Sexy Foods

Lots of buttermilk and coffee get mixed into this batter to create an incredibly moist, rich and fudgy dessert.

Sacher torte is a classic Austrian chocolate cake layered with apricot preserves. This version uses the preserves three ways: for moistening the cake layers, as a thick filling between the layers and as a glaze to seal the cake before covering it in chocolate. The cake is moist and luscious on its own, but it's also delicious served the traditional way, with unsweetened whipped cream.

This lamb gets a kick by garnishing it with smoky pimenton de la Vera and little mint leaves.

This shortcut choucroute has only five ingredients, not counting salt and pepper.

Brioche gives this French toast a lovely, custard-like texture. The tart, creamy cranberry sauce, made with fresh or frozen cranberries, is a great alternative to maple syrup.

This recipe uses a stand mixer to make perfectly fluffy gnocchi with ricotta cheese.

The secret to this recipe's four-ingredient mignonette is cava, the Spanish sparkling wine.

Fragrant with cinnamon, clove, cardamom and ginger, this fondue holds up remarkably well at room temperature, which makes it good for parties—especially when it's served with gingerbread, apples or shortbread for dunking.

This flavorful fondue is perfect for sharing on a cold winter night.

An open-face turkey sandwich gets smothered with cheese sauce and bacon for this version of the over-the-top Louisville classic.

A little Champagne vinegar in the dressing adds punchy flavor to these super easy steaks.

Use blood oranges at the height of their season to make these tangy, warm soufflés in orange cups.

For a fun twist, these creamy desserts get loaded up with sweet brioche croutons.

Golden Delicious apples are perfect in this classic version of tarte tatin because they get perfectly tender without losing their shape.

Molten chocolate cakes became famous for a reason: they're cakey on the outside with an irresistible center of warm dark chocolate flowing through the middle. The first time you try one, it may seem like magic, but this recipe is actually quite easy to make and ready in under an hour.

At his restaurant, Jonathon Sawyer uses a little bit of foie gras to create a luscious sauce for clams. “It’s such a simple recipe,” he says.“I just put the clams, foie gras and vinegar in a pot and just let them get to know each other for a while.”

If you can’t find any Meyer lemons, use regular (Eureka) lemons.

Juicy salmon eggs add a delicate crunch to this luxurious pasta dish. If you prefer a more subtle fish flavor, substitute trout roe and smoked trout for the salmon roe and smoked salmon.

“I love the simple elegance of chocolate soufflés,” Grace Parisi says. She uses top-quality chocolate from brands like Valrhona or Callebaut, which lends a deep, almost smoky flavor to the airy dessert. Tahitian vanilla beans—some of the world’s best—add a floral sweetness to the crème anglaise.

In Mario Batali’s riff on the traditional antipasto of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, he wraps spears in pancetta (which, unlike prosciutto, becomes nicely crispy when cooked) and grills them. Adding a bit of tanginess is the citronette, a marvelously bright-tasting mustardy-orange dressing.

Salmon trout has a mild, delicate taste, but regular salmon is also delicious in this bright-flavored tartare.

Pairing Suggestion: These rich, herb-scented scallops need a crisp light beer. Try Left Hand’s frothy Polestar Pilsner. Or pour an unoaked Chardonnay.

“We created this dish as an homage to Jay-Z. He inspires us,” says Mario Carbone about the rapper and cofounder of the Roc-A-Fella record label. “The original dish was named for John D. Rockefeller. He was money back then, and to us, Jay-Z is money in New York City now.” Carbone tops the oysters with a tangy vinegar-shallot mignonette, plus a Champagne-infused foam and frozen Champagne grapes.

Dipping a crispy toast finger (the French call it a mouillette) in a soft egg yolk has to be one of life’s great pleasures. “When I was a kid, I loved it,” says Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Evidently, he’s still fond of it because he has created an adult version that’s elegant enough to serve as a first course at a dinner party: He wraps smoked salmon around half of the toasts and sprinkles the rest with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, so it melts and forms a salty crust when baked.

This version of the soup calls for truffle-infused pecorino cheese (sold in any good cheese shop), which is melted to form a marvelously gooey topping for the oniony broth.

Pok Pok's sweet-tart take on Brazil's caipirinha adds pomegranate juice to the usual mix of muddled limes, sugar and cachaça (the Latin sugarcane spirit). "Sugarcane grows in Thailand, too," says chef Andy Ricker, explaining why he serves the cocktail at his Thai restaurant. "Wherever you go, you're sure to find someone making moonshine out of sugarcane or rice."

Chris Yeo doesn't take credit for inventing this dessert—these individual cakes with molten centers appear on almost every restaurant menu in America. But his version is especially rich and chocolaty and made even better by the scoop of strawberry ice cream on top.

"This is like a really fine chocolate truffle that melts in your mouth," says bartender Marvin Allen. He makes this variation on a chocolate martini with nocino, a walnut liqueur produced in Modena, Italy.

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