By Myung Jin Lee

Are you still on the waiting list for fancy North End Italian dining?

Every weekend, these restaurants are crowded with Bostonians on the prowl for delicious traditional Italian dishes.

Pasta and salad are the most common items on those menus. Rather than wasting time on a cold North End Street or at the Levine Marketplace, Hungry Husky recommends easy, North End style Italian style pasta and salad.

These meals offer the additional bonus of being quick and easy to make. With midterms just around the corner, many students may be too busy to go out to eat. Instead, they can cook quick meals in your residence hall or apartment. It may not be the North End, but the meals are delicious.

Orecchiette salad with pears and bleu cheese Adapted from “Perfect Pasta”

What you need:

4 oz. dried orecchiette pasta 1/2 head of radicchio, torn into pieces 1/2 oak leaf lettuce, torn into pieces 1 pear 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice 4 oz. bleu cheese, diced 2 tomatoes cut into fourths 1/2 red onion, sliced 1/2 carrot, grated 4 fresh basil leaves 1 oz. corn salad 2 tablespoon olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, return to a boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender, but still firm. Drain. Refresh in a bowl of cold water and drain again.

2. Place the radicchio and oak leaf lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Halve the pear, remove the cores and dice the flesh. Toss the diced pear with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a small bowl to prevent discoloration. Top the salad with the bleu cheese, walnuts, pears, pasta, tomatoes, onion slices and grated carrot. Add the basil and corn salad.

3. Mix the remaining lemon juice and the olive oil and vinegar together in a measuring cup, then season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss and serve immediately.

The salad serves two.

Fettuccine Alfredo Adapted from “Perfect Pasta”

What you need:

1/2 oz. butter 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 lb fresh fettuccine 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese salt and pepper

1. Place the butter and 1/2 cup of cream in a large pan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer gently for about one minute, or until slightly thickened.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and oil, return to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until pasta is tender, but still firm. Drain the fettuccine, return it to the pan and pour the sauce over it. Return the pasta to low heat and toss the fettuccine in the sauce until coated.

3. Add the remaining cream, the parmesan cheese and nutmeg to the fettuccine mixture and season with salt and pepper. Toss thoroughly to coat while gently heating through.

4. Move the fettuccine mixture to a warmed serving plate.

The meal serves two.

Hungry Husky Tips:

When serving the salad, you can add more fruit and an extra pinch of fresh grated nutmeg, salt and pepper for additional flavor.

The Hungry Husky suggests decorating the plates with fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs for garnish.

Pasta is better served immediately and with extra Parmesan cheese. Melting hot Parmesan will fill your mouth with plentiful Italian taste.