Wine

One of the best-loved pastas in the Italian city of Trieste is the whole wheat spaghetti known as bigoli, which is often topped with anitra in sugo, an intensely flavored sauce made with duck. This recipe, from the excellent restaurant Hosteria Bellavista, also includes chicken livers, porcini mushrooms and pancetta (Italian bacon). Porcini mushrooms and bigoli are available at Italian markets and specialty foods stores.

The parfaits can be made a day ahead.

Honey, cinnamon, vanilla and orange slices spice up the wine marinade in this low-fat fruit dessert. Transport it in an airtight plastic container, and serve it in bowls.

The divine lamb dish featured here is a perfect example of the excellent food served at El Olivo. This romantic restaurant, in a restored olive-oil mill, is a great spot to wine and dine someone special — the many wax-drenched candelabra are very nice touches. Service is impeccable, friendly, and attentive, including a sommelier at the ready to pair Spanish wines with the delicious local cuisine. El Olivo is one of three restaurants located in La Residencia, a beautiful resort in the western Majorca town of Deià. Serve this refined Spanish dish as they do at the restaurant, with sautéed purple potatoes, mushrooms, baby carrots, and broccoli.

Capers lend tangy contrast to the sweet bell peppers. Serve the stew over egg noodles

The butter is also delicious over scallops. Serve the dish with steamed rice.

Inspired by New Orleans's barbecue shrimp, our recipe substitutes chipotle chiles for the traditional cayenne and black pepper. Though this dish is often served as a first course in restaurants, our version is intended as a main course. Use the bread for scooping up the sauce. You could add a green salad or, better yet, stick with the out-of-hand theme and serve it with corn on the cob.

Serve couscous and buttered carrots with this main course. Purchase fresh rhubarb tartlets for a seasonal finale.

Tuna is delicious when it is cooked like steak with a reduced wine gravy made in the pan. Add any fresh herbs you have on hand — chives, tarragon, basil, parsley, oregano. Here the steaks are accompanied by fragrant thyme-scented white beans. Wine for Cooking and to Drink This is a household dish, or more precisely a wine merchant's dish, hence the title. An obvious choice would be a California merlot, but if you are feeling more experimental, a red wine from a less familiar source like Connecticut, North Carolina, or Texas could also work well. Two such wines made from French-American hybrid grapes that would suit this dish and are worth a try are Chambourcin and Maréchal Foch.

The glaze can be made a day ahead; it is intensely flavored, so use it sparingly. Take the roast out of the fridge one hour before cooking. What to drink: Merlot or Australian Shiraz.

"I visit Portland, Oregon, frequently because my son is in college there. Of the restaurants we've tried, Bread and Ink Cafe is one of the best," says Shelly Pearlman of Fairfax, California. "It's located in a funky part of town not far from the school. The squash and leek risotto I had for lunch was superb." Some shaved Parmesan and fresh sage leaves would make an attractive garnish.

Serve with: Tossed green salad. Dessert: Chocolate sorbet with biscotti.

Autumn has officially arrived, and after a summer of cool, light cooking, it's time for some homey, hearty meals. Braised meats, with their rich flavors, tender texture and intense, reduced sauces, are definitely homey, but you may never have tried to make them at home. They sound as if they might be complicated to prepare—like something best left to a restaurant chef—and what exactly is braising, anyway? Relax. Braising is easy—there are only two steps: The meat is browned first, then covered and simmered in seasoned liquid. According to Cory Schreiber, the chef at Portland's super-popular Wildwood Restaurant & Bar, braising is a great way to cook lamb shanks. In the recipe here, he does something slightly unusual: He simmers the shanks uncovered in the oven. That way, he says, "the dry heat caramelizes the top of the meat—giving it a bit of a crust—which adds nice texture and color." The lamb is accompanied by a roasted squash purée and wilted Swiss chard. With this recipe in hand, you can actually have your next homey meal at home. Add a salad and crusty bread, and you've got your first dinner party of the season. Use a pot that's at least 12 inches across.

Jason Corrigan, chef at A Touch of Garlic in Springfield, Massachusetts, writes: "In the past, I've worked at large restaurants, catering to hundreds of people every night. That alone taught me every possible shortcut to speed up the cooking process: For instance, slicing raw potatoes to reduce boiling time, pounding meat thin so it cooks more quickly, and of course, the mise en place — getting everything prepped so you're just reaching for ingredients at the last minute." Pounding the meat reduces cooking time.

Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles.