while the shallots cook. Put the blue cheese in a bowl and mash with a fork until it's in small pieces. Add the mayonnaise and sour cream and mix until blended. Mix in the caramelized shallots.

Refrigerate until shortly before ready to serve. Let stand a few minutes so it's not too cold. I find this is actually best if you let it sit in the refrigerator a few hours, or even overnight.

This recipe calls for an entire pound of pasta, which is a lot, especially if you're cooking for one. I actually used a 13 oz box of whole wheat pasta, and it was just fine. Personally, I prefer my pasta with more sauce, so it probably worked out well.

I adapted this from an episode of America's Test Kitchen. Their recipe used one 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, half chopped and half pureed in a food processor. I decided that was too much work. They also said to use a high-quality vodka because it will affect the results. As I am not a vodka connoisseur, I just bought a small bottle to try with this recipe.

PENNE WITH VODKA

• 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (preferably "petite diced")
• 1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (about 10 leaves)
• 1 lb. penne or other tubular pasta

Drain the diced tomatoes and place in a measuring cup. Add enough crushed tomatoes to make 2 cups total.

Add about 2 Tbsp olive oil to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook about 3 minutes, or until the onion is beginning to turn translucent and the oil has taken on some of the color of the tomatoes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.

Add the combined tomatoes and salt to the pan. For safety reasons, remove the pan from the heat, add the vodka, and return to the heat. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions, but drain it about a minute before it is done. It should be slightly undercooked.

To the tomato sauce, add the cream and stir.

Combine the sauce and the pasta and let it sit for a few minutes, to allow the pasta to finish cooking and absorb some of the sauce. Add the basil and serve.

Serves 6-8.

Source: America's Test Kitchen

It was a remarkably warm day for the beginning of May and, when I went to the co-op, I was thrilled to find organic watermelon on sale! It seemed perfect. Unfortunately, when I got it home and opened it up, the watermelon was nearly flavorless. It was a ghost of a watermelon. It was a watermelon immediately before being destroyed by the tommyknockers. So now I had a whole watermelon that tasted like nothing. What to do? I dug this salad out of the depths of my memory and it was fantastic. Actually, I thought I invented it and felt very smart but when I was about to post here I looked in my cookbooks and discovered I was inadvertantly channeling Nigella. That's okay, she's smart too. You'll note the lack of measurements given. They will vary based on the size of your watermelon, use your good judgement

SALTY SAVORY WATERMELON SALAD

• One medium sized watermelon cut into bite sized chunks
• Feta cheese
• Black olives (the oil cured kind)
• Fresh mint
• One onion, VERY thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Pour enough lime juice over the onion to totally cover it. Let this sit while chopping everything else.

2. De-pit the olives if necessary and tear them roughly in halves

3. Mix the chunks of watermelon with the feta and olives

4. Shred the mint and add it to the mixture

5. Add the onion/lime juice mixture

6. Pour a generous glug of strong flavored olive oil over the top

7. Toss gently, try not to mush the watermelon

8. Taste, add pepper if needed.

This tastes good right away and better if it is allowed to sit a couple of hours. Resist the temptation to add salt - with the feta and the olives it won't need any.

Source: loosely adapted from Nigella's

Summer Cooking

This has been my family's typical Christmas Eve dessert for a few years now. It's elegant, yet very simply and easy to make. It can also be made ahead and set aside before serving, which is very nice when you're making a hectic holiday meal. The only thing I thick could improve it is that the pears and custard are roughly the same color. Though I don't remember from where the original recipe came, I do remember that it called for a caramelized sugar syrup to be drizzled over the assembled dessert and allowed to harden. That was just too much work.

POACHED PEARS AND CUSTARD

Poached Pears

• 4-5 firm-ripe pears, preferably Bosc
• 5 cups water
• 3 cups sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Custard

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups half and half
• 2 Tbsp. Grand Mariner, or similar liqueur

Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a wide, deep pan. A 5-qt. saute pan works well for this, but a Dutch oven or large sauce pan will also probably work. Place over medium heat.

Peel, slice in half, and core the pears. As you prepare the pears, slip them into the poaching liquid so they do not turn brown.

Bring the syrup and pears to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Let the pears simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until they are cooked through. A paring (ahem, pearing?) knife slipped into a pear will meet little resistance. They should be slightly more firm than a canned pear. Remove the pears from the heat and let them cool in their syrup.

