Romantic Dishes

Cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi invented these delicate crepes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, which is also called Pancake Tuesday in England. Their floral, aromatic sweetness comes from rosewater and honey, two Middle Eastern ingredients that Otttolenghi grew up with. The rose petals sprinkled on top make this one of our most romantic dishes ever.

A lobsterman in Maine supplies the Angles with the very best shellfish, right off his boat. This recipe was created to use those terrific lobsters, as well as some of the butter from the dairy on the family's private island.

“In 1994, when I enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, I had to catch up on so much—it was like I had a virgin palate for food and wine,” says Rajat Parr. “For instance, I’d never had a scallop before; I didn’t even know what they were. I had never seen a chestnut before, either. So cooking school was an eye-opening experience.”

For this playful twist on British roast lamb with mint jelly, Luke Mangan serves lamb chops with a piquant condiment of fresh mint and jalapeño.

Great oysters are delicious "naked," as Island Creek founder Skip Bennett says, but sometimes chef Jeremy Sewall dresses them up with a mignonette (vinegar sauce) like this one, made with sparkling rosé.

Marc Vetri's exquisite tortellini combines subtle toasted almonds and sweet ricotta. Start the recipe a day ahead to allow time for the ricotta to drain and the pasta dough to rest.

This simple, strikingly black-and-white seafood pasta gets a double hit of anise flavor from Pernod and fresh tarragon.

Chef Robert Wiedmaier serves elegant dishes, like this veal chop. To make the wine sauce even more complex, use demiglace (concentrated veal stock) instead of beef stock and flour. Demiglace is available from dartagnan.com.

These soft, chocolaty sponge cakes are a cross between angel food cake and a firm soufflé. Adolfo Muñoz bakes his soufflé cakes in individual cake rings with parchment-paper collars. We simplified the recipe by using ramekins and had good results.

Chef James Holmes topped raw oysters with this sweet-savory sorbet before deciding it would make an excellent cocktail with Prosecco. A good-quality, store-bought raspberry sorbet is a fine shortcut.

F&W's Justin Chapple uses a resealable plastic bag to mix his pancake batter and pipe out perfect pancakes--resulting in one less bowl to wash.

This crostini from Karen Small at the Flying Fig in Cleveland, topped with goat cheese mousse, red-wine caramel and strawberry compote, is a delightful example of a dish that combines sweet and savory. Each component can be used in a variety of sweet and savory ways: The caramel, for instance, is great drizzled over pecorino cheese or vanilla ice cream.

Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg makes her amatriciana sauce with anchovies, so it's extra-savory.

To give spaghetti with fresh clam sauce more flavor, chef Ashley Christensen purees sweet roasted bell peppers into the spicy, briny broth.

While the juicy pork chops roast, you can make this quick and flavorful side dish of escarole, radishes and anchovies.

To keep the buttery puff pastry base here flat and easy to eat, Lynch bakes it between two cookie sheets until golden and crisp. She then tops the pastry with a gooey dark- and milk-chocolate ganache, fresh fruit and toasted hazelnuts.

This cake from pastry chef Karina Gowing is perfection for anyone who loves frosting. The ultracreamy icing, which is almost like a milk-chocolate ganache, gets spread liberally over layers of light, delicate, cocoa-flavored cake.

Many Bundt cakes are heavy and buttery, but this one is surprisingly light and incredibly moist under its silky chocolate glaze. Strong-brewed coffee in the batter intensifies the chocolate flavor while cutting the sweetness.

In her update of the classic chocolate Hostess cupcake, Chicago pastry chef Mindy Segal uses mascarpone in the rich and creamy filling.

The tart fennel and sweet walnuts here make this roast chicken especially good. The orange dressing has nutty flavor, too, because it's spiked with walnut oil.

A coating of butter and sugar makes these tender pretzels especially delicious; they're excellent with tea or coffee.

Chef Laurent Tourondel's heavenly souffle has copious amounts of finely grated Parmesan cheese, which makes it sturdier than most souffles.

This cold salad has a bright, earthy, and sweet taste to it thanks to fresh ingredients like oranges, sweet onions, and of course - beets!

Whipping a rich and delicious white chocolate ganache makes it light and fluffy. Spread on pain de mie bread toasts, it becomes a delicious dessert.

Most Thanksgivings include pumpkin in some guise. The Rushings' version is a pumpkin soup topped with lobster bathed in a spicy butter. The natural brininess of the lobster helps bring out all the deep, earthy flavor in the soup.

Lior Lev Sercarz, chef and owner of the spice company La Boite in New York City, uses North African flavorings to make a delicious sauce for luscious short ribs.

This mushroom-and-herb ragù is extremely versatile; it's as good on rigatoni or cheese ravioli as it is on gnocchi.

This custardy apricot clafoutis from F&W’s Justin Chapple is equally perfect for breakfast, brunch or dessert.

At The Perennial in San Francisco, chef Chris Kiyuna confits potatoes, then serves them with garlicky braised clams. The potatoes are braised in a good amount of oil; Kiyuna reserves the cooking oil for the clams and for shallow frying other ingredients.