Soup

Pour a Chardonnay with the meal; if there are kids at the table, offer them apple cider.

If you can't find fresh lobsters, frozen lobster meat can be used.

Minestra You just know the Soprano family is eating the kind of Italian food that's getting harder and harder to find in our increasingly upscale Italian restaurants. This dish has that real-thing feeling; surely this is someone's grandmother's famous soup recipe. The soup is delicate but filling at the same time, with its pasta and baby meatballs. Unless you have Soprano-size appetites, this is a main-dish soup. We've cut the recipe in half so it will fit in your soup pot.

For a picnic, we love this soup chilled, but it's just as delicious served hot.

Complete the menu with a tomato and red onion salad, sourdough bread, and poached pears (or canned) with raspberry sauce.

The gazpacho needs to be started a day ahead, so be sure to plan accordingly.

A dollop of yogurt adds a creamy richness and cuts the heat of the chiles.

Serve with: A green salad and crusty bread.

Jewish chicken soup is usually served with thin egg noodles or with matzah balls. The zucchini is my, not MGM's addition.

Strong beef broth and garlic, not sugar, make a true Ukrainian borscht delicious. Fresh root vegetables and roasted beets provide plenty of sweetness which is balanced by an acid edge of lemon.

Although bisques tend to be thick and creamy, the following intensely flavorful version is light, with very little cream added.

Here is an almost effortless soup. Everything goes into the pot at once, and the finished dish is just the thing on a cold winter day.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This is a fine dish for a cold day, and one that cries for ice-cold akvavit and beer. So popular is this soup with all the Nordics that it is said that the King of Sweden eats it every Thursday.

This soup, known as congee or jook, is found in one form or another in many Asian countries and is eaten at all times of day. At breakfast plain congee is the norm, served with a variety of strongly flavored accompaniments — such as pickled turnips, salted fish, and peanuts — to awaken the palate. We love the flavor and color the pumpkin gives the soup. Those who like oatmeal for breakfast might enjoy this with just a touch of sugar; or leave it plain and top it with the recommended accompaniments.