Place the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks in the top half of a double boiler, and whisk until the mixture is light in color. Whisk in the half and half. Place over simmering water and stir until the mixture starts to thicken, 5-10 minutes. Whisk vigorously until it is thick and creamy. Don't overcook it, or it will become lumpy.

Remove from heat and stir in the liqueur. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the custard, pressing it onto the surface of the custard so no air bubbles remain. (This prevents it from forming a skin.) Let cool.

Both the pears in their syrup and the custard can be refrigerated at this point for up to three days or so. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour before serving.

To serve, spoon the custard into bowls. Remove a pear half from it's poaching liquid, let drain until it's not too wet, and gently place on top of the custard.

Serves 4-6, usually with a couple of pear halves left over.

This is not chicken soup, don't get confused. This is chicken stock. It's okay for eating, great for a quick meal on a cold day, but it's what I keep in pre-measured amounts in the freezer for cooking. It is not the clear lovely golden color of chicken soup but instead a muddy brown elixir that instantly adds flavor and body to soups and rice dishes.

CHICKEN STOCK

• A chicken carcass, preferably with lots of meat on it. I make this immediately after I've made roast chicken and I use all the skin, all the fat, all the meat that's left on the bones, and all the bones. You can make it with just bones, but it's not as good. If you and your guests have picked the bones cleaner than you would like, throw them into the freezer and make this with two carcasses the next time you make roast chicken. (Yes, my freezer is a scary place. What's your point?)
• A bunch of garlic cloves. 4, 6, depends on the size, the freshness, and how much you like garlic. Don't bother peeling them
• An onion, chopped into quarters. Don't bother peeling it, just make sure it isn't dirty.
• One or two or three chunked up carrots. It sort of depends on how many carrots you have getting sad and floppy in the bottom of your vegetable drawer. Big hunks. Don't bother peeling it.
• A couple of pieces of celery - no more than 2! - broken into big chunks
• Lovage (a bunch, but only if you have it. I have it only when my farm share gives it to me so 1-2 vats of stock a year have it, the rest don't and they're fine too.)
• Olive oil
• water (enough to cover everything)

First, before we even get to the instructions, let me say that everything other than the first and last ingredients are optional. I have made perfectly serviceable stock with nothing but those. It's a better if you have the other stuff but don't BUY anything to make stock. If you have it, use it. If you don't have it, don't sweat it. If you read this recipe and you've just had chicken tonight but you have nothing else in your house, go ahead - make stock. It will be fine (not great). But in the future if you have an onion and some celery that you think need to be used up or they'll go bad, throw them into a bag in your freezer labeled STOCK. When you have one or two dessicated cloves of garlic left on the center of what used to be a luscious head, throw them into the bag. When you have a carrot that's starting to need viagra, throw it in the bag. When you make a chicken, save the carcass - it goes in the bag. I'm hearing the great authors from whom I learned to cook crying out in horror. "No! you must use only the freshest, the most beautiful…" That is true for chicken soup or chicken-in-the-pot or consomme, but this is coarse, peasant stock. It is 800 times more wonderful than anything you'll buy in the supermarket, uses things that would otherwise go to waste,is infinitely malleable, and a snap to make.

1. Pour a good amount of olive oil into a big pot and get it hot but not smoking.

2. While the oil is heating, chop up the chicken carcass into smaller pieces.

3. Cook the chicken carcass, whatever skin/fat/meat remains, the onion, and the garlic over medium high heat until they start to brown. Don't let them burn!

4. When the chicken carcass is well browned, add everything else and cover with water.

5. Cook over low heat while you clean the kitchen, do your laundry, watch something on TV.

6. Remove from heat when the smaller bones are fork tender (about an hour, maybe two). As long as there is water in the pot that covers the solids, it can cook for as long as you need it to, so don't rush about getting it out if you're in the middle of something.

7. Pour through a colander to remove all the solids.

8. Remove the fat. I've found the easiest way to do this is to pour the stock from the pot through the colander into something that will fit in my fridge easily. I then leave it for a day, take off the solidified fat, and freeze it in pre-measured amounts. You can also freeze it without taking the fat off first and then take off the layer of fat with a knife before you use it.

