Only the Best Olive Oil Recipes

Brasato al Barolo

There is a bit of a contradiction inherent in this homey dish: Barolo isn't exactly a cheap cooking wine. Not to worry: The less-expensive bottles recommended below will produce an equally unctuous result.

Featuring olive oil and the combined herbs and produce of the \r\nsouth of France, this one-dish country dinner will transport you to \r\na café table in Aix in a heartbeat.

Gay Koenemann of Bonn, Germany, had dinner at 300 East Boulevard on a recent trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. There he was treated to the most exquisite salad he'd ever had. Although the restaurant calls it Fall Salad on the menu, it's enjoyable year-round.

Dried cranberries would make a good alternative to the dried cherries.

Editor's note: The recipe below is from The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman.\r\nFor Bittman's tips on preparing a modern Passover meal, click here.

Chickpeas are among the best legumes, and this is among the best recipes you can prepare with them, an eons-old Middle Eastern classic. Generally, I'm not a big fan of canned beans, but for whatever reason canned chickpeas are not bad at all, and I always keep some on hand so I can make a batch of this at the last minute, to use as a dip or a spread. You can make hummus without tahini; it will be a little looser and less complex tasting but still good.

Ann Gillespie of Alexandria, Virginia, writes: \"Because I'm balancing graduate school and a family, I try to cook things that don't take a lot of time. But I love experimenting with ingredients, so most of my recipes are easy to make and use interesting flavor combinations. The olives and cinnamon in this stew give it a nice Moroccan flavor.

This dish balances sweet and savory with tangy Kalamata olives and golden raisins.