In the winter, we all turn to comfort food, but nobody does it better than bistros—those casual, often family-run French restaurants that have perfected the art of homey but noble food. Lucky for us, those dishes are relatively easy to recreate at home, compared to other French restaurant fare. Take the classic stewbeef bourguignon, for instance. Cookbook author Madeleine Kamman demonstrates how to authentically recreate this hearty dish (step one: make sure you have a good Dutch oven for this recipe—see theequipment reviewfor our top picks). Other classic bistro dishes includecoq au vin,potato-leek soup, androasted chicken(complete with astep-by-step guide to carving). If you’re entertaining, try one of our bistro-inspired menus. One consists ofquick disheslike seared flank steak and glazed carrots, and can be made start to finish in less than 2 hours. The other, starring braised lamb shank and lemon tart, uses moreslow-cooking techniques, but much of it is hands-off. Ourwine suggestionswork well with either menu.

Bonus Download

Finally, don’t miss our bonus download, a collection of our favorite bistro-style potato recipes—free of charge when you register with your email address. From silky potato purée to oven fries to golden potato gratin, every one of them is a true classic.