Recipes Holidays + Events 28 Recipes to Make in February By Food & Wine Editors Updated on January 27, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Whether you're preparing a special menu for Valentine's Day or looking for warm, hearty meals for a chilly night, these February recipes will rise to the occasion. For dinner, your options include Cola-Braised Short Ribs with Risotto inspired by the TV show The Bear, Grillades and Cheesy Grits straight from one of the best chefs in New Orleans, and more. We’ve also got a ton of great dessert picks for a perfect date-night, including Sfogliatelle and Steamed Pears with Sticky Rice. And we didn't forget the drinks, either — sip an Indulgent Hot Chocolate or White Negroni all month long. Read on for all of those recipes, and plenty of other exciting dishes to make this month. 01 of 28 Toasted Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwiches Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely The perfect brunch or late-night treat, these sweet sandwiches are piled high with a blend of sweet-tart preserves, toasty hazelnuts, and melted chocolate. The bread is crisped, lightly salty, and golden brown from the butter, while the inside of the sandwich is both gooey and delightfully crunchy. Get the Recipe 02 of 28 White Negroni Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon Made with gin, Lillet Blanc, and Suze, this cocktail is filled with herbal and floral aromas with a quenching backbone of bitterness. The White Negroni follows the same flavor combinations of the classic — spirit, bitter, sweet — but unlike the Negroni which is made with equal parts of each, uses Suze and Lillet. Get the Recipe 03 of 28 Catalan-Style Shrimp in Chocolate Sauce Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Catalan cooks have long added bittersweet chocolate to savory dishes for earthy depth of flavor. This combination of seafood and chocolate offers a perfect balance to the richness in the sauce and subtle sweetness from tender shrimp. Get the Recipe 04 of 28 Napa Cabbage Pockets with Tofu Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan Chef Zoey Xinyi Gong’s refreshing and savory stuffed cabbage pockets are filled with shiitake mushrooms, Chinese chives, and crisp mung beans — ingredients that in traditional Chinese medicine are also believed to hydrate and clarify skin and reduce inflammation caused by alcohol and heavy winter foods. Get the Recipe 05 of 28 Brunswick Stew Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Our version of Brunswick stew uses pork shoulder, corn, potatoes, and lima beans, but other versions may have okra, chicken, or smoked pork. The broth may or may not have tomato and is traditionally tinged with barbecue flavor from the paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Get the Recipe 06 of 28 San Bei Ji (Three-Cup Chicken) Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster The “three cups” refers to the heady amounts of rice wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil that chicken is braised in for this classic Taiwanese dish. A favorite of casual restaurants (re chao) as well as home cooking, the flavor combination is so good that you can find “three cup” squid, tofu and other proteins cooked in a similar style. Get the Recipe 07 of 28 Indulgent Hot Chocolate Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Layers of chocolate — in the silky hot chocolate itself, infused into the whipped cream topping, and in the garnish of shaved chocolate bars — make this indulgent hot chocolate the ultimate treat. Silky and thick in texture, intense and complex in flavor, this hot chocolate is like a drinkable pot de crème. Get the Recipe 08 of 28 Pan-Fried Lamb Dumplings Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan Packed with a tender lamb filling, salty soy, earthy mushrooms, and a fragrant 13-spice powder, these pan-fried dumplings are warming and satiating. The peppery spice blend includes aged tangerine peels, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper, and galangal; it adds an aromatic, peppery flavor to the dumplings. Get the Recipe 09 of 28 Chocolate-Cherry Focaccia Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Tart dried cherries play up the fruitiness of dark chocolate and olive oil in this light and airy, sweet, and savory focaccia. Baking the bread on a preheated pizza stone gives it a delicate and crisp crust, as does the generous dose of olive oil. Get the Recipe 10 of 28 Oatmeal Cream Pies Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Shell Royster If you loved oatmeal cream pies as a kid, you need these next-level versions, created by Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader of Chicago’s Loaf Lounge. This oatmeal pie recipe features tender, chewy cookies made with oats, dark brown sugar, molasses, and toffee bits. Get the Recipe 11 of 28 Psychedelic Backyard Matt Taylor-Gross If you aren't using verjus to upgrade your non-alcoholic cocktail game, you've been missing out. Made by pressing unripe wine grapes that are harvested early in the growing season, verjus is one of our favorite ingredients for marinades and deglazing, but it's also a delightfully acidic addition to mixed drinks. Get the Recipe 12 of 28 Grillades and Cheesy Grits Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley A New Orlean’s classic, grillades rely on succulent beef top round that’s cooked low and slow for hours until it becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender. Served with savory, cheesy grits and a luscious gravy using the fond from the beef, chef Michael Gulotta’s grillades and grits is comfort food at its finest. Get the Recipe 13 of 28 Sfogliatelle Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster Sfogliatelle is an Italian pastry that comes from the Campania region in Italy. The word “sfogliatella” translates to small, thin layer, but these pastries are often called lobster tails for their layers of pastry and curved shape. This recipe pays homage to the classic while adding a few special touches, like the cardamom and splash of orange blossom water, which give the pastry a nice floral note. Get the Recipe 14 of 28 Cola-Braised Short Ribs with Risotto Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen If you love the television show The Bear as much as we do, it’s likely you were also excited about the short ribs Sydney works on perfecting during the entire first season of the show. On television and in real life, nothing is cozier than a Dutch oven filled with braised, fall-off-the-bone tender short ribs served over risotto. Here, per Sydney’s creativity, the classic wine and