Parmesan Cheese

Many Italians consider the traditional crushing of fresh herbs, garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil in a mortar and pestle the only way to make a true pesto sauce. While fresh basil and parsley are the ingredients for the classic pesto, almost any herb or vegetable can be used. Sun-dried tomatoes have an intense, sweet flavor and make a flavorful pesto sauce. Pine nuts, also called pignoli, are essential for an authentic pesto. They are small seeds of the Mediterranean stone pine. They can be found in the spice, nuts or baking section of the supermarket.

Here's a promise the dining-out crowd may love to hear: It'll be the best place to eat in the area. That's what the owner/chef of Canton's newest restaurant is vowing. Ted Stelzenmuller certainly knows East Baltimore restaurants. He's worked for the last few years in the vicinity, first at Red Fish, and then at Salt. If all goes as planned, starting tomorrow you'll be able to see whether he lives up to that promise, when he's set to open the doors of Jack's Bistro. OK. His name is Ted. Yet, his eatery is called Jack's.

The Wild Orchid calls itself a cafe, but it's a cafe where the duck breast is seared and served with pear chutney, the sirloin is free-range venison, and entrees average $30. The restaurant, located in an Eastport bungalow, is charmingly casual when it comes to its surroundings, if not its cuisine, with an inviting front porch and a patio where meals are served when the weather is warmer. The downstairs has been opened up so there's one large dining room that wraps around the kitchen, and a smaller, cozier room to one side.

Lisa Turner of Nottingham was looking for a recipe for marinated tomatoes with grated cheese like the ones that were served at the now-closed Palmer House restaurant in Baltimore. They were a family favorite and she was hoping to be able to make these at home. Jo Ann Nuetzel of Parkville sent in a recipe for tomatoes vinaigrette that she says she has been using since the early 1970s.

This lasagna, slightly adapted from Joann Simonetti's recipe, uses homemade noodles, which results in a lighter dish, but dried noodles will work fine. JOANN SIMONETTI'S LASAGNA Makes 12 servings SAUCE: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 / 2 sweet onion, chopped 2 pounds ground chuck 1 / 2 teaspoon each: salt, garlic powder Freshly ground pepper 1 can (29 ounces) tomato puree 2 cans (28 ounces each) crushed tomatoes 1 tablespoon dried basil 10 sprigs fresh basil or to taste 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons grated Romano cheese RICOTTA FILLING: 1 container (32 ounces)

Shrimp can be dressed up as a cocktail dangling seductively from the edge of a crystal bowl or made into a quick, casual meal with a coating of batter and a plunge in the deep fryer. Shrimp come in a variety of sizes and colors. The kind of dish you're going to make will determine the kind of shrimp you buy. Shrimp are typically sold by count or number per pound. The higher the count, the smaller the shrimp. Extra-large shrimp, 16 to 20 per pound, are the ones you'd like to feature in a shrimp cocktail.

In its short time here in Maryland, Wegmans has established itself as far more than a supermarket. It is the object of hero worship. The focal point of a cult. Weg-mania has swept the region. Since the 69th Wegmans store - and the first in Maryland - opened Oct. 2, tens of thousands of visitors have flocked to the Hunt Valley shrine, I mean store, to buy fresh-made breads, marvel at its cheese selection and gape at the sheer variety of olives. Four weeks later, finding a parking space was still a challenge.

Lee Tillman from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe for an Italian vegetable and bread soup called "Ribollita" that she had when she was in Florence, Italy. Anne Brusca of Columbia sent in her recipe for Ribollita that she says is a specialty of Italy's Tuscany region. The word means twice baked and is aptly applied to this dish because it is, in fact, cooked twice. Brusca says, "It is a lot of work to make but well worth the effort." I would agree completely. The only change I made to her recipe was that I decided to prepare the soup one day and then bake it with the bread and cheese for the second time the following day. The end result was a marvelously thick and delicious one-pot meal, more like a stew than a soup.

Let the word recycled become a mantra in your culinary efforts as well as in garbage detail. It's the right thing to do for the sake of your household budget and, more important, for easing the strain of creating speedy weeknight dinners. Recycled pot roast is a case in point. The long-braised meat turns to flavorful shreds that can find their way into innumerable second- and third-day meals. Here, the meat (which also could be any braised meat, such as pork, lamb or chicken) transforms into a hearty pasta dish with the help of wine and mustard as flavorings.

Fennel is one of those overlooked vegetables. It's time to bring it out of its hiding place. This main dish pairs the mild, licorice-flavored plant with equally mild fish steaks and the salty deliciousness of parmesan cheese. Altogether, they create an elegant but quick meal. Then add a simple cherry-tomato salad, some bread and, for dessert, ice cream with a favorite topping from a jar. Butterscotch is my favorite. Tips Choose any mild fish, steaks or fillets, including halibut, snapper, trout or whitefish.