Appetizer
3523 recipes found
Green Gazpacho
Chinese-Style BBQ Ribs
These are the best oven-roasted ribs ever, and they can also be finished on a grill for extra smoky flavor. Creating steam in the oven is the key to tender meat. The ingredients here are close to the ones used by traditional Cantonese barbecue masters to produce sticky-salty-sweet meat that has a reddish, caramelized crust — with ketchup standing in for Chinese red fermented tofu. (It can be left out if desired.) Although these ribs are presented as an appetizer in many American Chinese restaurants, barbecued meat is traditionally a main course, served with freshly cooked rice and a green side like smashed cucumber salad or stir-fried bok choy.
Colombian Beef and Potato Empanadas
Colombian empanadas are typically quite small — a couple of bites each — and have a crisp corn crust. There are a wide range of fillings you’ll find across Colombia, but this meat-and-potato mixture is the most common. Small yellow potatoes called papas criollas are the potato of choice here, but they are nearly impossible to find in the United States, so I use Yukon Gold instead. My wife’s family typically keeps the seasonings simple — salt, pepper and a dash of paprika — though many recipes include cumin or Triguisar, a powdered seasoning mix that contains ground cumin, paprika, achiote, turmeric and garlic. I season my filling with a little chicken bouillon, but you could use plain salt instead. The filling uses half an onion and half a tomato, so save the other half for the fresh, cilantro-based ají, to serve with the empanadas.
Smoked Salmon, Fennel and Herbed Mascarpone Tart
This elegant puff pastry tart is flaky, savory and comes together in a snap once you’ve defrosted the dough. Using all-butter puff pastry gives you the richest flavor; it’s worth seeking out. The smoked salmon makes a sophisticated and pretty topping here, but you can leave it off all or part of the tart if you’ve got vegetarians at the table. Just double up on the capers to compensate for the missing saltiness.
Baby Back Ribs With Saba Slather
Stuffing-Stuffed Mushrooms
In this recipe, classic stuffed mushrooms become an excellent vegetarian Thanksgiving appetizer or side dish by replacing Italian bread crumbs with cornbread, and using traditional stuffing flavors like rosemary, celery seeds and poultry seasoning. Two tips for making these extra flavorful: Trim the mushroom caps a bit to provide more surface area for caramelization, and pre-roast them to reduce moisture and prevent them from getting soggy. You can turn these into a main dish by using about eight large portobello mushrooms instead of two-bite cremini mushrooms, and increasing the cooking time accordingly. If you’re lucky enough to have leftover Thanksgiving stuffing, you can use it in place of the cornbread mixture (you’ll need about 4 cups); just add two beaten eggs and grated Gruyère cheese to bind the mixture before piling it onto the mushrooms and roasting.
Baked Greek Shrimp With Tomatoes and Feta
This traditional Greek recipe disregards the notion that seafood and cheese don’t mix, and it works beautifully, resulting in a harmonious balance of flavors. Though it can be made year round with canned tomatoes, it is sensational with fresh sweet ripe ones, so best prepared in summer. Serve it as a main course with rice or potatoes, or in small portions as an appetizer, taverna-style.
Smoked Trout With Celery Salad
Fennel Salad With Anchovy and Olives
This salad is a zesty first course or a fine lunch. A range of sharp flavors — garlic, anchovy, lemon and briny olives — contrast beautifully with the anise-scented fennel bulb. Dress the salad just before serving, so the sliced fennel stays crisp. It may seem silly to smash and pit your own green olives, but they look better and taste meatier that way. In any case, please don’t cut pitted olives crosswise into little slices.
Mediterranean Smashed Chickpeas
You smash half the chickpeas in this recipe to make a spread, sort of a warm rustic hummus enhanced with garlic cumin and hot pepper, along with a liberal drizzle of olive oil. You can use either freshly cooked dried beans or canned chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), though freshly cooked is always preferable. Tuck some into a pita for a vegetarian sandwich or serve as a dip to eat with bread and olives; a dollop of minty yogurt and a drizzle of tahini sauce make nice additions.
Phyllo Ricotta Torte With Spring Herbs
This buttery, golden phyllo torte is filled with ricotta and seasoned with spring herbs, prosciutto, pecorino Romano and ricotta salata. Cubes of fresh mozzarella add to the overall creaminess and lend a stretchy, gooey bite. It’s a dish as convenient as it is stunning; you can assemble the torte up to 24 hours ahead and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. You may need to add a few minutes onto the baking time, so watch it closely toward the end. Then serve it for brunch, a light supper or as a first course at a dinner party.
