Winter foods...

Come winter, it's time to set light zesty summer dishes aside and turn to foods that will help keep the chill at bay, and also warm the kitchen with long slow cooking times. Meat-based pasta sauces are ideal for this, and one could make:

Pasta with a Bolognese sauce. Unlike more southern sauces, Bolognese is mostly ground beef, with just a little tomato. It's wonderful for making stewed braciole too (you enjoy them with a salad as a second course).
A Neapolitan Ragù, which is a slowly cooked pot roast with a rich tomatoey sauce. Again, the sauce goes over the pasta, while the meat is served as a second course, with broccoli rabe strascinati (pan sauteed broccoli rabe).
Or a Ligurian Tocco di Stufato, a piece of rump roast pot-roasted with herbs and tomato sauce. Simple, and quite tasty.
If you don't feel like pasta, all of these sauces will work well with gnocchi or polenta. If you choose polenta, serve both the sauce and them meat with it, as a one-course meal.
Buon Appetito!