best wishes to clive--lucky him to have you slaving over a hot stove for him! and congratulations to meredith and chris--seems as if you have lots of great things happening! in any case, i would love to contribute something to your special dinner, even if these aren't my recipes. i believe that the first one came from either lee or MQ--i'm sorry i didn't mark it at the time, but good stuff it is! San, I just came across another possible sauce for your Duxelles ravioli. See below. I know the butter is a problem for you--maybe substitute EVOO? RED WINE BUTTER SAUCE:  1 Tbsp Minced shallots 2 Bay leaves 12 Black peppercorns 1 1/2 cup Red wine Salt and pepper 8 oz Butter, unsalted  Combine all ingredients except butter and reduce until red wine is almost evaporated. Slowly whisk in cold butter. Remove bay leaves. Hold warm until needed for service. if that doesn't grab you, here's a treat from weed: This recipe is very good, unfortunately it is only enough sauce for two. However, I believe it would be fairly simple to expand the recipe. Weed Shiitake Red Wine Sauce 2 Tb. butter 2 cloves chopped garlic 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots 1/2 tsp. dried thyme 6 small (half dollar sized) shiitake mushrooms, sliced (Or mushroom of your choice) 2 tsp. flour 2 c. beef broth* 3/4 c. dry red wine salt & pepper (water - if needed) Sauté shallots, mushrooms, garlic and thyme in butter until tender. Add flour, sauté 1 minute Add broth and wine, stirring while adding. Gently boil until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 cup. Season with salt and pepper *after* reducing. If it gets too thick, just add a bit of water. not to be outdone and certainly not the least, here are a couple of goodies from both ginger and bubbe. both are things you really must add to your files: MUSHROOM WINE SAUCE (makes 3 cups) Ginger 2 TBL butter 1 TBL chopped parsley 1/2 garlic clove, chopped fine 1 small onion, chopped 1 TBL flour 1 cup chicken stock (or beef) 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg (I omit for beef) 3/4 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced 1/4 cup dry sherry In a saucepan heat 1 TBL of the butter, add the parsley, garlic & onion & cook over medium heat 3 minutes. Stir in the flour. Gradually add the stock, stirring constantly. Add the nutmeg. In a skillet heat the remaining butter, add the mushrooms & sauté briefly. Combine w/the sauce & simmer 15 minutes. Add the wine & bring to a boil.~~ Beef Sauce--Bubbe 2 to 3 shallots, diced fine 1/2 cup dry red wine (zinfandel, cabernet, etc) Generous cup of dried mushrooms, morels preferred or shitake 1 cup veal or beef stock, or canned low-sodium broth Kosher salt, for cooking Sea or kosher salt, to tasted Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Pinch of dried tarragon leaves, crumbled Instructions: Soak mushrooms in enough hot water to cover (you will need 1 cup or so of the soaking liquid) for about 30 minutes. Put shallots and red wine in a non-reactive saucepan and cook over medium flame until evaporated and almost, but not fully dry. Heat broth or stock and add to shallots. Raise heat to medium-high. Drain mushrooms in a coffee filter strain out any silt or sand. Add to shallot mixture. Add tarragon. Rinse mushrooms to remove any debris. Cut or slice if very large; aim for bite sized pieces. Add these to mixture and reduce down by about half. When meat is ready add a Tbs. of sweet butter to the sauce Serve on the side or over the meat. Â

Lots of great ideas since I use a lot of Balsamic, white and traditional. I use it most with salads. Last weekend I made Bourbon Baked Beans; I always use BV in the beans. I quadrupled the recipe for the covered dish function thinking I would have left overs for Sunday dinner. There was not ONE bean left; I guess that's a good thing.

In this particular case it is first, that it is Ellie's Topp's recipe and they have all been tested and well within the margins of safety so a bit of flex is allowed. Then second the large amount of the wine and vinegar added is not only sufficient for controlling the pH of the vegetables when compared to several other tested recipes but will also reduce the density. Just as using the large juicy tomatoes rather than just all paste types dilutes the density. If it was all paste tomatoes it would likely be too dry and thick. And finally the longer processing time than usually associated with similar recipes. But none of those factors can be generalized to other recipes. Each recipe, if it is to be modified, has to first be evaluated in its totality. <is it a good practice as a canner to confirm your product isn't way off the mark when putting it in the jars?> It could be IF done accurately and that is the problem - poor quality equipment or mis-use far too often gives false, misleading readings indicating safety when it really isn't. Even the best pH meters require frequent re-calibration and testing and litmus paper expires quickly and is easily affected by atmospheric conditions such as humidity. OK? Dave

Linnea, I make a "giambotta" with cut up chicken and Italian sausage. Just place all in a roasting pan with some onions and peppers, sun dried tomatoes and quartered potatoes. Sprinkle some Italian herbs and garlic cloves over the whole mess. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about a half hour. Remove foil and douse with balsamic and some red wine. Bake another 45 minutes, add some more balsamic and serve. The sauce is great to smash the potatoes in and flavors the chicken. Don't use a pricey balsamic, use a lower cost one as it will have a stronger vinegar bite but still give you some sweetness as it concentrates in the pan.