Red Wine

Boeuf bourguignon may be made 1 day ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, covered (it tastes even better made ahead because it gives the flavors time to develop). If making ahead, it's easier to remove fat from surface after chilling.

Serve this zesty pasta with a salad of tossed winter greens sprinkled with shaved Parmesan or Asiago cheese, and a basket of seeded country Italian bread. Finish with orange sorbet and chocolate biscotti.

You may have to ask your butcher to reserve the marrow bones for this luxurious main course , but the result is well worth the effort. Roasted potatoes and steamed spinach make perfect accompaniments. Begin preparing this a day ahead.

During hard times, luxury cuts like steaks and chops give way to humbler ones. None are humbler than the oxtail, and all across the country, depression-era cooks made much of it, frequently in soup. Even in these days, when humble cuts have become restaurant menu stars, soup is still a good way to go with oxtails. Simmering them slowly with garlic and vegetables in red wine yields a rich broth and tender, succulent meat, making a lavish feast for us all.

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.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Offer a hearty Cabernet Sauvignon with this impressive prime rib.

Here, meltingly rich veal shanks combine wonderfully with the chewiness of orecchiette, ear-shaped pasta shells made of semolina (coarsely ground durum wheat).

In winter Kay Simon sandwiches this cake with wine jelly, in summer substituting a simple purée of fresh raspberries. Wine for Cooking and to Drink Merlot is important in the Yakima Valley, and perfect for this cake.

Try this rich sauce over pasta or over the <a></a> Parmesan Polenta Squares

Daube de Boeuf