Most Wanted Recipes

I think it was Julia Child who said that if you want to be considered a good cook, you just need ten classic recipes that you've made so often that you can do them perfectly every time.  Sounds like great advice, but unfortunately my style has always been too experimental and ad-hoc to stay true to a mere ten recipes.  I rarely follow the original recipe as written, I'm constantly looking for improvements, and my search for new ideas is never very directed.  As a result, I think there are some glaring omissions from my repertoire that I'd eventually like to fill, dishes for which I haven't yet found the perfect recipe for my tastes (or maybe never started looking).  Here's my list:

1. Lasagna.  How do you screw up lasagna, right?  Well, sure... I admit it's hard to go wrong with sheets of pasta, a reliable jarred sauce, ground meat, and lots of cheese.  But I'm still looking for something special.
2. Tiramisu.  No, these aren't all going to be Italian.  But I actually really love a good, light-textured tiramisu.  I'm a sucker for the ones they serve in martini glasses at restaurants.  I'd like to be able to whip one up all on my own.
3. Clam chowder.  I used to love clam chowder night when I was growing up.  No, my mom did not use fresh clams, and guess what, foodies, I don't want to either!  I want something I can make on a weeknight and serve with a fresh loaf of bread that I bought on my way home from work.  I wonder if she still has her recipe...
4. Cookies.  For most of my life I've preferred candy to dessert, but these days candy is going the way of most other processed food in my diet.  So I'm just getting into the baking scene, and somewhat reluctantly -- dough and I have had a rocky relationship.  But it seems like every cook needs his or her own signature cookie recipe.  I do actually have a couple of very strong contenders...
5. Chicken salad.  I've had some really amazing chicken salads, but unfortunately they're the exception to the rule of bland and heavy salads that are in no way worth the calories they pack.  I need something interesting but not too complicated.  This looks very, very promising....
6. Macaroni and cheese.  Pasta and melted cheese are two of my great loves in the food world, so what's the problem here?  Answer: milk.  Every recipe I've ever tried to make is much too milky, and my efforts are discouraged by the enduring skepticism of my husband, who swears by the blue box.  But I fight on.
7. Sangria.  Or mulled wine.  Or both.  I'm assuming no justification is necessary.
8. Mojitos.  See above.