Spring Lamb Stew

Celebrate the return of warmth with this classic dish

Spring means flower buds, baby bunnies – and fresh, local veggies.

Spring Lamb Stew – called Navarin Printanier in France, where it’s very popular – is a century-old dish that’s perfect for the season. After a long winter, who doesn’t want to celebrate with the freshest produce from local markets?

Spring fever never tasted so good.

Coq au Vin

Soothe your winter blues with this classic French recipe for wine-braised chicken

We have a foot of snow in our corner of the world. Time for comfort food! And what could be better than a meaty dish slowly braised in rich wine sauce?

Enter coq au vin, a classic French recipe. It requires some prep work, but the result is so worth it. Serve this at your next dinner party and bask in the adoring applause.

Adoration works for you, right?

Mushroom and White Bean Ragout

This make-ahead dish is perfect for Meatless Monday—and fancy enough for Saturday night company

We often eat meatless at our house. Many vegetarian and vegan dishes pack so much flavor, we never even notice the absence of meat.

This mushroom and white bean ragout is a good example. Portobello mushrooms offer plenty of “chew” and savory flavor. White beans add protein. Dish it up over polenta or noodles, and you have a one-dish dinner. Best of all, you can make this ragout ahead of time—it reheats beautifully.

We’ve served this dish to company, and it always gets rave reviews. So be prepared to take a bow.

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

New Orleans flavor in your own kitchen  

The US has loads of interesting regional dishes. One of the best known is gumbo, a hearty stew-like dish with bottomless flavor. Gumbo originated in south Louisiana eons ago. Today it’s made with a wide variety of meat and seafoods, in both Cajun and Creole styles. It’s so popular (and the variations are so endless) that probably every family in Louisiana has their own unique recipe.

All gumbos are based on a long-cooked roux (the flour-and-fat mixture that also forms the basis for many gravies). When we make gravy, we usually cook the roux for only a few minutes. For gumbo, we need to cook it for at least half an hour, and usually more like 45 to 60 minutes. It’s a bit of work, yes. But the flavor payoff is worth it. And that flavor is the essence of gumbo.

Mardi Gras is coming up this Tuesday—and it’s the biggest celebration of the year in New Orleans. What better way to join in the festivities than by making a batch of gumbo for yourself? It’s like a party in a bowl.

Moroccan Kefta and Tomato Tagine

Spicy meatball stew

Tagines are a great favorite in Morocco. These flavorful, stew-like dishes can be made from almost any meat, fish, or vegetable you can think of.

Our recipe features kefta, a ground meat that’s flavored with aromatics (like onion) and spices (like cumin). Think of it as hamburger on steroids. We form the kefta into little meatballs, then cook them in a savory tomato sauce that’s spiced with fragrant cinnamon and other goodies.

Your guests will lap it up. And best of all, you’ll sound really cool when you say “tah-zheen.”

Hungarian Beef Paprika Stew

This Authentic Pörkölt is What Most People Call “Goulash”

Everybody has heard of goulash, right?  You know — that hearty meat stew with a thick, rich gravy spiced with paprika and caraway seeds.  And a flavor that goes on until next week.

Well, guess what?  That stew is actually called pörkölt (pronounced pur-kult).  Goulash (gulyás), although made from similar ingredients, is a soup.  No thick gravy in sight.  But the flavors of the two are similar.

You can use almost any meat to make pörkölt.  In Hungary, pork or veal often star in this dish.  In the US, beef tends to be what cooks reach for most often.  Its flavor becomes delectable when braised in a long-cooking dish like this. 

You can make pörkölt ahead, and reheat just before serving.  Dish it up with a side of Homemade Spätzle, and you’ll be the most popular cook in the neighborhood.

Boeuf Bourguignon

a/k/a Beef Burgundy, This Classic French Dish Is Perfect for Fall Entertaining

Julia Child introduced the US to Boeuf Bourguignon in the 1960s. Until then, the few Americans who knew about the dish had encountered it in a French restaurant or on travels abroad.

Then we saw Julia cook it on her PBS television show, The French Chef — and we were smitten! It was so exotic and delicious. And once you got past the fancy French name, it was really nothing more than beef stew. Boeuf Bourguignon instantly became the entertaining dish in the 60s — and for a decade or two beyond.

It seems to have fallen out of fashion in recent years, which is too bad. Because you can prepare most of it a day or two ahead, and then finish it when you’re ready to serve — perfect for entertaining.