Challenging recipes for dinner

Mark Twain once said that "New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin." We think he got that one right. Try indulging in this rich, traditional, New Orleans-style gumbo, studded with sausage and chicken and thickened with a dark mahogany roux. There will be enough to feed a crowd, or you can freeze several portions for later gratification.

This delightful recipe was created by a friend of MTG, Chef Kurt Kulzer. He's a terrific cook, great fun, and has a wonderful knack for creating some terrific recipes using our stocks and sauces. We tip our toque to Kurt, and hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Braised lamb shanks are wonderfully succulent and versatile, as this mildly-spicy curry dish shows. If you like, once the shanks are tender, cut the meat in chunks off the bone. To keep the theme: serve the meat over red lentils simmered in diluted Glace d'Agneau Gold and mixed with a little butter and some dried currants.

A twist on the classic "Wellington" dish-using lamb instead of beef and won ton wrappers to stand in for the puff pastry (yes, they work beautifully!), but keeping the classic paté and mushroom filling and the red wine and mushroom sauce. This dish will earn raves from your guests as an elegant first or middle course, or you may double it and serve two apiece as a substantial main course.

Try your hand at making this extraordinary soup. Rich and creamy, with complex layers of flavor and plentiful chunks of fresh lobster, it's worth every ounce of effort required. Serve it in elegant small portions as a first course, or increase the portions a bit and serve it as a stunning main dish.

Our fragrant, saffron-scented soup is nice and garlicky. It will transport you to southern France with your first spoonful. We take a shortcut for the aïoli garnish, using a ready-made mayonnaise. Stir it into the soup before serving.

Mexican cooking at its sweet and savory finest: a complex mixture of the smoky heat of dried chiles, aromatic toasted spices, garlic, tomatoes, nuts, and raisins, with an almost magical depth created by the addition of a small amount of unsweetened chocolate. This classic sauce is worth every minute it takes to create. Mole is traditionally served with turkey, but it also pairs beautifully with chicken, pork, or veal.

Juicy venison chops with a crunchy, cracked pepper crust played against the taste of sweet venison meat and woodsy morels are definitely worth celebrating. With our Glace de Gibier, this heady sauce is ultra simple! Sautéed carrots and steamed broccoli florets, or Brussels sprouts, would nicely complement this luxurious dish.