Wine

Osso Buco You can begin making the risotto that accompanies this osso buco while the sauce for the veal is reducing. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 4 hr

Steamed Swiss chard and buttered egg noodles sprinkled with chives are nice sides for this Hungarian-inspired meal. Apple strudel makes the perfect dessert.

We recommend using a sturdy food mill (available at cookware stores) to help produce a thick stew base from simmered vegetables and fish. Alternatively, you can use a large heavy-duty mesh sieve to strain the seafood broth. Then push through enough fish and vegetables to make 13 cups of stew base. Serve cioppino with sourdough toasts.

This autumnal dish is especially appropriate and welcome as the first course on a cool fall evening. The subtle sweetness of the squash is enhanced by the flavors of the pears, orange, and ginger, making it a great addition also to the Thanksgiving Table.

A blend of classic Spanish ingredients: white wine, olive oil, and Serrano ham.

"While vacationing in Vero Beach, Florida, I had a magnificent meal at Tangos," writes Peter Colley of Silver Creek, Colorado. "The food presentation was superb, and the outdoor patio made for a very romantic dining experience. I would like to have the recipe for the divine baked crab, Brie, and artichoke dip."

At the restaurant, this dish is served as a starter. It would also make a great main course for four.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 35 min

Mimosa in Los Angeles uses coconut milk in this version of a Breton classic.

This recipe is part of a grill menu that includes Dijon and Tarragon Grilled Chicken and Grilled Corn with Roasted Garlic Butter . Since you'll be lighting the grill to prepare the chicken and the corn for this menu, try steaming the clams in a pot on the grill as well. The grilled bread slices are good for soaking up the rich broth; if it is easier, the bread can be toasted in the broiler.

Gremolata, a mix of finely chopped lemon zest, parsley, and garlic, is an Italian topping classically served with osso buco. We added some basil to make it even livelier.

Serve these mussels with a frisée salad dressed with red wine vinaigrette. Add french fries, plus a baguette for sopping up the sauce. Lemon tart would be good for dessert. See how to clean mussels.

The origin of this dish is unknown, but it's a common menu feature of many Italo-American restaurants of the red-sauce variety. In kitchen lingo, a shoemaker is a shortcutting, skillful hack; a shoemaker cobbles things, a meal, together from the meager things on hand. In Italian, scarpa translates as "shoe" and scarpariella is slang for shoemaker. The actual name for one who plies this trade is calzolaio. In Chicken Scarpariella, a spring chicken is "hacked" up in to small pieces and quickly cooked with a few common ingredients.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 1/4 hr (includes chilling)

This sauce is basted on the meat as it grills. It would also be great served alongside; the recipe doubles easily.

You can start preparing these one day ahead. What to drink: A svelte red Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits or a Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley.

Butternut squash and a variety of beans give this vegetarian dish its hearty texture.