Bill McKibben

An elegant meal for four that requires only 20 minutes active time? That's our kind of dinner. This creamy, comforting dish is just the type of thing you crave on a blustery March night. Because aged vin jaune can be hard to come by in the United States, we substituted a two-year-old Savagnin (with a flavor similar to a dry Sherry) and were very happy with the results.

Calvados—Normandy's celebrated apple-cider brandy—is heady stuff, and by that we mean it has the power to transport you to a French bistro or farmhouse kitchen. This digestif-and-dessert combination would be sensational after a roast pork dinner.

Rough-hewn elegance is the name of the game here. The mild, clean-tasting snails and the bosky mushrooms share a yielding texture, and the cream sauce (relax, you're in Normandy, remember?) sparkles with fresh herbs.