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.

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.

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.

Chickpeas stewed in tomato sauce is a popular flavor combination in Provence. I added chunks of homemade espelette sausages I had leftover from a sausage-making experiment. You could use spicy Italian sausages or even Moroccan merguez.

Poulet au Vinaigre, or chicken in vinegar, is a classic French preparation that you will find in homes as well as restaurants. At the onset, it sounds kind of overpowering and maybe even unappetizing. Rarely do we think of vinegar as an ingredient other than maybe in a vinaigrette. But when you try this poulet en vinaigre recipe you will realize your error and start thinking about vinegar in a brand new light.

Coq au vin is as synonymous with French culture as hamburgers are with American. It’s a dish I grew up eating quite a bit and still find very satisfying and comforting when I’m longing for my mother and dreaming of France. The sauce is packed with flavor and begs for a starchy vehicle to soak it up. Classically, boiled or mashed potatoes are served with it, but I think spätzle, noodles, or a creamy potato gratin work better.

Pot-au-feu is a slowly simmered meat and vegetable dish that appears on most home tables in France. Pot au Feu, which literally translates to ‘pot in the fire’, started its life in working-class homes as a way to make less expensive cuts of beef more tender and palatable. Think the original crockpot. The long slow cooking resulted in 2 dishes: a clear nourishing broth and a rich meal of beef and vegetables.

Like many old dishes, the exact origins of blanquette de veau are not known though many speculate its birth occurred near Lyon. Blanquette is more a preparation technique rather than a specific dish. The name implies the dish will be white-colored. In Robert Courtine’s book ‘The Hundred Glories of French Cooking’ he states: “ In the kitchen, when we say ‘a blanc’ we mean a clear veal or poultry broth, or a court bouillon whitened with flour, and the blanquette is a white dish in both these senses.” A blanquette therefore can be made with chicken, rabbit, lamb, or even seafood.

‘There is no dish in the Southwest of France more iconic, cherished, and controversial than the cassoulet. Not only is it the best pork and beans dish you can imagine, but it’s also a definitive dish of French country cooking — one that, to this day as you noted, stirs up fierce debate over what makes it authentic! When most travelers go on a trip to France, they bring back photos, or maybe a copper pot; some even smuggle a Camembert or saucisson in their luggage. Me? I bring back recipes.’

Boeuf a la Bourguignonne is perhaps Burgundy’s most iconic dish. It is a rich beef stew made infamous in America by Julia Child, prepared from marinated beef slowly simmered in local red wine with a calves foot, pearl onions, bacon lardons, herbs, and button mushrooms.