Wine

Jim Fobel, cookbook author, says, "My mother always added lots of sage and nutmeg to her stuffing. I loved those flavors when I was a kid, and I still put them in the stuffings that I make today."

Good accompaniments to this Sicilian-style pasta are an arugula and fig salad, breadsticks, and gelato with amaretti.

Fresh herbs and pancetta (Italian cured bacon) blanket the pork before it goes into the oven. Ask the butcher to tie the two loins to hold their shape. Begin marinating the meat one day before serving. What to drink: Open a few bottles of spicy Zinfandel or hearty Bordeaux to place on the buffet table.

Using the fresh-tasting canned diced tomatoes eliminates the chopping step. Serve with: Arugula and radicchio salad.

Here's an updated coq au vin that's from Fringale in San Francisco.

An old-school ice cream scoop turns out beautiful curls of melon; the pink peppercorn and bay–infused wine syrup keeps things interesting.

Ravigote sauce is piquant vinaigrette that typically contains onions, capers, and herbs. The hard-boiled egg in this rendition gives the sauce body. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Mashed potatoes and buttered baby carrots are naturals with the veal. Sprinkle grated chocolate over coffee frozen yogurt for a quick but sophisticated ending.

Stir some chopped fresh mint into yogurt for a cool topping on sliced tomato and cucumber salad, with warm pita bread alongside. Pistachio ice cream on sweetened orange segments is perfect afterward.

The term panéed means "panfried" in the New Orleans culinary lexicon. This recipe is from that city's Gabrielle Restaurant.