Pasta

THE importance of truly good fried calamari, like they serve at Fazzini's Italian Kitchen in Cockeysville, never should be underestimated. Here's a classic example of why. A friend once was up for a very big job at New York's Daily News. The interview rolled over into lunch in an Italian restaurant, and calamari was ordered. The friend had never had calamari before but did not want to advertise this for fear of appearing too unworldly to work in New York. So, he plunged in and managed to retrieve the rubberiest example of fried squid ever prepared.

Aida Bistro is one of those versatile restaurants that can be as dressy or as casual as you want it to be. The very good Italian fare works well for special occasions -- and for ordinary days when you just want some good, filling pasta. Almost hidden from view in the depths of the ubiquitous Columbia strip mall, Aida provides an airy, sleek setting where suits are appropriate, from Armani to sweat (although we agree with Jerry Seinfeld that wearing the latter in public is basically saying that one has given up)

I've lost track of precisely how my family's Official Summer Dish came to be. I know, though, that it was inspired in part by a trip to Italy 15 years ago, where we spent long, leisurely afternoons over pasta and wine in Umbria and Tuscany. And I know that every time I prepare this dish, those lingering hours, when good food and company cultivated a keen sense of well-being, return to mind. The dish is simple, and suffused with summer. It is pasta (your choice), tossed with an uncooked sauce of fresh tomatoes, torn basil leaves, lumps of mozzarella cheese, olive oil, garlic, a little sea salt and good-quality grated cheese.

Dottie Crow and her husband of Pismo Beach, Calif., enjoyed a pasta dish with shrimp, mussels and chopped tomatoes that was served to them while they were visiting the Carmel Mission Inn. She was hoping someone would have a similar recipe that she could prepare at home. Carl Covington from Boonville, Mo., apparently did some Internet research and sent in several versions of shrimp and mussels over pasta. The recipe he submitted for Fettuccine Provencal With Mussels and Shrimp seemed to most closely resemble what the Crows are looking for. This seafood dish is grand enough to serve to company yet simple enough to prepare anytime, particularly in winter when fresh mussels from the Atlantic Ocean are at their peak of quality.

Rocky Run Tap & Grill is a study in contrasts. This kid-friendly bar-restaurant with crayons and kraft paper on the tables is a casual eatery that can pull off sophisticated pastas as well as down-home ribs and beans.Slide into a booth, under blackboards with colorful chalk art, or next to a wall filled with neon beer lights and "Far Side" cartoons.A row of unusual hot sauces lines the room, products with names like Jump Up and Kiss Me, and Belligerent Blaze. If you plan on using some of them, start with a beer to quell the fire.

This pasta of Italian flavors takes advantage of red peppers and fresh herbs still abundant in farmers' markets, or maybe in your garden if you've planted them. The recipe calls for fresh thyme and oregano, but many other herbs would substitute just as well. Think basil or marjoram. For dessert, sliced fresh peaches with a splash of liqueur (such as the Italian lemon-flavored limoncello) make a simple and refreshing ending. A simple biscotti alongside wouldn't hurt. Joe Gray writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

What's the difference between fresh pasta and dried pasta? The term "fresh" generally refers to pasta made by hand with soft wheat flour and eggs. "Dried" implies a factory-made product made from hard wheat moistened only with water. What is most important to understand, however, is that neither type of pasta is superior to the other. Scholar Clifford Wright theorizes that what is known as dried pasta first was made around 1000, possibly in Sicily. Water and hard wheat flour were kneaded into a paste (pasta is Italian for paste)

SALT THE PASTA WATER. That is one of Luigi Ferrucci's rules for cooking pasta. Since Luigi was making dinner -- spaghetti with squid ink, and bow-tie-shaped pasta topped with dried tuna eggs -- his rule was followed.Luigi -- an Italian physician, a health-care researcher and a family friend -- was in Baltimore to take a short summer course at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. After class he stopped by our house to cook. He has a sure hand in the kitchen and has firm opinions about how Italian food should be prepared.

Crab is king in San Francisco, where hungry residents wait impatiently for the start of Dungeness crab season every fall. The sweet, clean flavor of just-caught local crab is a thing to be savored. A favorite presentation found at the city's Vietnamese restaurants is roasted crab served in the shell atop an aromatic pillow of garlicky noodles. The dish serves as inspiration for this quicker, simpler dish. Dungeness works great here, of course, but equally good results can be had with other crab varieties.

This quick pasta works equally well as casual weekday family fare or as a dish for company. It's a versatile entree that can be served vegetarian or combined with chicken, meat or seafood.The vegetables are prepared very quickly, but even so it's best to have them ready before starting the pasta. Keep in mind spinach wilts slightly as it is tossed with the hot pasta.A Tuscan salad traditionally is a blend of lots of Tuscan bread, tomatoes and a creamy dressing and this is a quick rendition of vTC that style.