Pasta

Potato gnocchi is tossed with sausage, tomato, peas, and smoked mozzarella for a hearty dish. The gnocchi is simple to make and can be frozen.

Anyone who thinks Sicilian men don't cook should meet Giuseppe Scarlata, a native who likes to create dishes alla fantasia.

Supple strands of pasta luxuriate in an easy, elegant, knock-your-socks-off veal sauce that's gilded with butter and tomatoes. All in 30 minutes.

A sort of inside-out take on tortellini filled with spinach and ricotta, this quick weeknight pasta supper boasts a rich spinach and ricotta sauce.

A riff on the classic sausage and broccoli rabe pairing, this mixes it up with a little more healthfulness and the intriguing shape of cavatelli (though to be honest, any pasta will do).

Jumble together pasta, tomatoes, eggplant, ooey gooey mozzarella, and a splash of cream in just 35 minutes. Jamie Oliver's quick pasta dinner also makes a mean casserole.

These Cantonese noodles stir-fried with shiitakes, soy sauce, and sesame oil are umami at its weeknight best.

This spaghetti carbonara recipe tosses pasta with eggs, cheese, guanciale, pancetta or bacon, and pepper to form a creamy sauce. Quick and easy.

Dinner doesn't get any easier or more elegant than pasta tossed with butter, olive oil, Parmesan and pecorino Romano cheeses, and dusted with lots of black pepper.