572 elegant recipes

A creamy mushroom sauce with no cream at all: the silky body comes from mushrooms blended smooth with a reduced, aromatic curry-and-rosemary stock. Light, dairy-free, and elegant over chicken, steak, or pasta.

Oysters Rockefeller, the New Orleans classic: shucked oysters in the half shell, baked on a bed of rock salt under a rich green herb-butter sauce until browned and bubbling. An elegant baked oyster appetizer.

Broiled chicken breasts stuffed with red bell pepper, Parmesan, and pine nuts, served with a fresh mango-papaya-coconut salsa spiked with ginger, lime, and jalapeno. A 45-minute dinner that's equal parts elegant and easy.

Golden-seared veal cutlets topped with a warm bourbon-spiked apricot and orange compote laced with ginger. Sweet, savory, and citrusy all at once, this elegant 40-minute dinner for four feels like a special occasion.

Fresh asparagus salad with a bright lemon Dijon vinaigrette, finished with crumbled bacon and black olives. Blanched until bright green then shocked in ice water for snap and color, this is a sharp, elegant spring side.

Butternut squash soup with honey and a roasted barley risotto center, a restaurant-plated autumn soup where creamy risotto sits in the middle of a pool of silky squash soup. Elegant fall entertaining in a bowl.

Rack of lamb crusted with cracked black pepper, garlic, chervil, rosemary, and thyme, seared at high heat then roasted to a rosy medium-rare. Elegant enough for a dinner party, simple enough for any confident home cook.

A lighter chocolate mousse made with low-calorie pudding mix, skim milk, and whipped egg whites sweetened with fructose. A hint of Grand Marnier adds elegance to this diabetic-friendly dessert that still feels like a treat.

Turbot fillets gently poached in milk infused with anise-scented Pernod, then napped with a velvety egg yolk sauce. This elegant French-style fish dish needs just a handful of ingredients and an hour of your time.

Five Lilies Chowder is an allium-lover's soup built from five members of the lily family: onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, and chives. A light, elegant chowder with white wine and sherry in a clear chicken broth base.

Fresh figs poached in port and creme de cassis, the wine reduced to a glossy syrup, served over vanilla frozen yogurt. An elegant, low-fat dessert with deep berry and fig flavor from just a few ingredients.

Savor the delicate flavors of fresh crab steamed with aromatic ginger and scallions, served with a zesty ginger, green onion, and vinegar dipping sauce. This simple yet elegant Chinese dish highlights the natural sweetness of crab, perfect for seafood lovers.

Portuguese style goat, a leg of kid rubbed with a garlic, paprika, bay, and pancetta paste, then roasted until tender and served with rice. A rustic, deeply seasoned Portuguese roast.

Substitute beef with this succulent dish that is simmered to perfection in its own tasty gravy.

Veau dans le chaudron, a French-Canadian veal pot roast browned in bacon fat with garlic, then braised with whole potatoes and onions. No added liquid needed.

Sauteed lamb with a red wine, rosemary, and mint jelly pan sauce. Quick-marinated lamb seared golden and finished with a sweet, herby glaze in under an hour for two.