542 plate recipes

Green bean bundles tied with blanched leek ribbons and steamed until bright, served over two silky sweet pepper sauces (one red, one yellow) perfumed with white wine and basil. A dinner party side that looks painterly on the plate.

Butter pecan pie crust: a four-ingredient shortbread-style crust with chopped pecans pressed into a 9-inch pie plate. Press in, bake 15 minutes, fill with cheesecake, custard, or icebox pie filling.

Oysters au champagne is a classic French appetizer: fresh oysters poached in champagne and oyster liquor with garlic butter, plated over a bed of wilted spinach, and cloaked in a silky roux sauce.

Sauteed catfish dredged in thyme-flour, pan-fried golden, then plated under a sweet-tangy ginger peach sauce and toasted pecans. The Southern fish-fry tradition meets summer fruit in one elegant skillet dinner.

Jellied veal loaf: an old Pennsylvania Dutch cold-cut classic. Slowly braised veal, ground and set in its own gelled stock with onion and celery. Sliced cold for sandwiches and supper plates.

Pan-fried soft-shell crabs in a Parmesan-cornmeal crust, served with a silky red chili beurre blanc made from shallots, lime juice, white wine, and cold butter. Restaurant plating, home kitchen.

Elegant crab and lobster salad plated with a fennel-orange side salad and a silky Courchamps sauce made with crab, tarragon, and Dijon. A refined no-cook seafood dish for special occasions.

Jerked pork tenderloin seared then stacked on rice with sautéed portabello mushrooms, all drenched in a spiced cream sauce with allspice, coriander, and Worcestershire. Caribbean heat meets French technique on one plate.

Final assembly step for handmade pappardelle with rich duck ragù. Hand-cut egg pasta ribbons tossed with warm duck sauce and parmesan, served on heated plates with more cheese at the table.

Rosemary hash browns with soft scrambled eggs make a diner-style breakfast plate, with golden potatoes scented with rosemary and onion alongside creamy, just-set eggs. A hearty morning from one skillet.

Avocado tomato and mushroom salad fans buttery avocado and ripe Roma slices on a plate, then crowns them with warm shiitake sautéed in garlic, shallot, and red wine vinegar. Hot-cold contrast salad ready in 20 minutes.

Classic baked graham cracker crust with just 3 ingredients. Press into a 9-inch pie plate, bake 8 minutes, and you have a crisp, buttery base ready for cheesecake, key lime pie, or any chilled filling.

Skillet fiesta chicken and rice cooks in one pan in about 30 minutes: chicken browned until golden, simmered in a chili-spiced creamy sauce, then topped with melty cheese. An easy weeknight Tex-Mex dinner the whole family cleans off the plate.

Asparagus cornet with lemon dressing wraps puff pastry into golden cones, fills them with crisp-tender asparagus spears, and serves over a homemade lemon-mustard mayonnaise. Restaurant-grade plated appetizer for special occasions.

Thick-cut veal chops stuffed with melty Val d'Aosta fontina, breaded, and pan-fried in butter until golden. This classic northern Italian dish from the Aosta Valley is rustic elegance on a plate.

Easy cranberry cheesecake with tart cranberries and bright orange zest folded into a creamy filling and baked in a graham-dusted pie plate. A festive, holiday-ready dessert with a sweet-tart balance.