Wine

While reminiscent of a marinara sauce, red bell pepper, cognac, and jalapeño add hints of newness to this luscious, traditional favorite lobster dish.

"I've never been keen on pineapple," food editor Paul Grimes admits, "so I challenged myself to make a pineapple dessert that I would actually like." Charring the wine-poached fruit caramelizes it and softens its acidity while highlighting its floral notes. With vanilla and a cidery syrup, this dessert feels at once wintery and light.

Mashed potatoes are a tried-and-true side dish with steak, but for something new, try an Italian purée of white beans—it's just as creamy and much faster.

This full-bodied stew will bring the crowd running when you lift the lid. First, pieces of chuck are browned to develop their flavor, then they’re braised in a red-wine beef broth. Adding the potatoes and carrots toward the end of cooking keeps their character and color bright.

This holiday twist on the traditional brunch cocktail sparkles ruby red with pomegranate juice, its tart intensity offset by a hint of sweetness from fresh orange juice and Cointreau.

Camper English, a San Francisco–based writer, developed this adaptation of a classic drink recipe to showcase the use of absinthe, but Ernest Hemingway gets credit for the recipe. His advice, circa 1935: "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly." We recommend drinking fewer than five. You may also try pouring the absinthe on top instead—some brands of absinthe will float for a time on the Champagne, and this makes for a nifty visual effect.

An impressive roast. Irish whiskey adds complexity to the gravy, which was inspired by steak au poivre. Plan to make and chill the stuffing one day ahead. There will be only a small amount of stuffing for each person, but it's so rich and flavorful that you won't need more.

The clams and sausage make a warm and comforting one-pot meal. Toss with cooked linguine, or just serve with toasted pain rustique.

This recipe comes from Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City. Though sangria is typically made in larger batches, Freeman demonstrates that it can also be concocted right in the glass for a single serving. When it comes to ingredients, he eschews the fancy add-ons found in many recipes, instead sticking to a simple formula of Spanish wine (ideally a young Rioja), Spanish brandy, and lemon juice. If you prefer, sugar can be added to taste, and different light red wines, citrus juices, and brandies substituted.

This pleasant, not-too-strong punch is perfect for a party. To keep the mixture cold without diluting it, use an ice block instead of regular ice cubes.

This recipe originally accompanied Ratatouille .

In a clever switch, a zucchini blossom stands in for the traditional sage-leaf topping. A terrific dinner-party dish.

Sturdy forest-green collards provide the wrapping for buttery, juicy mushrooms. Elegance comes easily when it comes to these bundles, since they can be assembled a day ahead.

When food editor Shelley Wiseman was asked to develop a recipe for an over-the-top turkey, she began by rubbing truffle butter under its skin. "It’s a cheap shot," she admitted, "but it’s damn delicious." We all agreed—it’s the best turkey most of us have ever tasted. The butter, an excellent carrier of that unmistakable truffle flavor, moistens the turkey’s meat and crisps its skin during a high-heat roast. For this splendid centerpiece, a nuanced French shallot-wine sauce is just the thing.

Celery—often dismissed as one of the produce world's poorest relations—contributes an intriguing earthiness to moist chicken infused with the flavors of white wine and garlic.

Though poaching pears in wine often results in a subtle, sophisticated dessert, it rarely looks as lovely as it tastes. Here, Grimes took inspiration from the saturated-red glassware that's ubiquitous in Parisian flea markets and from a dessert at Le Chateaubriand, which uses beet to give the pears a lush garnet hue. As far as its flavor goes, the beet doesn't lend anything more than a nice balance to the overall dish, but you'll probably want to poach pears this way from now on.

Bartender Naren Young developed these cocktails at Bobo Restaurant in New York to showcase the flavors of cachaca, a Brazilian spirit made from distilled sugarcane juice.

Bartender Naren Young developed these cocktails at Bobo Restaurant in New York to showcase the flavors of cachaca, a Brazilian spirit made from distilled sugarcane juice.

Bartender Naren Young developed these cocktails at Bobo Restaurant in New York to showcase the flavors of cachaca, a Brazilian spirit made from distilled sugarcane juice.