572 elegant recipes

Company ham sauce turns the drippings from a baked ham into an elegant sweet-savory sauce, thickened with cornstarch and layered with currant jelly, Dijon, sherry, and plump currants. The finishing touch your holiday ham deserves.

Quebec poached salmon steaks gently cooked in a lemon court bouillon, chilled, then cloaked in a vivid green herb mayonnaise of spinach, parsley, scallion, and pepper. An elegant make-ahead cold salmon platter.

Chilled cucumber soup, a creamy cold starter of cucumbers simmered with leek, celery, and sherry, thickened and enriched with light cream, then brightened with a splash of orange juice. Cool and elegant.

Fallen chocolate souffle cake: a dense, fudgy flourless-style cake of bittersweet chocolate, almond, and egg whites that puffs then collapses into a crackled top. An elegant, almost gluten-free dessert.

Bianco Mangiare is a layered Italian dessert with sponge cake, vanilla-cinnamon milk pudding, chocolate sprinkles, pecans, and cherries. Served cold, this elegant no-bake treat is pure old-world charm.

Baked Vidalia onions braised in dry Riesling and topped with buttered breadcrumbs and Parmesan. A simple, elegant side dish that turns sweet Georgia onions golden and tender in under an hour.

No-bake chocolate date and ginger fans made with crushed graham crackers, semi-sweet chocolate, crystallized ginger, and chopped dates. Set in a flan pan, chilled, and sliced into elegant wedges.

Smoked duck breasts crisp skin-side down in a hot skillet, then get glazed with raspberry vinaigrette spiked with hot sauce, honey, and fresh raspberries for an elegant 15-minute dinner.

Crisp garlic croutons, silky prosciutto strips and a nutty walnut oil vinaigrette tossed with tender greens. A 25-minute elegant Italian salad for two that feels straight from a Tuscan trattoria.

A vibrant chilled beet and cucumber soup pureed with fresh orange juice, zest, and chicken stock. Earthy, bright, and stunning in color. Garnished with sour cream for an elegant cold soup.

A light chocolate banana layer cake with bittersweet chocolate, fresh bananas blended into the batter, and layers of banana cream and sliced bananas. Dusted with powdered sugar for an elegant finish.

Cocoa dough shaped into long rolls, baked, then sliced on the diagonal into elegant strip cookies loaded with chocolate chips. Drizzle with melted white or dark chocolate for a bakery finish.

Cod fillets brushed with oyster sauce, wrapped in napa cabbage leaves with soy-seasoned rice and ginger, then steamed into neat bundles. A light, elegant fish dinner served with mustard vinaigrette.

French apple pie with a thick applesauce and honey filling topped with concentric rings of sliced Granny Smith apples and a glossy apricot glaze. An elegant, low-fat tart-style pie.

Kamo Sakamushi is sake-steamed duck breast salted for three hours, steamed with sake, and finished under the grill. A minimalist Japanese appetizer with just two ingredients and clean, elegant flavor.

Pot-roasted salmon with black olives, preserved lemon, carrots, and green beans in fish stock. A North African-inspired one-pot fish dish that's elegant, bright, and ready in 30 minutes.