This Provençal pork stew is ideal for chilly days when you crave a comforting meal. Traditionally, daubes were prepared in the fading embers of a wood fire using a distinctively shaped pot known as a daubière. The extended cooking time and the pot’s rounded form facilitate a convection process, where heat rising from the bottom transforms into steam, meets the cooler top, and condenses back down onto the simmering meat. This cycle helps the collagen in the braising meats convert to gelatin, giving the final dish a smooth and silky texture.

Our only task of the day was to eat the first serious meal of our trip — lunch at Chez Hugon, an old-fashioned bouchon. Something I had been looking forward to since I last paid the check at the very same restaurant 4 years prior.

A daube is a slow-cooked stew you will find simmering at a grandmotherly pace in kitchens all across France, though the best known come from southern France.

Choucroute is one of the world’s great celebratory meals that, like bouillabaisse, is impossible to cook solely for only a handful of people. If you have never eaten one you may be surprised, no, overwhelmed, by the sheer volume of food served. Traditionally it is made with at least 3 different sausages, smoked pork loin, and pork belly all slowly simmered in sauerkraut surrounded by a legion of potatoes.

I slow-cooked the jambonneau in a golden pool of home grown Tarbais beans semi submerged in a rich broth specked with carrots, onions, and aromatics. In the final cooking stages I sprinkled toasted breadcrumbs over the top to soak up the juices and help form a crunchy crust. Somebody not quite familiar with the particularities of cassoulet might mistake my preparation for the genuine article.

I was no older than the tender age of 7 when I first ate rabbit. I remember the day quite distinctly. Not only was it the single defining moment when I knew I would grow to be a chef, but also they were my pet rabbits.

What I love most about steak Bareuzai is that it is so quickly prepared. No advanced planning is necessary other than to have a few ingredients on hand and perhaps a bottle of wine open. The only controversy seems to be whether or not you finish the sauce with a healthy spoonful of Dijon mustard.

Pebronata (Peh-Bro-Nah-Tah) is a Corsican daube or stew generally made from goat meat, although it is often made from beef, veal, or pork. There are 3 distinct steps in the creation of an authentic pebronata: cooking the pork, preparing the tomatoes sauce, and sauteing the sweet peppers. Pebronata is the perfect Fall dish to celebrate the end of peppers and tomatoes growing in your garden and the changes in the weather.

So you've taken the giant leap and forked out a few hundred dollars for an enormous white truffle. Now you are wondering how to properly store, cook, and even what wine to serve to maximize your truffle dollar. Pour yourself a giant glass of a Barolo and let me help you out with a few pro-tips that will ensure you get the most for your truffle dollar and have a truffle experience better than you would get in any high-end restaurant.

When I saw the pork cheeks my mind wandered to a pasta dish I made professionally with wild boar using bittersweet chocolate pasta as a foil to the sweet and spicy notes in the sauce. Hazelnuts, orange, and bittersweet chocolate are the perfect match for fatty, unctuous pork cheeks when perfectly braised.