Ribs

Beef rib meat becomes tender and succulent with slow cooking over low, indirect heat. Marinate the ribs overnight and allow for three hours of cooking time on the grill.

Provide knives so your guests can slice the sections into individual ribs. Have lots of damp paper towels on hand.

The ribs can be braised one day ahead and topped with the breadcrumb mixture shortly before serving. What to drink: Robust Pinot Noirs with firm acid (to cut the richness of this dish), such as French Burgundies from Volnay, and Oregon or California Pinots.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

From Keo's Thai Cuisine in Honolulu, this recipe calls for marinating pork ribs in coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger and soy sauce overnight. It's a delicious dish.

To create a meal around these sweet and pungent ribs, just add fresh corn on the cob and a salad of watercress, red onion and orange slices.

Tiring of the ultra-refined nouvelle cuisine that epitomized eighties dining, cooks rediscovered the comforting humble cuts such as short ribs and shanks. Orecchiette pasta or mashed potatoes are great to catch the gravy.

In a classic confit, meat cooks (and is then preserved) in its own fat. Here, lemons cook in their own juices to become the basis for an overnight marinade.

Meaty pork ribs usually take time to prepare and are full of calories. This quick and easy version keeps the flavor but leaves out the fat and the bones.

Both the sauce and the ribs can be made ahead, leaving just the grilling to be done at the last minute.

Thin slices of sweet potato can be grilled alongside the ribs, then drizzled with maple syrup. Have coleslaw and corn bread on the side, too. End with lemon meringue pie.

Smoked salmon and horseradish cream atop toast points with flutes of sparkling brut rosé make a sophisticated starter for this dinner. The meaty short ribs smothered with a succulent sauce team up perfectly with the Crispy Garlic Risotto Cakes and a simple sauté of red bell peppers and zucchini. Pour a robust Zinfandel to go with it all. Begin preparing this recipe a day ahead. Follow with a warm apple tart and ice cream for dessert.

Mango sorbet and gingersnaps would be a lovely dessert.

Serve our Sophisticated Stir-Fried Rice with these irresistible ribs and wash it all down with cold Chinese beer. Buy green tea ice cream and fortune cookies for dessert.

Slowly cooked ribs glazed with a spicy-sweet tomato-based sauce are the signature of K.C. barbecue. If you don't have a smoker, cook the ribs in a barbecue that has been converted to one. It may be necessary to cut the racks into four- to five-rib portions so that they all fit on the grill at once.

To make these slow-cooked ribs, the barbecue is used like a smoker. The instructions given here are for a standard 22 1/2-inch Weber kettle barbecue. Grilling times and vent adjustments will vary with different brands of barbecues, and it may be necessary to cut the rib racks into four- or five-rib portions so that they’ll all fit on the grill. The only special equipment needed is a charcoal chimney, which is available at most home and garden stores and hardware stores.

Sometimes baby back ribs are sold in sections of four to six ribs rather than as whole racks; those will also work here. Begin preparing the ribs a day before serving so that they can chill overnight after the spice rub has been applied.