9. Use in things requiring stock. This is very chicken-y chicken stock, so if you need a lighter flavor you could cut it half and half with water. If you use 2 carcasses and then cook the liquid down more you get a chicken glaze that is so protein-heavy that it forms a jelly. This freezes well also and can be reconstituted to make stock of any strength you want.

Source: Irma Rombacher, Fanny Farmer, Mark Bittman, James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Barbra Kafka, and Nigella Lawson…all of whom would thoroughly disapprove.

This is actually two recipes in one. I'm putting them together because I always cook them together. I guess you could separate them but they'll be lonely and the potatoes may not cook right.

This is company chicken because it makes too much for 2 people (it's pretty much perfect for 4) and is brainless and relatively cheap and needs no minding once it's in the oven. It's for those days that your spouse emails at 4pm to ask "do you mind if Jack and Gwen come over for dinner?" or when you suddenly remember that you promised to cook dinner for friends who were out of town so they didn't have to deal with dishes on their first night back (not that such a thing happened to me, I'm just hypothesizing here) or any other time you are suddenly need to put a nice dinner on the table with no forethought. All you need to make this a complete meal is a tossed green salad and a good wine.

The way I've written this out here it looks fiddlely. It's not. I just made each step very simple. The shorter version is "cover chicken in lemon juice and olive oil, cover potatoes with olive oil, cook until done." The paprika gives the chicken a lovely bronzed hue in addition to an excellent taste. The cooking method is one I discovered by accident…and now Nigella is recommending it in all of her cookbooks. Apparently, I'm not the only one who has made that mistake or discovered that the mistake is tastier than the original.

COMPANY ROAST CHICKEN WITH POTATOES

• One whole chicken. Ideally it will be organic, free range, and humanely raised - they taste significantly better. Regardless, don't get a big monster chicken, buy something small - a frying hen is ideal. You don't want anything much bigger than 3 pounds.
• Potatoes. These can be big baking potatoes, small red potatoes, tiny new potatoes, or anything in between. Figure on one regular sized, 2 red, or a handful of smaller potatoes per person.
• Olive oil
• One lemon
• Four or more cloves of garlic smashed flat, you don't have to peel them
• Paprika
• Salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F and cut the lemon in half.

2. Clean the chicken with cold water inside and out. Take whatever small pin feathers remain off. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and juice half the lemon over it, squeeze hard to get all the juices out and then rub the lemon flesh vigorously over the entire chicken.

3. Stuff the remaining half a lemon and the garlic inside the chicken cavity.

4. Pour olive oil generously over the chicken working it in with your hands and making sure that no part of the bird goes un-oiled.

5. Sprinkle paprika, salt, and pepper over the chicken and rub until the entire chicken is lightly red and totally covered in spices.

6. Place the chicken breast side down (that's key, let me repeat it: BREAST SIDE DOWN!!) on the rack.

7. Chop the potatoes into bite-sized chunks and pour them around the rack in the roasting pan. One layer is best but if they get a little stacked it's not the end of the world.

9. Sprinkle the potatoes generously with salt and pepper and pour olive oil over them - do NOT be meager about the amount of oil you're pouring. Toss the potatoes to make sure they all get smeared with oil.

10. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes. Every 15 or 20 minutes (so a total of 2 or 3 times) give the potatoes a stir to make sure they're not sticking.

11. Serve surrounded by potatoes.

Note: Remember to flip the chicken back over before attempting to carve. If you care about presentation value, do NOT flip the chicken before presentation.

Source: Laurie Colwin, Nigella Lawson, Craig Claibourne, and my mom.

I was going through back issues of Gourmet when I found this recipe. It seemed too intruiging not to try. I've tinkered some and have now introduced this to a lot of people. Everyone is horrified when they find out what it is and then ask for 2nds, 3rds, etc until it's gone. It's great on it's own, it's also good with some gin or vodka mixed in.

CANTALOUPE AGUA FRESCA

• The seeds and inner goopy stuff from 2 cantaloupes. Use the flesh for something else
• 1/2 c. sucanat or raw sugar
• 6 c. water
• 1/8 - 1/4 c. (or one sploosh) lime juice

1. Put seeds, sugar, and 2 cups water into blender, blend on high until no longer making noises.

2. Pour through a fine sieve into a pitcher.

3. Add the remaining water.

4. Taste. Add lime juice as needed.

5. Serve icy cold.

Source: loosely adapted from Gourmet, Aug 1999