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Stifado, a hearty Greek stew, can be made with almost any kind of meat, though beef is most common. Here we use lamb. It always involves either red wine or red-wine vinegar or both, herbs, and copious quantities of small whole onions.

Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

The bouquet garni for this stew includes orange peel (use a vegetable peeler to make wide strips) and some of the wispy fronds from the top of the fennel bulb that goes into the soup.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH NUTS AND RAISINS) Here is a chocolate cake that will delight your palate. Use the best bittersweet chocolate you can find!

For convenience, these can be made up to three days ahead.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

This is a tasty dish for a tapas party, but I also like it served with greens alongside warm lentils for lunch. Spanish fresh pork sausage is flavored with garlic and oregano, but any sweet pork link sausage can be used for this recipe.

The more succulent the berries, the better. The cake layers absorb the juices, which is why this cake must be assembled at least 8 hours before serving.

The contrasting colors of mango and boysenberry are lovely. If you like, serve the sorbets in frozen "mango boats," made by scooping out the centers of halved mangoes and freezing the shells.

A purchased cake mix (spiked with Marsala for added zip) makes this elegant dessert a snap to prepare. For extra ease, you can assemble it the day before serving.