Recipes and tips

Beef Stroganoff, a soothing supper

Comfort food at it finest. This dish is a lower-calorie version. Serve over egg noodles and enjoy.

Slow Food enthusiast makes chili the old-fashioned way

Call Peter Schaar a Renaissance chili man. He decided to retool the Texas classic. His chili contains no masa (ground corn), no exotic chile blends, no beer, no secret spices. In truth, it bears more kinship to a Mexican beef soup than a Terlingua prizewinner.

Rachael Ray's Beef and Onion Stir-Fry

The beef can be marinated for just 20 minutes (or refrigerated, up to 3 hours).

10 great champagnes from under $15 to $50

This month, the wine panel popped many corks in anticipation of New Year's Eve. Wondering what options awaited procrastinators buying bubbly late in December, we sampled sparklers that should be easy to find, even at well-stocked supermarkets.

Christmas Eve Pasta with Anchovy-Olive Oil Sauce

In some Italian families, Christmas Eve dinner is a seven-fish soup; in others it's a simple pasta with olive oil and anchovies. The Sicilian-American family I married into falls into the latter group, sharing a four-ingredient pasta dish they dub "the penitential meal."