Gruyère

Add a simple green salad to our updated version of the grilled cheese sandwich, and dinner is served.

"One evening my husband made fantastic asparagus roasted with olive oil," says Anne Graziano of New York, New York. "It prompted me to create this salad that features the asparagus, as well as Gruy
re cheese, apple and fresh greens."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Quiche made its way from France to our shores in the sixties, but it was in the seventies that its popularity soared.

Beet salad is delicious alongside. Rewarm leftovers for lunch the next day.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The fondue is the centerpiece of a casual dinner with the LaGuardias. They insist that whoever drops the most bread into the pot is stuck with cleanup duty.

Offer with your favorite tossed green salad and some crusty bread.

If you can't find Yukon Gold potatoes, use russets instead.

A lightened version of a first course that traditionally precedes choucroute garnie.

Offer a plum-tomato salad with the sandwiches. Round out the meal with sliced strawberries drizzled with crème de cassis.

"Every time I visit my sister in Los Angeles, we make a point of having dinner at Mimosa, a popular French bistro," writes Frances Candler Brown of Birmingham, Alabama. "I like to think I'm an adventurous diner, but my order there has become only too predictable: a glass of wine, a salad and the restaurant's delectable version of macaroni and cheese." This French take on macaroni and cheese has a nice assertive flavor.