Opening the vault: The top 12 recipes of 1987 and 1988

Counting down the L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipes that were honored as the best of the best over the last 25 years has been a fascinating study in recipe titles.

Consider the best recipes from 1987 and 1988. The titles range from the plainly descriptive -- Fluffy Orange Rolls, Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies -- to the more high falutin': Margaret Clark's Guenoc Winery Chocolate Chestnut Gateau.

What we were also cooking in 1987: Our own pasta. Here's the recipe for Lasagna Alla Pina.

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Fresh pasta dries over the back of a chair. Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times