Roasted Squash With Cheese Fondue
This autumnal dish turns a classic cheese fondue into a sauce for whole roasted squash. The lightly caramelized squash are filled with the gooey fondue mixture and topped with crunchy, garlicky bread crumbs. When the squash are cut, the cheese sauce runs onto the serving plate, to be spooned back over the soft, amber slices. Serve this as a side dish to roasted meats or fish, or as a rich appetizer on its own. For the best presentation, choose squash that are about the same shape and size.
White Bean and Yogurt Green Goddess
I’ve always had a weakness for green goddess dressing. It has that creamy appeal that ranch dressing also has, with the heady flavor and fragrance of fresh tarragon, which is the key to its flavor. The base is modeled on the bean and yogurt salad dressing base that the Sodexo chef Lisa Feldman has introduced to school lunch programs. Serve it as a dip with spring vegetables like artichokes and asparagus or with crispy salads.
Seared Salmon With Citrus and Arugula Salad
Bursting with color and bright, bold flavors, this simple recipe makes an elegant main course for a dinner party, or a welcome diversion from your go-to weeknight salmon. The technique of cooking salmon in a cast-iron skillet creates a beautifully golden-brown sear and crispy skin. For best results, make this recipe during the cold weather months, when citrus fruit is at its best.
Loaded Nachos
Nachos are among the most ubiquitous of America’s pastime foods. At ballgames, carnivals or bowling alleys you can expect a pile of limp tortilla chips, drowned in warm yellow cheese product. But nachos should, and can, be better than this. Try them showered in good shredded cheese and accompanied by a fragrant meat sauce, the fire of jalapeños, the chill and silkiness of sour cream, the tart excellence of a good tomato, with shredded lettuce and thin-sliced radishes. Here is avocado; there, the awesome funk of chopped cilantro. Want some bacon on there as well, or a slash of hot sauce? Go to! Some will add beans. Others black olives, chopped raw onion. Please do. But take care to layer well. Layering is the key to loaded nacho perfection.
Carrot Salad With Cumin and Coriander
These lemony carrots taste lovely just as the recipe is written, perfumed with toasted cumin and coriander, a hint of garlic, and a touch of cayenne. This recipe draws its inspiration from Moroccan carrot salads, many of which use cooked vegetables, but this version uses slivered raw carrots instead. But if you want to splash out, try a pinch of cinnamon, and top with lots of fluffy chopped cilantro and thinly sliced jalapeño. Or add crumbled feta and olives. For the best-looking salad, use the julienne blade of a food processor, or cut the carrots into thin matchstick shapes with a sharp knife. The large holes of a box grater will work, too, but the result won’t be quite as attractive. (But avoid those supermarket bags of pre-grated carrots. They’re not suitable here.)
Fennel and Celery Salad With Lemon and Parmesan
This crisp, lemony salad of raw fennel and celery (you could add thinly sliced celery root to the salad as well) makes a refreshing start to a meal, garnished with radishes and slightly bitter Treviso or radicchio leaves. It could also be a light meal on its own. Don’t slice the vegetables paper-thin; you want the salad to have some crunch. You may prepare the vegetables up to an hour in advance and keep refrigerated, but don’t dress the salad more than 10 minutes before serving.
Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup With Mint or Tarragon
This easy, beautiful purée makes a nice Thanksgiving opener, with the added benefit of extra doses of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and fiber. If you’re looking to get ahead with your meal, you can make this dish up to two days ahead of the big day.
Chicken Livers, With Cumin and Coriander
Mushrooms in Lettuce Wraps
Merguez (A Tunisian sausage)
Fresh Herb and Egg Casserole
Gluten-Free Buckwheat, Poppy Seed and Blueberry Muffins
The buckwheat flour is high-fiber and makes a dark, richly-flavored muffin. Already a big fan of buckwheat flour in pancakes, I decided to try it as the main ingredient in a gluten-free muffin and love the results. It is a high-fiber flour and makes a dark, richly-flavored muffin.
Sesame Snap Pea-Chicken Salad
This simple salad features crisp-tender sugar snap peas, delicate shredded chicken and creamy sesame dressing. The cooking methods are important here: Blanching the peas, then shocking them in ice water ensures that they retain crunch and color, while gently poaching the boneless chicken breast and plunging it into an ice water bath means it stays moist. The tangy dressing, which is a nod to the highly addictive Japanese-style goma dressing, is made with earthy roasted sesame seeds and mayonnaise; it finds its way to the craggy edges of the shredded chicken. Try to shred the meat the same size as the sliced peas for the best texture. This salad is great to serve immediately, and even better after spending at least an hour in the refrigerator.