Lamb

These easy lamb chops are just right for a quick dinner. Pair them up with the mashed potatoes and some boiled green beans. Pour a full-bodied Merlot or Pinot Noir.

Tomato gratin and a watercress salad would be happy partners for these succulent chops.

Accompany this well-seasoned main course with a creamy potato gratin and purchased caponata drizzled with fresh lemon juice; serve apple pie for dessert.

A simple recipe for an impressive main course. Serve the lamb with the Saffron Couscous and baby carrots. Pour a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The divine lamb dish featured here is a perfect example of the excellent food served at El Olivo. This romantic restaurant, in a restored olive-oil mill, is a great spot to wine and dine someone special — the many wax-drenched candelabra are very nice touches. Service is impeccable, friendly, and attentive, including a sommelier at the ready to pair Spanish wines with the delicious local cuisine. El Olivo is one of three restaurants located in La Residencia, a beautiful resort in the western Majorca town of Deià. Serve this refined Spanish dish as they do at the restaurant, with sautéed purple potatoes, mushrooms, baby carrots, and broccoli.

Serve with bowls of diced tomato, sliced romaine lettuce, and purchased eggplant salad to spoon atop burgers in pitas. Finish with fresh apricots, grapes, and cookies.

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

The mustard dressing is used both to marinate the lamb and to coat the salad. And don't let the anchovies in the dressing scare you off. They add depth of flavor, but not a fishy taste. Complete this dish with a chilled Beaujolais.

Before spooning yogurt out of the carton, pour off any liquid on top. If you use a particularly thick yogurt, you may need to thin the sauce with a little water.

Autumn has officially arrived, and after a summer of cool, light cooking, it's time for some homey, hearty meals. Braised meats, with their rich flavors, tender texture and intense, reduced sauces, are definitely homey, but you may never have tried to make them at home. They sound as if they might be complicated to prepare—like something best left to a restaurant chef—and what exactly is braising, anyway? Relax. Braising is easy—there are only two steps: The meat is browned first, then covered and simmered in seasoned liquid. According to Cory Schreiber, the chef at Portland's super-popular Wildwood Restaurant & Bar, braising is a great way to cook lamb shanks. In the recipe here, he does something slightly unusual: He simmers the shanks uncovered in the oven. That way, he says, "the dry heat caramelizes the top of the meat—giving it a bit of a crust—which adds nice texture and color." The lamb is accompanied by a roasted squash purée and wilted Swiss chard. With this recipe in hand, you can actually have your next homey meal at home. Add a salad and crusty bread, and you've got your first dinner party of the season. Use a pot that's at least 12 inches across.

Roasting the lamb on a large oven or cake rack that's placed over the gratin dish allows its succulent juices to flavor the vegetables. This spring dish is one of my favorite recipes from Bistro Cooking (Workman, 1989), by Patricia Wells.

Cooking Time: 6 hours on HIGH plus another 6 hours on LOW
Slow Cooker Size: 5 quart There will be no leftovers. This recipe will make you fall in love with your slow cooker. Your house will be perfumed with the aromas of southern France. Enjoy!

Ask your butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb. Begin marinating one day ahead.