Chianti

  Total time: 4 hours, plus marinating time Servings: 8 Note: This is a version of the dish Cecchini served at Chez Panisse's 30th anniversary party while reciting Dante. The recipe is adapted from one by Paula Wolfert in "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. " She learned it from Chez Panisse chef Russell Moore, who worked with Cecchini in Panzano and prepared it for the party. 2 1/4 pounds lean boneless pork shoulder 2 teaspoons coarse salt 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns 2 bay leaves, crushed to a powder 1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds 2 sprigs thyme 2 cups good-quality olive oil 1 small head garlic, halved 1 small red onion, sliced paper thin 2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Toasted sliced baguette 1. Trim away all fat , sinew and membrane from the pork.

We spent our 25th wedding anniversary in Italy. We stayed at the wonderful Borgo Argenina B&B in the Chianti area of Tuscany as our home base. We visited Siena and Montalcino, as well as many small villages and castles in the area. The true star was Elena Nappa, who runs the B&B. Her cooking class was wonderful, and her hospitality and knowledge of the area are second to none. Meeting and getting to know her was the highlight of our trip. Borgo Argenina, Gaiole in Chianti, Siena; 011-39-0577-747117, http://www.borgoargenina.it . Rooms from about $219, villas from about $309.

It's been a rough few weeks. First, greasy food at a new Thai place, then an awful Indian meal at another new place. Next, a really terrible dinner in the Valley at a place that had the look and feel of an empty 747 night flight, with generic nouvelle food that no respectable airplane would serve. Last, an infuriatingly expensive meal at a new steak joint where the meat, like the rose in the bud vase, looked great but wasn't the real article.

You could say the Antinori family knows something about Tuscan wine: after all, they've been involved in wine in Tuscany for the past 625 years, ever since Giovanni di Piero Antinori entered the Winemakers' Guild of the city of Florence way back in 1385. That's no typo -- we're talking 14th century. And now this spring the 25th and 26th generation (that would be Marchese Piero Antinori and his daughters Albiera, Allegra and Alessia) are set to open Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Cellar outside Florence, Italy, seven years after the four of them thought up the concept.

Any discussion of Tar & Roses must begin, as your dinner probably will, with what is probably its simplest appetizer, a concoction of popcorn tossed with brown sugar, lardons and chile, like a bowl of Cracker Jack with chewy cubes of bacon instead of peanuts. (Why can't there be chewy cubes of bacon and peanuts? That is an excellent question.) The popcorn falls solidly into a genre new in Los Angeles cooking, something we may call an elevated bar snack, a staple of the many, many gastropubs that have come to dominate casual dining here over the last couple of years.

We spent our 25th wedding anniversary in Italy. We stayed at the wonderful Borgo Argenina B&B in the Chianti area of Tuscany as our home base. We visited Siena and Montalcino, as well as many small villages and castles in the area. The true star was Elena Nappa, who runs the B&B. Her cooking class was wonderful, and her hospitality and knowledge of the area are second to none. Meeting and getting to know her was the highlight of our trip. Borgo Argenina, Gaiole in Chianti, Siena; 011-39-0577-747117, http://www.borgoargenina.it . Rooms from about $219, villas from about $309.

If you've been tempted to drink your way through Trattoria Angeli's wonderful wine list, here's the chance you've been waiting for. Starting Monday, the restaurant will devote the second Monday of every month to a series of special food and wine dinners. The first dinner, dedicated to Chianti and Vino da Tavola, offers 10 wines. They will be served with a rustic five-course meal that starts with melanzane in carozza and ends with a baked ricotta tart. The price is $65; reservations, (213)

Re "Richard Kiley; Epitomized 'Man of La Mancha,' " obituary, March 6: My first contact with Richard Kiley was in the winter of 1969 as a graduate student on semester break visiting the Big Apple for the first time. My fiancee was meeting me in Manhattan for a pre-wedding shopping spree, the first of many in our years of marriage. A relative provided us with center circle seats to "Man of La Mancha." Dinner at Mama Leone's, a bottle of Chianti, the magic of our first time in a Broadway theater and Kiley's hypnotizing voice took these two Fairfax High School kids to heights unknown before or since.

After reading William B. Whitman's article on Gargonza, Italy ("An Ancient Tuscan Village Transformed for Guests," Nov. 15, 1992), my wife and I visited this restored 13th-Century Italian village/hotel/archeological project. It was as charming and interesting as reported. Gargonza is conveniently located in the rolling hills close to Siena, Arezzo, Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto and Orvieto and provides a respite to the traffic, crowds and hustle of those Tuscan/Umbrian cities. The famous Chianti wine country is nearby.

