Red Wine

Croustades are toasted shapes or shells of bread or baked pastry crusts used as bases for serving various mixtures, either sweet or savory. Here they're made with slices of toasted pound cake and topped with wine-poached pears and ice cream. It's a dessert that's easy to make and a perfect conclusion to a county-style, French-inspired menu.

(BRACIOLE DI VITELLO AL ROSMARINO) Romagna is famous for its grilled foods, and the aroma of meats sizzling over a wood fire is common in the countryside. Try this with a local dry red wine such as Sangiovese di Romagna or Gutturnio.

An interesting mix of spices lends wonderful flavor to this simple pasta dish — known as pastitsada — from Tavern Tripa.

(NIVERNAIS)

This gets its distinctive pink color from the addition of red wine and radicchio.

Remove the skin from the game hens before roasting them to make this delicious main course lower in fat. Uncork a bottle of Chardonnay, and offer steamed yellow and green zucchini alongside.

This is a special party dish, elegant and costly. Select large Chateaubriands of about 1 pound each per serving. Buy marrow bones and have the butcher cut them so the marrow can be extracted in one piece.

My grandmother Mignon Smith estimates that this tamale pie recipe is at least 40 years old. She's been making it for us for years.

It's worth the extra effort to make this rich stock; the slow-simmered taste produces a sauce that far exceeds any made with canned beef broth. This recipe is an accompaniment for Standing Rib Roast with Rosemary-Thyme Crust .

This main dish, made by chef Bryan Webb of Hilaire in London; is terrific over mashed potatoes.

Mulled wine is also known as vin chaud and glühwein. In the past, the drink was usually served in a pewter mug and often heated with a red-hot poker.

The hearty sauce is also great over couscous.

Serve white rice with saffron on the side, and orange sorbet topped with chocolate shavings for dessert. Look for the herbes de Provence in the spice aisle at the market.

At New York's Nosmo King (the name is a clever twist on "no smoking"), Alan Harding does a terrific job of cooking upscale food with almost entirely organic ingredients.