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Yield: Serves 10 to 12

In our family, this is everyone's favorite. We serve it over buttered noodles with a green salad and garlic bread. It freezes beautifully in zippered plastic bags or plastic containers.

3 cans Campbell's beef consomme
2 cans dry red wine
extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
olive oil
4-5 pound chuck roast or 3 pounds of stew beef
1 cup of flour seasoned with salt and pepper
wine for deglazing
2 pounds button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced in half
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
1/4 cup red wine

Pour beef consomme and red wine into saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for about half an hour. In a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, Dutch oven or Le Creuset casserole, saute onions and garlic until transparent. While vegetables are sauteeing, pour seasoned flour into plastic bag and shake beef in batches until coated. Brown floured beef in batches. When done browning, remove last batch of beef and vegetables. Deglaze pot with a little wine, getting up all the brown bits. Put all beef and vegetables back in pot and pour in wine-consomme mixture. Over low heat, simmer gently for at least two hours. Add carrots and cook for another half an hour. Add mushrooms. Cook for up to an hour or two more. Just before serving, mix cornstarch or potato starch with wine and add to pot for slight thickening.

I triple this recipe and make it in an enormous pot. It is unwieldy but because it is labor intensive, I prefer to do a huge batch and freeze in containers or zippered freezer bags large enough for one meal for two people. Caution: If you do freeze the sauce in freezer bags, freeze on a straight surface. I once put freezer bags of sauce directly onto the wire racks in the freezer. Need I say more?

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil
in large saucepot over medium-high heat.
Add 1 cup each minced onions and carrots; cook 5 minutes.
Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic; cook 15 seconds.
Add 1 pound lean ground beef and 1/2 pound pork; cook until meat is no longer pink.
Add 1 1/2 cups white wine; cook until almost evaporated.
Add1 1/2 cups milk; simmer 15 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup tomato paste and 2 cans (28 oz. each) tomatoes.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring to break up tomatoes, 2 hours. Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup chopped parlsey. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Toss half the sauce with cooked spaghetti. (Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce.)

Caramel Sauce /from "Cucina Simpatica" by Johanne Killeen and George Germon (HarperCollins, New York, 1991)/

Yield: 2 cups

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar

1. Scald cream, reduce heat to very low and keep warm.

2. Heat sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Do not use a metal spoon, as the high heat produced by the sugar will be conducted through the spoon, making it too hot to hold. The sugar will slowly melt into a clear liquid and gradually darken. Don't worry if the sugar lumps. Break up lumps with the wooden spoon and they will melt into the caramel as it darkens.

3. When caramel has turned a rich mahogany color, pour it slowly into the hot cream, whisking constantly. The caramel will spatter, so be careful not to burn yourself. If the temperature of the cream is too low, you may find that portions of the caramel solidify in it. In that case, increase the flame under the cream and stir until the bits melt and the mixture becomes smooth. The caramel sauce thickens as it cools and will solidify in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to a week. It may be reheated gently to pouring consistency. If you like a runnier, sweeter caramel sauce, bring sugar only to a golden color before adding cream. It will not solidify but is divine nonetheless.