Root Vegetable

Be sure to have the fishmonger remove all skin from the fillets.

Inspired by New Orleans's barbecue shrimp, our recipe substitutes chipotle chiles for the traditional cayenne and black pepper. Though this dish is often served as a first course in restaurants, our version is intended as a main course. Use the bread for scooping up the sauce. You could add a green salad or, better yet, stick with the out-of-hand theme and serve it with corn on the cob.

Halved cherry tomatoes and diced green chilies make a chunky relish for the tri-tip.

Tuna is delicious when it is cooked like steak with a reduced wine gravy made in the pan. Add any fresh herbs you have on hand — chives, tarragon, basil, parsley, oregano. Here the steaks are accompanied by fragrant thyme-scented white beans. Wine for Cooking and to Drink This is a household dish, or more precisely a wine merchant's dish, hence the title. An obvious choice would be a California merlot, but if you are feeling more experimental, a red wine from a less familiar source like Connecticut, North Carolina, or Texas could also work well. Two such wines made from French-American hybrid grapes that would suit this dish and are worth a try are Chambourcin and Maréchal Foch.

Ask the butcher to "french" the racks of lamb, which involves cutting away the meat from the ends of the rack to expose the bones. Serve with: California Cabernet • asparagus sprinkled with chives and toasted pine nuts • crusty baguette • blueberry crumble with cream

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but require additional sitting time. These peppers get even better when made ahead because the flavors develop more fully over time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe was created to accompany <epi:recipelink id="12388">Grilled Spiced Garlic Skirt Steak</epi:recipelink>. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe was created to accompany <epi:recipelink id="12400">Pork Tournedos with Blackberry Gastrique and Mango Salsa</epi:recipelink>.

Beets for this refreshing cold soup were sometimes finely diced, other times coarsely grated. We liked best whichever we were being served, and I still alternate, indiscriminately.

The glaze can be made a day ahead; it is intensely flavored, so use it sparingly. Take the roast out of the fridge one hour before cooking. What to drink: Merlot or Australian Shiraz.

"I visit Portland, Oregon, frequently because my son is in college there. Of the restaurants we've tried, Bread and Ink Cafe is one of the best," says Shelly Pearlman of Fairfax, California. "It's located in a funky part of town not far from the school. The squash and leek risotto I had for lunch was superb." Some shaved Parmesan and fresh sage leaves would make an attractive garnish.