(Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon) SERVES 6-8

The secret to cooking this dish, a classic German accompaniment to a hearty meat course, is in keeping the pot covered, which helps preserve the cabbage’s deep, purple hue.

6   slices bacon, roughly chopped

1   tbsp. sugar

1   large yellow onion, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1   large granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Уз   cup port

V*   cup red wine vinegar

1   large head red cabbage (about 3 lbs.), cored and finely shredded

2   cups chicken stock 1/4   cup red currant jelly

1. Cook bacon in a large wide pot over medium-high heat until just crisp, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds more. Add onions and salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in apples, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tender, 6-8 minutes.

2. Add port, vinegar, and cabbage to the onion-apple mixture; stir to combine. Cover the pot and cook until cabbage is bright purple and slightly wilted, 5-7 minutes. Add stock and salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until cabbage is tender but still red, about 1′A hours. Stir in red currant jelly, season with more salt and pepper, and cook briefly, 4-5 minutes more.

Above, from left, dinner gets under way at Werner Blanck’s apartment, in the Wilmersdorf neighborhood, west of Berlin’s historic center; braised red cabbage with bacon, a favorite German side dish for roasts; guest Peter Klann, who owns a bakery in Berlin, tasting one of the evening’s wines, a riesling from

Germany’s Nahe region, with girlfriend Miriam Alvaranga. Facing page, sweet red wine jelly with whipped cream, one of two desserts that cap off the evening.