Stew

This variation on the classic yassa uses carrots and pimento-stuffed olives to create a rich chicken stew. It always comes up a winner. The chicken should marinate at least three hours before cooking.

Serve this over the Baked White Polenta with Two Cheeses, and season with any — or all — of the suggested toppings (chocolate adds mole flavor).

Like gumbo, this is a thick and flavorful stew. But it takes a lot less time to make. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

This is not a traditional chili and has no connection with any Mexican or Texas recipe. It was devised simply as an experiment and turned out to be delicious.

A simplified take on the traditional French veal stew. Serve with rice.

There will be a large amount of rendered goose fat left over from this gumbo. The French often use the fat to coat potatoes for roasting. Rendered goose fat keeps, covered and chilled, 3 months. Two 8-pound ducks can be substituted for goose if desired.

(Fagioli all'Olio e Salvia) This is just one of several regional specialties that feature white beans. In fact, beans are such an important historic ingredient in Tuscan cooking that people of the region are called mangiafagioli (bean eaters). Traditionally, the beans in this side dish were cooked in a wine bottle; in modern versions, they are simply baked in the oven or simmered on the stove, as they are in this recipe.

This venerable cold-weather dish has never looked so pretty or tasted so good. Partner it with a tossed green salad and French bread. Uncork a dry red wine.

FANESCA Maricel Presilla, chef-owner of the restaurant Zafra in Hoboken, New Jersey, first offered fanesca — a more elaborate rendition of the streamlined dish here — during Holy Week. Now it's one of the restaurant's most popular weekend specials year-round. Traditional accompaniments include bolitas de harina (flour fritters), fried plantains, and bottled hot sauce.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Because my family loves this hearty stew so much, I included it in a cookbook I put together for my children," Joy Smith, Glastonbury, Connecticut. "It makes a comforting meal on cold winter evenings here in Connecticut, and it's a convenient dish that freezes and reheats well."

Poquitos are small, pinkish-brown beans indigenous to the Santa Ynez region. Dried pink beans are a good substitute.

Avgolemono, a classic Greek sauce flavored with lemon juice and thickened with eggs, adds richness to the tender stewed chicken in this outstanding main course. Pour a chilled Chardonnay, and offer purchased baklava for dessert. See how to joint a chicken.

One of the very best things about this stew is its practical nature: If you blanch the vegetables, boil the potatoes, and make the infused broth a day ahead, this dish takes only 15 minutes to cook.

Named for the pan in which it is traditionally made, this stew is cooked over high heat in chicken broth and bacon drippings, which are then reduced to a thick sauce