Ricotta Cheese

More than any other time of the year, fall is when we entertain most in our New England home. As the leaves start to turn, our phone begins to ring with friends asking if they can come for a weekend to see the breathtaking autumn foliage. We love playing host on such visits, but because stays of several days require more cooking than a single meal, I've learned from experience to plan simple, easily executed menus for such occasions. Typically, I concentrate on the main course and often pick up an appetizer or dessert at a local market.

There are four main axioms to preparing homemade lasagna:* Many steps are involved.* It always takes a long time.* It isn't exactly cheap.* It's always worth it.For me, and seemingly every child I know (regardless of ethnicity), lasagna is the quintessential comfort food. It's complex in flavor, yet homey and satisfying, and has great visual appeal. Depending on the ingredients, it can be a complete and very wholesome meal "in a square."When I was a kid, there was only one way to make this multilayered, oven-baked pasta dish, and that was from scratch.

When I last wrote about the Crossroads, before the Cross Keys Inn became a Radisson, I said that the waiter got the food on the table quickly; but given what most of our meal tasted like, that could be considered a minus. Harsh, but true.Three years later the fact that the inn has now become part of a large chain didn't mean the kitchen was going to be any better. But, I figured, at least it would be different.Although a couple of million dollars was spent renovating the hotel when CapStar Hotel Co. took it over last year, the dining room looks much the same.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Pollio Dairy Products has created a quick recipe featuring the company's Polly-O ricotta and mozzarella. Other brands of cheese should work as well.Speedy Skillet PastaServes 4 to 61 pound ground beef1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce2 cups water3 cups pasta, uncooked1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheeseBrown meat in large skillet until cooked through. Drain off excess fat.Stir in spaghetti sauce and 2 cups water and bring to boil.

Gourmet brick-oven pizza may be the headliner at Ricciuti's, but this Columbia restaurant also features a strong supporting cast: focaccia sandwiches, fresh salads and Italian staples from PTC Stromboli to eggplant Parmesan.Owners James and Amy Ricciuti opened their bright Italian bistro about 18 months ago in the Hickory Ridge Village Center, dressed the place in a green and white scheme and hired a friendly, young staff to wait on tables.Their brick pizza oven glows fiery hot at eye level behind the front counter.

For Jews throughout the world, Passover, which begins at sundown April 21, marks the commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. For Edda Servi Machlin, author of the two-volume "Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews" (Giro Press), it is also a time to remember the Seder of 1944, when she and her siblings were in hiding from the Nazis in Italy.More than anyone else, Machlin, a historian of Italian-Jewish life, has brought to the American public the food and stories of the Tuscan town of Pitigliano and its surroundings.

Evelyn Tribole, celebrity dietitian and drumbeater for healthy living, is unapologetic: "I do love to eat," says the former "Good Morning America" nutritionist, "and I have a tremendous sweet tooth."But traditional light desserts -- "air food," she calls them -- have never quenched her desire. "It feels like you haven't eaten anything," she says.So the former marathon runner arrived at a compromise: lightening recipes without ruining them.The result is "Healthy Home-style Desserts" (Viking, $24.95)

It all started with a plain white cake.When Tai Linkous was 4 she had her first baking success. Little did she know then that veal scaloppine, coconut coffeecake, homemade hand-dipped chocolates and everything in between would become standards in her recipe repertoire."

Ricotta cheese pie offers a treat that is monumental in taste with easy preparation.Blanche Stone of Baltimore requested the pie, and Anne Glassman of Baltimore responded.Glassman's ricotta cheese pieServes 10PASTRY:2 cups flour2 tablespoons dry sherry2/3 cup butter or shortening1/2 teaspoon saltFILLING:1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese1/4 pound toasted almonds, chopped fine1 tablespoon chopped citron1 teaspoon vanilla4 eggs1/3 cup granulated sugar2 tablespoons powdered sugarSift flour and salt together.

Sometimes Italian dumpling recipes can be problematic. They work perfectly several times, then for some reason, the results are disappointing, even disastrous.Some cooks blame "kitchen gremlins," unknown pranksters who play cruel culinary tricks -- often when the unsuspecting cook is suffering from a case of overconfidence. More likely, these culinary inconsistencies are the result of variations in the ingredients and/or climate. Some recipes are a matter of texture and feel, such as combining just the right amount of flour or water to make a perfect dough.