Main Dish Recipes

Tender corned beef brisket glazed with sweet-hot brown sugar and horseradish creates a St. Patrick's Day centerpiece with serious flavor.

Mad Mike's chili: a no-beans, all-meat Texas-style red made with cubed round steak, V8, enchilada sauce, and a mountain of chili powder. Slow simmered three hours until thick and deep.

Santa Fe Grande layers taco-seasoned grits, set firm and cut into triangles, with melted Monterey Jack and green chilies. A make-ahead Southwestern grits bake topped with cilantro, salsa, and sour cream.

Braising can turn a tough piece of meat into a tender, fall off the bone, comfort food. I can think of no better example than the classic dish osso buco, made from veal shanks.

Add a southern taste to your pizza with this recipe that uses chicken, salsa and mozzarella cheese.

Italian vegetable ragout simmers potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Swiss chard, zucchini, and chickpeas in a marjoram-scented tomato base. A hearty meatless main over whole wheat pasta or brown rice.

Pepper-crusted veal loin chops simmered in a gutsy double tomato sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, red wine, and a kick of Tabasco. Served over pasta with grated Romano.

Stuffed cabbage rolls with brown rice, dillseed, marjoram, paprika, onions, and herbs wrapped in blanched cabbage leaves and braised in tomato-vermouth sauce. A vegetarian German Kohlrouladen.

Honey lemon rosemary chicken brushes a four-ingredient glaze of honey, lemon juice, rosemary, and red pepper flakes over chicken breasts. Sticky, herby, and weeknight-easy.

Whole roasted chicken rubbed with red wine vinegar, paprika, and garlic, then roasted over a bed of fresh Roma tomatoes and onions. Simple ingredients, deeply savory results.

Italian sausage pie bakes crumbled sweet sausage and onions in an egg and mozzarella custard inside a pre-baked pie shell. A hearty, savory quiche-style dinner that slices clean every time.

Oyster-stuffed pork loin rolls tender spiral-cut pork around a creamy oyster-and-celery dressing, crusted in cracked peppercorns, served over apple cider cream sauce. A Gulf Coast holiday showpiece.

A quick, easy, and inexpensive dish that got my kids through college.

Firehouse-style chili with 2 pounds of ground beef, pinto beans, and smoky cumin. Serve over spaghetti Cincinnati-style or with crackers for game day.

Make-ahead crab and Swiss cheese strata layered with buttered bread, Dijon mustard, and egg custard. Assemble the night before, bake until puffed and golden for an effortless brunch.

This quick and delicious dish is made with spaghetti, cream of mushroom soup, tuna fish and canned mushrooms.