Red Wine

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.

The slight sweetness of the pomegranate jus complements the peppery spice rub on the veal. The chef likes to serve these with a mélange of vegetables such as pearl onions, baby beets, and asparagus.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe was created to accompany Grilled Veal Chops with Morel Sauce . Fresh morels, veal stock, or demiglace are available at specialty foods shops.

Order the lamb from your butcher, and buy the pomegranate juice at a Middle Eastern market or at a natural foods store. Begin preparing this richly flavored main course one day ahead.

Ask your butcher to remove the large bone from the leg of lamb, leaving the shank bone intact. Begin preparing this main course a day ahead. Team it with carrots, French bread and some Cabernet Sauvignon. When your guests have finished the lamb, serve a mixed green salad. For dessert, offer purchased pear sorbet and biscotti and serve with cups of espresso.

Uncork a Cabernet Sauvignon or Burgundy to serve with dinner.

A nice dressing for greens or coleslaw.

At the beach in Malta, the locals eat fried rabbit, rather than burgers, with fries. I've adapted the recipe by using chicken and sweetening the gravy with a touch of honey.

The 1766 Tavern at Beekman Arms teams this delicious steak with grilled onion rings.

Serve with: Mesclun salad with an herb vinaigrette and sliced semolina bread. Dessert: Vanilla ice cream sprinkled with crushed amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons) and drizzled with Kahlúa.

Though Lynch uses flanken for this dish, we prefer the look of regular short ribs.You can often find flanken as well as short ribs at your local supermarket. Both are from the flavorful chuck, or shoulder, portion of a steer; the former are a three-rib portion of short ribs cut through the bone and the latter are ribs cut between the bones.

The rare breeds of Rouen Clair and Duclair from Stone Church Farm (845-658-3243) are small, tender, and have a low fat content, which makes them preferable to commercially available birds. We recommend the aged ducks, which have a richer taste. Order them two weeks ahead to allow preparation and shipping from the farm and request that the necks be removed. Since this recipe calls for a fair amount of soy sauce, it is important to use a brand with well-balanced flavors (such as Kikkoman).

Black olives absorb the flavor of red wine and fennel in this warm appetizer.