1,659 elegant recipes

Buttery cake squares filled with cherry pie filling that bake up golden and tender. Each square gets a ruby-red cherry center and a dusting of powdered sugar for simple elegance.

Orange butter cakes are petite tartlet-tin cakes perfumed with Grand Marnier and candied orange peel, then dipped in orange liqueur glaze. Elegant 36-cake batch for gifts or a holiday tray.

Chocolate and chestnut layer cake with a tender olive oil and white wine sponge, a smooth sweetened chestnut cream filling, and glossy dark chocolate ganache. An elegant autumn and holiday dessert.

Pasta with crab sauce: sweet crab meat folded into a light tomato and white wine sauce with shallot and celery, tossed over hot pasta. An elegant seafood pasta that comes together in about half an hour.

Roasted quail on large flat mushrooms with a fresh herb duxelles stuffed under the skin. An elegant French bistro main where the birds drip their juices onto their mushroom thrones.

Plum-almond tart on puff pastry with toasted almonds, fresh sliced plums, lemon zest, and a built-up pastry border. Uses store-bought puff pastry for an elegant dessert in 40 minutes.

Wild rice amandine en casserole with slivered almonds, chives, shallots, and green pepper, baked slow in chicken broth until the grains burst. Elegant holiday side that finishes hands-off in the oven.

Soupe de saumon a la creme is a French salmon cream soup made with a homemade fish stock, diced salmon, and whipped cream finished with fresh dill. An elegant, light first course for a dinner party.

Buttery brown sugar shortbread pressed into a sheet pan, brushed with egg white, and topped with cinnamon sugar and sliced almonds. Cut into elegant diamond shapes for a cookie platter showstopper.

Salmon pate made with fresh salmon, whitefish, white wine, cream, and warm spices, baked in a water bath until silky smooth. An elegant make-ahead appetizer for crackers or toast.

A silky baked custard infused with orange zest, cinnamon, and cloves, set over golden homemade caramel with slivers of candied orange peel. Low-fat, elegant, and worth the overnight chill.

Creamy mushroom and pea sauce with white wine, Parmesan, and a rich butter-cream base. Toss with your favorite pasta or spoon over rice for a fast, elegant weeknight dinner.

Vichyssoise is the chilled French leek and potato soup, enriched with heavy cream and half-and-half, finished with snipped chives. Silky, cold, and the original elegant summer first course.

An elegant French strawberry chibouste-style dessert: pastry cream lightened with Italian meringue, set with gelatin, molded against fresh strawberries over a thin genoise base. A patisserie classic at home.

Two-layer banana cake with whole wheat pastry flour, filled and topped with vanilla Bavarian cream and fresh banana slices. A lighter, more elegant take on classic banana cream pie.

Buttery shortbread crust topped with a caramelized honey-brown sugar mixture loaded with three kinds of nuts. These crunchy, sweet nut bars slice into elegant treats for gifts or parties.