From Comfort Foods to Date Night Dishes, These Are the Recipes to Cook in February 

Sure, buffalo wings are delicious, but why not mix things up and serve these grilled wings with a tangy and fruity tamarind chipotle barbecue sauce?

Bite-size meatballs and tender vegetables make this soup satisfying; the touch of cream and nutmeg stirred in at the end rounds out the flavors. Homemade broth will add depth, but store-bought works fine.

Sweet and umami-packed Japanese Kewpie mayo and crunchy fried shallots make this an Asianesque spin on everyone’s favorite party dip. Onion powder gives it that nostalgic flavor boost.

Los Angeles restaurant Tsubaki’s take on the Caesar salad is upgraded with a mix of romaine and Salanova lettuces and an umami-rich dressing of Kewpie mayonnaise, miso, and ponzu. Panko breadcrumbs stand in for the traditional croutons.

Stracciatella means “little rags” and in this recipe refers to the appearance of the Roman egg drop soup. Don’t confuse this “Stracciatella” with the cheese or gelato flavor by the same name; this one’s all about broth. We pair the broth with macaroni, the perfect soup noodle. Plus, eggs and asparagus love each other, so they are a natural fit.

Sure, you could open a can of chili to make these hefty nachos, but making your own chili—especially this version, one of our favorites—makes them memorable. You’ll have 2 cups of chili left over, but it freezes well, and makes an enviable office lunch.

Woodsy and herbal, these mushrooms pair well with earthy, dry-aged steak. They should be glossed with sauce but not swimming in it.

Slicing potatoes Hasselback-style makes them extra tender, and melting grated cheddar cheese on top means these one-bite appetizers are perfect for your game-day gathering. Be sure to scrape up the crisp melted cheese in the pan!

Panzanella is a simple, quick, and an all-around favorite, so you can easily switch out ingredients and make it what you want. Bonus: The sturdy radicchio won’t wilt, so you can prep this in advance.

These delightfully lemony chicken wings are perfect for tailgating, Super Bowl parties, and even a budget-friendly weeknight dinner.

Oysters for a Valentine’s Day dinner is a classic pick. Freshly shucked oysters, spiked with spicy sweet chili butter and broiled until bubbling and hot, are an appetizer that’s tough to beat. 

Kristen Murray, pastry chef and owner of Maurice restaurant in Portland, learned the easy technique of oven-poaching fish in a foil pouch from her grandmother. (You’ll need wide, heavy-duty foil.) The salmon works beautifully made a day ahead and served at room temperature. For a bit of green, top with fennel fronds, carrot tops, or chervil.

“When I was the chef of Saltwater in Inverness, I was right down the street from Marin Sun Farms butcher shop,” says Meave McAuliffe of Rory’s Place in Ojai. “I’m still obsessed with their meats, and a perfectly marbled ribeye is still one of my favorite things to eat. Get two really good quality ribeyes and let them come to room temperature while you are preparing your bottarga butter. I love to cook with my friend’s bottarga from Cortez Conservas in Florida. This is simple and delicious and can be done on the stovetop or a gas grill if you don’t have a wood-fired oven.”

Polenta is a great option when you crave Italian comfort food but have pasta fatigue.

Curry paste is a prime example of the kitchen adage that from scratch is always best. The aromatics are unrivaled when using fresh ingredients, plus using a mortar and pestle is a great way to get out your pent-up frustrations. If you haven’t yet utilized krachai, a pungent medicinal rhizome also known as fingerroot, now is a fantastic time to start. The root, which resembles a hand, can be found in many Asian supermarkets, and of course ordered online.

This rolled and tied steak is quick but impressive enough for company. Grilled carrots sprinkled with fresh herbs and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil make an easy side dish.

Pan-searing sliced tofu gives it a meatiness that’s deliciously offset by crunchy vegetables and a drizzle of black bean sauce (pour on a little less if you’re salt-sensitive). The Asian ingredients can be found in any large grocery store.

This dish delivers a lot of sophistication for not much time spent in the kitchen. The chicken rests on a bed of vegetables, enriched with cream and wine. If the chicken you buy weighs more than 2 pounds, you may need to simmer it a few more minutes.

This vegetarian Stroganoff was submitted by reader Karen Rose, of Mariposa, California. To make it even creamier, Karen suggests using half-and-half in place of the milk.

This rich mussel dish is all about the broth, which is enriched with heavy cream and spiked with hard cider to brighten it up and give it backbone. The mussels will yield their briny liquor once steamed, so consider getting an extra baguette to sop up all the juices.

Using fresh sage is the key to giving this classic dish lots of flavor in very little time.

Named after Laura Esquivel’s blockbuster novel, this cocktail is citrusy, spicy, sweet, and deeply layered.

Bake this silky, rich chocolate mousse straight out of the freezer. It couldn’t be easier and you can make a half-batch without compromising the results. For a molten center, stick with the 4-oz. size. For a cooked-through but still meltingly tender crumb, choose the heart-shaped ramekins or any other flat 3-oz. ramekins. Needless to say, they make a killer Valentine’s Day dessert.

These handheld mini pie hearts have the freshness of lemon with spices for warmth. They’re a great way to impress someone special and making them can also be a fun shared activity. You’ll need a 3-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter; or if you don’t have one, make a 3-in. heart out of cardboard and cut around it.

Kai Loebach has adapted this crowd-pleaser to make it gluten-free by using tapioca flour. “I didn’t say it’s fat-free,” he says. Because that would be no fun.

Named for Zelda Fitzgerald’s only published novel, this cocktail is a lovely spin on the Vesper martini, which delicately blends gin and vodka.