Port

At the lodge, the tenderloin is also complemented by a spicy peach salsa.

Port and orange juice accent this cranberry and dried fig sauce.

Sweet and tart at the same time, the compote is spooned atop creamy chilled custard for a satisfying Italian dessert.

In this luscious soup, the restaurant uses a squash that is relatively new to the American market: the kabocha, a beautiful jade-green winter squash with deep orange flesh. Chipotle chilies canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

The following recipe calls for semiboneless quail. This means that the rib cage and backbone have been removed, but the wings and legs are left intact.

"Twenty-Two Eighteen restaurant here in Seattle is a sophisticated spot featuring live jazz," says Allison Webb of Seattle, Washington . "When I was last there, I tried a wonderful salad of baby greens mixed with roasted red bell pepper and feta cheese." At the restaurant, the salad also comes with feta croutons and a tomato-ginger chutney.

A hearty combination of textures and flavors.

Part of the allure of this very grown-up dessert is its texture, which is softly set, rather than bouncy like Jell-O.

This is a poetic version of the traditional Chinese almond milk gelatin dessert. Whipping the milk gives the top layer of this dessert the appearance of snow. Fat-free (skim) milk will create the most foam.

Our food editors loved shavings of Stilton cheese on these tarts. We understand that nobody has much room for dessert after a big meal, much less one with cheese, but these tarts are actually quite light and refreshing: The Stilton lends depth and provides a savory counterpoint to the sweet grapes and crust.

The fruity flavors of pear nectar and Port enchance a sage-accented gravy. Pour a rich Pinot Noir throughout the meal. Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

This turkey is basted with Port, a wine exported to the colonies by English merchants in Portugal; for a time it was boycotted by the revolutionaries. Here, the Port gives the turkey and the gravy a rich flavor. Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

Chef Kenny, of the Crookedwood House, in Mullingar, Ireland, prepares this entrée in the winter with fresh cranberries. We call for canned cranberry sauce, which is available year-round. The chef likes sautéed currants as a garnish, and braised cabbage and baked potatoes as side dishes.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.