stock braising liquid get a surprising addition from cola, which balances the savory with a touch of complex sweetness to create a smooth, rich sauce. Get the Recipe 15 of 28 Cocoa-Spiced Steaks with Red Wine–Chocolate Sauce Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Seasoned with a cocoa rub, finished with a butter-cocoa mixture, and drizzled with red wine sauce, these pan-seared steaks are an easy upgrade to dinner for two at home. When combined with sweet paprika, allspice, and cayenne pepper, the cocoa powder offers a delicious, rounding earthiness in the spice rub. Get the Recipe 16 of 28 Bloody Majestic Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christine Keely This eye-catching riff on a classic Bloody Mary swaps regular tomatoes for yellow tomatoes, giving this drink an unexpected but eye-catching bright golden-orange hue. It’s a lighter take on a traditional Bloody Mary, with a fragrant citrusy aroma and flavor from the bitters, an acidic edge from pineapple, and a pleasant bite from the sake while still remaining tomato-forward. Get the Recipe 17 of 28 TCM-Inspired Mulled Wine Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan Warming the body, promoting healthy blood circulation, and lifting the mood are all benefits of drinking this mulled wine in cold and dry weather. This mulled wine is a soothing and delicious beverage, infused with whole dried spices and dried fruit, and just mildly sweet from a touch of dark brown sugar and jujube dates. Get the Recipe 18 of 28 Pasta ’Ncasciata (Sicilian Baked Pasta) Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In Sicily, ’ncasciata has many variations. Chef Michael Gulotta’s version combines tender eggplant, buttery caciocavallo cheese, and crushed tomatoes with al dente rigatoni. Baking the eggplant rounds rather than frying them cuts down on the prep time. Get the Recipe 19 of 28 Thai Tea Crinkle Cookies Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Ali Domrongchai Thai tea is a sweet, aromatic tea that is relatively new in Thailand, but quickly became a Thai American staple. These cookies have perfect chew and get their delicately spiced, sweet flavor from instant Thai tea powder. Get the Recipe 20 of 28 Herbal Chicken Bone Broth with Soba Noodles Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan In China, this herbal chicken bone broth is traditionally given to postpartum women or post-trauma patients in recovery. Whole chickens are considered a fantastic medicinal ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine food therapy to nourish the kidneys, blood, and yin, which refers to qualities that help our bodies with hydration, calming, and anti-aging. Get the Recipe 21 of 28 Italian Beef Sandwiches Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Shell Royster Perfect Italian beef sandwiches don’t just happen overnight; it’s a labor of love to make flawlessly tender roast beef and a deeply flavorful jus. Our sandwich is topped with homemade giardiniera and roasted sweet peppers to bring savory, bright, and sweet flavors all into balance. Get the Recipe 22 of 28 Chocolate French Crullers with Dried Raspberries and Fudge Glaze Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis From slinging s'mores at one of her The Baking Bean pop-ups to creating pastries for hot NYC spot Kimika to competing on popular cooking shows, there's never a dull moment for pastry chef Clarice Lam. Made with a classic choux dough, her French crullers are likewise full of personality, featuring a crunchy crust, an airy center, and a colorful topping of dried raspberries and fudge. Dip the chocolate crullers in the warmed fudge glaze so the dried raspberries stick for a sweet-tart topping that's as tasty as it is beautiful. Get the Recipe 23 of 28 Pernil Mac and Cheese Lauren Vied Allen Pernil, a Puerto Rican–style roast pork shoulder, is flavored with garlic, oregano, and sazón—a seasoning blend that includes coriander and annatto. At their Durham, North Carolina restaurant Boricua Soul, Serena and Toriano Fredericks serve this garlicky pernil on top of a rich and creamy mac and cheese. Rubbing the seasoned garlic paste into the pork and letting it rest allows the flavors to penetrate deeply into the thick roast. Get the Recipe 24 of 28 Spaghetti with Clams and NOLA Hot Sausage Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley This recipe for Spaghetti with Clams and NOLA Hot Sausage comes together in a flash once the littleneck clams have been rinsed and cleaned. The clams cook in just about five minutes in a bath of white wine and spicy beef sausage that’s been browned with garlic and gochugaru. Once the clams have all opened, stirring the cooked pasta into the clam and sausage mixture with a little reserved pasta cooking liquid helps the spicy, savory, briny sauce cling to every strand of spaghetti. Get the Recipe 25 of 28 Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster This immensely popular dish underscores Taiwan’s recent history, as it is made with beef and wheat-based noodles, which weren’t common on the island until the 20th century. Tomato, doubanjiang (chili bean sauce), star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns are complimented by the use of boneless beef shank, a cartilage-rich cut that becomes meltingly tender and full of contrasting textures when braised. Get the Recipe 26 of 28 Black and Tan Chocolate Popcorn Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely A recipe by the late chef Michel Richard inspired this fun way to serve popcorn coated in two kinds of chocolate. Half of the popcorn is tossed in caramelized white chocolate, and the rest in dark chocolate, creating a spectrum of bittersweet to milky sweet flavors and also a beautifully contrasting deep brown and golden tan color on the popped kernels. Get the Recipe 27 of 28 Steamed Pears with Sticky Rice Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan Purple sticky rice and mung beans fill the interior of these perfectly steamed pears for a light and refreshing dessert. Subtly sweet with a silky richness from ghee, these pears, stuffed with chewy mung beans, are perfectly tender with a lightly floral flavor. Get the Recipe 28 of 28 Soup Joumou Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster This recipe begins with an Epis, the aromatic flavor base that is one of the backbones of Haitian cooking, which is made by pureeing bell peppers, scallions, onions and garlic. Here, Epis is used as a marinade for the beef; freeze any leftover Epis for up to one month to use as a marinade or to swirl into soups, stews, or sauces. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit