Recipes with butter

Sauteed chicken with Gewurztraminer wine sauce, sauteed leeks, and warm halved grapes. An Alsatian-style French bistro dish with a silky cream reduction made from the bones.

Flourless chocolate cake spiked with Grand Marnier, baked low and slow for a dense, fudgy interior with a delicate soufflé-like crown. Naturally gluten-free dessert for holidays, dinner parties, or any chocolate-lover's celebration.

Choco date cake folds simmered medjool-style dates, oats, and semisweet chocolate chips into a buttery sheet cake. Caramelized date sweetness with melty pockets of chocolate, baked in a 13x9 and topped with whipped cream.

Butter horn pastries with orange marmalade filling, made from a tender yeast dough with cream. Shaped into crescents and baked to a delicate golden brown.

Cucumber leek sauce made from fresh juiced cucumbers, thickened with a slurry and finished with lime, white wine, dill, and a touch of butter. Light, bright, and elegant.

Potato and chive tortelli tossed in brown butter with fried sage leaves and lemon. Handmade Italian stuffed pasta filled with chive-spiked mashed potato in a classic noisette sauce.

Double chocolate chunk biscotti loaded with cocoa, white chocolate chunks, and semisweet pieces. Twice-baked Italian cookies built for serious coffee dunking and long shelf life.

Green chile yogurt soup blends tangy low-fat yogurt into a tomato and green chile broth with paprika, garlic, and cheddar. A creamy Southwestern bowl with gentle heat.

Linguine tossed with a buttery spinach sauce simmered in white wine with onions, garlic, mushrooms, and basil, then finished with Parmigiano-Reggiano. A pantry-friendly weeknight pasta.

Crab stuffed mushroom caps with snow crab, Parmesan, horseradish, and bread crumbs. Baked then broiled until golden for a hot, savory appetizer ready in 30 minutes.

Raisin English muffins: homemade yeasted muffins studded with plump raisins, cooked griddle-style on cornmeal for craggy nooks and crannies. Toasted with butter, they beat any grocery-store version.

Wild and brown rice pilaf with a full pound of fresh mushrooms, thyme, parsley, and optional pecans, simmered in chicken broth. A nutty, earthy side dish for holiday tables.

Best lemon sour cream pie folds tangy sour cream into a stovetop lemon curd, then crowns it with vanilla-scented meringue. Three textures in one slice: silky filling, billowy peaks, flaky crust.

Everyone loves my hearty ground beef and bean chili!

Orange shortbread hearts dipped in bittersweet chocolate. Buttery, citrus-scented cut-out cookies with a glossy chocolate half-dip for Valentine's Day or any occasion.

Fresh cherry pie with almond extract and a double crust, baked golden and bubbly. Uses real cherries, not canned, for bright fruit flavor. Freezer-friendly too.