Farfalle

Meet your new picnic go-to. This tangy-coleslaw-meets-creamy-pasta-salad features a nutty sauce inspired by Japanese goma, or toasted sesame, dressing.

Revitalize day-old Thanksgiving turkey (and any leftover green beans and brussels sprouts while you’re at it) by turning it into this creamy mushroom-laden pasta dish.

You can use red beets if golden beets are unavailable for this farfalle recipe, but your pasta will turn pink.

This recipe has several immediate advantages. It's simple; it requires minimal preparation apart from stemming and halving the little tomatoes; most of the time is devoted to roasting rather than prep (allowing more time to test-drive the dinner wine); and it calls for ingredients that I am likely to already have on hand.