A new brew on Melrose The Village Idiot is looking pretty smart. Locals have taken like ducks to water to the pub and restaurant at the former Chianti on Melrose. It's quite the neighborhood scene these days. Kirsten Dunst hung out there on Saturday night with a couple of cute actors from "Mean Girls," and word is the Belgian ale-steamed mussels are the hot item.

Any discussion of Tar & Roses must begin, as your dinner probably will, with what is probably its simplest appetizer, a concoction of popcorn tossed with brown sugar, lardons and chile, like a bowl of Cracker Jack with chewy cubes of bacon instead of peanuts. (Why can't there be chewy cubes of bacon and peanuts? That is an excellent question.) The popcorn falls solidly into a genre new in Los Angeles cooking, something we may call an elevated bar snack, a staple of the many, many gastropubs that have come to dominate casual dining here over the last couple of years.

Hankering for a Chianti? The 2009 from Fèlsina is a beautiful mouthful, everything you want in a Chianti Classico - an explosion of cherries with mellow tannins and a chiseled structure. Lovely finish too. Delicious drinking from a consistently excellent producer. Region: Tuscany, Italy Price: About $18 to $22 Style: Classic Chianti What it goes with: Pasta, pizza, roast chicken, grilled chops Where to find it: Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, (949)

  2001 Giorgio Primo Chianti Classico La Massa I know wine buffs who have been buying up cases of the 2001 Giorgio Primo Chianti Classico since they found out how cheap it has gotten. Produced by Giampaolo Motta at Fattoria La Massa in Panzano in Chianti, the 2001 Giorgio Primo is a beautiful expression of Sangiovese with notes of dark berries, leather and forest woven together. Elegant and restrained, this is a Chianti that deserves a special meal — a Kurobuta pork roast, a rack of Sonoma lamb or a massive bistecca . And the price?

Chianti Rufina, just outside the Chianti Classico region, offers some great value in Chianti, and Selvapiana, one of my longtime favorites, is one of the top estates there. The 2006 is bright and juicy, redolent of black cherries, sweet spices and earth. Sangiovese with just 5% Canaiolo, it's drinking beautifully now, but will also gain something from aging a bit. It's getting difficult to find wines with real character and sense of place at the $20 level, especially from Tuscany.

  Total time: 4 hours, plus marinating time Servings: 8 Note: This is a version of the dish Cecchini served at Chez Panisse's 30th anniversary party while reciting Dante. The recipe is adapted from one by Paula Wolfert in "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. " She learned it from Chez Panisse chef Russell Moore, who worked with Cecchini in Panzano and prepared it for the party. 2 1/4 pounds lean boneless pork shoulder 2 teaspoons coarse salt 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns 2 bay leaves, crushed to a powder 1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds 2 sprigs thyme 2 cups good-quality olive oil 1 small head garlic, halved 1 small red onion, sliced paper thin 2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Toasted sliced baguette 1. Trim away all fat , sinew and membrane from the pork.

THE first day of autumn is less than two weeks away; soon suppers will get heartier, and wines will follow suit. Cooler temperatures make the evening safe again for a lighter red. Tuscan rossos fit this moment aptly, toothsome wines that bear a friendly, red-fruited liveliness, but possess enough grip and sinew to marry with more substantial autumn meals.

A wine that seems to draw much consumer controversy is Italy's Biondi-Santi's Brunello di Montalcino. The reason is the cost of the Tuscan red, with prices that range from $25 for a very young vintage to more than $4,000 for the acclaimed 1891. The wrangling centers not around the wine's quality, but rather whether the cost is merited. The myth is that an Italian wine, red or white, can't possibly be worth more than $25, hence Biondi-Santi's superb wines seldom achieve universal respect.

"Charlie, you got those menus from the party?" says husky-voiced Carmen Miceli, sitting in the venerable Italian eatery in Hollywood that bears his name. Maitre d' Charlie Chiarenza, a red handkerchief peeking out of the pocket of his dark blazer, brings over the 1949 relics. "Thirty-five cents for a pizza--how do you like that?"

A new brew on Melrose The Village Idiot is looking pretty smart. Locals have taken like ducks to water to the pub and restaurant at the former Chianti on Melrose. It's quite the neighborhood scene these days. Kirsten Dunst hung out there on Saturday night with a couple of cute actors from "Mean Girls," and word is the Belgian ale-steamed mussels are the hot item.