White Wine

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Braised Veal Shanks

From Il Pastaio, Beverly Hills, California.

(San Francisco-Style Seafood Soup) Cioppino is San Francisco's answer to bouillabaisse and, like that famous Provencal seafood soup, is made with a variety of the freshest fish possible. In San Francisco the mixture included Dungeness crab, which adds a unique flavor, but any regional crab will do. If crab is not available, substitute another shellfish. No clams? Try mussels. The point is to treat the following recipe as a guide and use whatever looks best in the market the day you make the soup.

The fondue is the centerpiece of a casual dinner with the LaGuardias. They insist that whoever drops the most bread into the pot is stuck with cleanup duty.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here is a light and festive way to introduce a holiday meal. This elegant soup goes very well with Champagne.

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.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

Corsica's finest dishes feature fresh seafood. Here's an uncomplicated and delicious example.

A mixture of cottage cheese, lowfat yogurt and lemon juice replaces the sour cream in the traditional version of this dish. Ground turkey makes an especially good choice for those watching their cholesterol intake.

Have the butcher bone the turkey, providing two boned breasts and two boned leg-thigh pieces. Each should weigh about 1 1/2 pounds. Save the bones for turkey stock.

On a weekday, accompany this main course with breadsticks and marinated vegetables from the deli. Wrap up with grapes and cookies. For a festive occasion, start with an antipasto of olives and roasted vegetables, then serve an arugula, radicchio and toasted walnut salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette. Finish with an Italian fruit crostata.

A lightened version of a first course that traditionally precedes choucroute garnie.

Mascarpone gives a tangy contrast to the sweetness of pears that have been poached in vanilla-scented white wine.