Fontina

Whole roasted chestnuts (now conveniently packed ready-to-use in jars) and creamy Fontina cheese enrich this take on a classic southern bread.

Creamy potatoes are baked in a casserole.

Karla Medina of League City, Texas, writes: "At a food festival in downtown Houston, I had a sampler plate from Carmelo's Italian Restaurant. The eggplant Parmesan and spicy meatballs were very good, but the polenta was out of this world. I'd love to know how they prepared it."

More sophisticated than macaroni and cheese—and just as good. Use a cheese slicer to make the very thin slices of Fontina called for here.

Healthy bonus: Vitamin C and beta-carotene from the squash

An inviting first course would be grilled or roasted vegetables tossed with olive oil and arranged on a platter with olives and spicy peppers. Buy some tiramisu for dessert.

Sformato D'Asparagi con Fonduta This savory flan has an intense asparagus flavor. Its texture is unusually tender for a flan, without a trace of egginess.

Roasted poblano chilies add a wonderful smoky flavor to this pizza; however, if they are not available in your area just omit them from the recipe.

"I spend as much time as I can cooking," writes Brigette Lyons of Allendale, New Jersey, "and I'm equally comfortable feeding two or two hundred. I thoroughly enjoy giving sit-down meals, including an annual Christmas luncheon I do for about twenty guests. I just like to cook, period. Cooking for two hundred may be different from making weeknight dinners for myself and my husband, John, but organization is the key to both. I try to keep things on hand that are simple and easy to prepare." Brigette prepares this dish for her annual Christmas luncheon. It's ideal for entertaining because it can be assembled ahead and baked just before serving.

Polenta is layered with Fontina cheese and cream in this decadent casserole. Offer it with the sausages and tomato sauce, or on its own as a brunch or lunch dish.

This easy, no-roux mac and cheese recipe is made almost entirely on the stovetop and then gets transferred to the oven to melt the cheesy topping.

Love cottage cheese? You’ll love this lasagna. Hate cottage cheese? You’ll still love this lasagna.

This homemade mac and cheese is our Platonic ideal: It is deeply cheesy and creamy and has a crunchy crust. Plus, it doubles easily for a crowd.

The best salad is really a deconstructed Italian sandwich, complete with an oregano and red wine vinegar dressing that tastes just like how your deli does it.