"All of my family swears that the best pasta con broccoli that they have ever tasted comes from Madison's Cafe in O'Fallon, Mo. Any chance that they will share the recipe?"

Marsha Waber, Ballwin



Of the 30 pasta dishes served at Madison's Cafe, this is the most popular, says owner Tom Kuhn.

The sauce is rich, but it is thickened with Parmesan rather than the more common roux (a mixture of butter and flour). Madison's uses shell-shaped pasta, but any sturdy, short cut with lots of texture could be substituted, such as rotini or gemelli.

"We try to give (the pasta) a little more personality with the spices that we include in the preparation," Kuhn said. "Our customers generally prefer the dish as we normally prepare it, although they will occasionally ask that we add grilled chicken breast or substitute peas for the broccoli."