Sun-Dried Tomato

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Beer gives a yeasty flavor to this quick bread made without yeast. Slices of the bread are good toasted or sandwiched around a filling of choice.

The warm goat cheese toasts make delicious croutons for the salad, but they would also be an easy hors d'oeuvre.

"At the Charleston Grill in Charleston, South Carolina, we were overwhelmed by how delicious the grits were," write Neil and Judy Kleinman of Pasadena, California. "This spectacular side dish was made with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and was served in a small skillet."

Imported from Italy early in the decade, sun-dried tomatoes seduced the nation. Two other obsessions were pasta and pesto. All those ingredients combine here in a dish that doesn’t age.

"I come from a big family, so I learned how to cook to help my mother feed all of those hungry mouths," says Molly Shannon Daum, Evergreen Park, Illinois. "Dad loved whatever I made, and he would always tell me that I should have my own restaurant named Molly's Marvelous Makings. But despite Dad's suggestion, I decided to study nursing. Nowadays I usually don't get home until seven o'clock at night, which means that dinner has to be quick. Sometimes my husband, Tom, helps out in the kitchen, but mostly it's up to me to get something delicious on the table fast. Since the opportunity to prepare challenging meals doesn't come up often, I save the complex cooking for the times when we entertain. That’s when I get to use the recipes that might have appeared on my menu if I'd taken Dad's advice." Molly also uses the dressing on salads.

Round out the picnic with a green bean salad, peaches, and biscotti.

"I developed this recipe last winter and think it makes excellent cold-weather fare," says Lora Anderson of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 20 min

Buy steaks that are at least 1 1/4 inches thick; that way, they can be seared without getting overdone. The Mediterranean-flavored butter adds a great taste accent. Also offer mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, and drink a Burgundy or Pinot Noir.

Have your butcher order the veal breast, then ask him to bone, butterfly, and pound it, forming a rectangle that has the dimensions described in the recipe.

Jim Fobel, cookbook author, says. "My mother never put sun-dried tomatoes in her mashed potatoes, as I do in this recipe. She made them ahead, then topped them with Parmesan and butter, and baked them. I've always loved those potatoes, and the layer of chopped sun-dried tomatoes I've added provides some terrific extra flavor."