For anyone who doesn't like meals, antipasti can stand in for them. Others sneak in these snacks before the real meal begins. Del Conte, a Milan-born teacher and writer ( Gastronomy of Italy ), here condenses what she knows into a brief but appealing volume. Some of the strong recipes include those for grilled bell peppers; baked zucchini with mint and garlic stuffing; carrots in wine and herb (parsley, thyme, mint, sage) sauce; and stuffed mussels. The vegetarian entries will satisfy across the board, but meat eaters will not go hungry: a warm seafood salad, for example, incorporates shrimp, monkfish, squid, mussels and scallops, while "Il Mio Carpaccio"--which sounds like a spoof on an aria--calls for raw beef. The author claims she was once "transfixed by the beauty of the food and bewildered by the choice." Bayley's watercolors remind us of that beauty in ethereal views of sausages; a mottled pear; a sanguine fish.