My first serious cooking (30 years ago or more) was French cuisine. Julia Child, of course, was a major influence, but my favorite style was captured by Patricia Wells and her cookbook, Bistro Cooking. I was looking for something different from our current selections, and I found it with her Lentil Soup with Pork Sausages.

I used this recipe as a guideline, and added our own touches based on availability and preferences. First of all, we had plain pork sausage — not smoked — so that choice was easy. Next, I had to modify the quantity of lentils; 500 grams would last us for 9 months. Cutting the amount to 240 grams was sufficient for several leftover opportunities. Also, although Patricia Wells waxes enthusiastically about her French green lentilles du Puy, we had none of those. We did have outstanding brown lentils from Umbria, which I like a lot, so that switch was made without a problem. Finally, you will see from the handwritten notes that we had made this recipe before, and we chose to add plum tomatoes, which was repeated for this version, too. Another twist: we added the sliced, cooked sausage to the whole soup and simmered it for another 20 minutes to blend the flavors and concentrate the soup. It was a rich, warm comfort food, perfect for a day of heavy rains and flood warnings.

This dinner also provided an opportunity to have my favorite dessert — Prunes in Red Wine Sauce. Bistro Cooking obliged again!

This dish is always excellent, but what made it a spectacular success tonight was that I went to my wine cellar and brought up a 2014 Aydie Madiran, silky smooth and full bodied, a blend of Tannat and Cabernet Franc. The wine was superb drinking while I was cooking, the next glass accompanied the soup nicely, and it was outstanding with the prunes. You can see from the photo that I paid $14.99 for the bottle eight years ago, but it tasted like $50 tonight.

To make the dinner complete I made a green salad for my wife, with added touches like pistachios and Castelvetrano olives for good measure. I much prefer bitter lettuces, like radicchio, so that’s what I made for my own side dish.

Thanks again, Mme. Patricia Wells!