646 elegant recipes

A silky 4-ingredient shrimp pate blended with cream cheese, butter, and a splash of brandy. Ready in 5 minutes flat, this elegant spread is the easiest appetizer you'll ever bring to a party.

Saffron-dusted veal scallops pan-seared and finished with a white wine lime cream sauce with green peppercorns. Served over blanched asparagus for an elegant spring dinner.

Fresh fig salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, walnuts, and a champagne vinegar shallot vinaigrette. An elegant no-cook salad that showcases ripe figs at their peak.

Spiced shrimp with broiled polenta stacks lemon-sage shrimp onto crisp-broiled polenta rounds, finished with crumbled prosciutto. An elegant, quick New Year's Eve appetizer or small-plate main.

Poached salmon steaks simmered in a fragrant bay-dill-peppercorn broth, served with a cool yogurt cucumber sauce. Light, elegant, and ready in 30 minutes.

Poached filet mignon in demi-glace broth with a Dijon mustard and horseradish sauce, served sliced over quinoa. An elegant, lighter way to cook premium steak without searing.

Salmon baked in foil packets on a bed of spinach, topped with a creamy horseradish walnut sauce. An elegant one-packet dinner with easy cleanup.

Roasted onion, endive, and orange salad with watercress, spinach, and a Dijon lemon vinaigrette. Balsamic-roasted red onions add caramelized sweetness to this elegant composed salad.

Steamed cabbage wedges finished in butter with shallots, juniper berries, savory, and gin. An elegant, aromatic side dish that turns humble cabbage into something extraordinary.

Pepper-crusted beef tenderloin tournedos with a bold pan sauce of gin, crushed juniper berries, and balsamic vinegar. An elegant 35-minute dinner for two.

Creamy Dutch leek soup with whole wheat flour, mace, and melted Edam cheese stirred in at the table. Simple, elegant, and ready in 35 minutes.

Cream cheese filling spiked with Irish cream liqueur bakes in a vanilla wafer crust, then gets topped with grated white chocolate for boozy, elegant cheesecake.

Poached eggs on toasted brioche with cream cheese and smoked salmon, drizzled with a homemade orange hollandaise sauce. An elegant eggs Benedict twist for brunch.

Traditional Bavarian veal rolls stuffed with bacon and hard-boiled eggs in red wine sauce. An elegant German main course that translates to "swallow's nests."

Smoked salmon gets wrapped in blanched spinach leaves with a cream cheese and pink peppercorn spread. Chill it well for an elegant make-ahead appetizer.

Tender sour cream pastry rolled with apricot jam, walnuts, and raisins into elegant strudel cookies. These make-ahead sweets are perfect for holiday cookie trays.