Wine

For a delicious Italian dinner, serve this flavorful combination of portobello mushrooms, bell peppers, and plum tomatoes with brown rice or on your favorite whole-grain pasta.

Bursting with flavor, this super-fast entrée features chicken that is cooked, then “marinated” for a few minutes in a light but richly seasoned sauce.

Tilapia, a farm-raised fish, has a very delicate flavor, similar to that of sole. In this recipe, tilapia combines superbly with white wine, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts for a dish fit for almost any occasion.

Blend sweet strawberries with white grape juice and a bit of wine for a fruity drink or a refreshing ice.

Gina: This light-colored sangria, made with white wine, is as beautiful as it is refreshing and delicious. You can make and serve this drink immediately, but it’s even better if you can prepare it in advance, so the fruit flavors have a chance to permeate the wine.

What can I say, girlfriends? It is not uncommon for my husband to serve me mimosas, along with breakfast in bed, on a Sunday morning. You think he’s looking for something in return? I figure we work hard all week and he’s just treating me special. I tell you what, though: Nothing kicks off a lazy, loving Sunday like a sip of bubbles. We make these drinks one at a time, allowing the shifting strawberries to mix the drink as you sip, but you could also combine the ingredients in a large serving pitcher.

Pat: My brothers and I have always been good eaters. As you can imagine, this meant a lot of work for our momma—feeding five hungry boys was no easy task. We all played football, and would come home after practice absolutely ravenous, ready to eat everything in the house. Lucky for us, she specialized in hearty dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, pot roast—and this rich stew. Packed with vegetables, tender beef, and a savory broth, it managed to satisfy my brothers and me . . . at least for a few hours. When the first fall chill sets in, I find myself drawn back to Momma’s cooking, so this stew remains a Neely staple (these days, however, we make it with more red wine). It’s a great weekend recipe, when you’ve planned a day of projects around the house, because it requires only a bit of up-front work—then you get to enjoy the intoxicating smell of the stew as it simmers. Although I live in a home with three girls, don’t be fooled: They hold their own when it comes to projects and this stew (they can polish off plenty of both). As Gina says, “Everyone has an inner pig that needs to be set free once in a while.”

Cleaning, rolling, poaching, and slicing the sweetbreads can be done in advance, but wait until the last minute to cook them and make the sauce. Two whole sweetbreads will serve six people—perfect if you’re preparing this recipe for sweetbread lovers. If your circle of sweetbread fans is smaller, simply make this recipe with one sweetbread and cut the rest of the ingredients in half. Veal sweetbreads are the thymus gland of young calves, which, when cooked, have a delicate flavor and a somewhat firm texture. Look for large, plump pairs of sweetbreads and trim off most of the outer membrane before you cook them, keeping enough intact to hold the sweetbreads together as they poach. (You can always trim more off after they cook.) My method of shaping and poaching the sweetbreads first, then pan-searing them just before serving, helps the sweetbreads keep their shape and reduces the amount of last-minute cooking. Save any less-than-perfect slices and the trimmings from the end of the sweetbread “sausage” as a treat for the cook, or as a first course for another meal. (If you can’t get to enjoy them right away, wrap them tightly and freeze them until you can.) Brown the sweetbread nuggets in a mix of butter and oil until crispy, remove them from the pan and drain them. Sauté some sliced mushrooms in the same pan, then toss the sweetbreads and mushrooms with a green salad dressed with lemon and oil.

Texture is a very important part of the gustatory pleasures of tripe. Tripe should be soft and yet resilient; you do not want it mushy. In this recipe, as I do when making many long-simmered sauces, I keep a pot of hot water near the tripe as it simmers. From time to time, I check the tripe, ladling in water if the sauce has cooked down and some of the tripe isn’t covered. At the end of cooking, there should be enough sauce so the tripe is nice and juicy but not watery.