Party
408 recipes found
Seared Bone-In Rib-Eye Steaks
Rippled with fat, extrathick rib-eye steaks end up with charred crusts after an initial, intense stovetop sear, and buttery, tender centers after cooking through in a low oven. This technique is the reverse of a reverse sear, in which the meat cooks through first in a low oven or grill, then gets seared just before serving. Both methods ensure an even medium-rare on this expensive cut, but with this reverse-reverse sear, you’re not stuck at the stove, smoking up the kitchen after guests arrive. Instead, the time the steak finishes cooking in the oven can be spent washing up or enjoying a cocktail with friends. If you’re preparing just one steak, skip Step 5 and simply transfer the skillet to the oven. Once the steak comes out of the oven, transfer it to a cutting board and make the sauce as directed in Step 8.
Spiced Vegetable Phyllo Pie
In this spectacular meatless meal, crisp sheets of buttery, golden phyllo surround vegetables and chickpeas stewed with sweet spices, preserved lemon and earthy turmeric. You can prepare the vegetable stew the day before; just reheat it so it's warm when it meets the phyllo pastry. Once it’s baked, you can serve this hot or at room temperature, making it perfect for a party. Since it’s baked on a sheet pan, it makes enough to feed a crowd.
Tardivo Salad With Pistachio and Citrus
When it comes to wintertime eating, you can count on two things: chicories in abundance and the best citrus of the year. At the cozy Manhattan restaurant Raf’s, executive chef Mary Attea makes the most of both with this tardivo salad, which delivers the style and ingenuity of a restaurant-level dish to any home cook. Tardivo is a top choice for its delicate flavor and dazzling appearance, but endive is a suitable substitute, playing equally well with the fragrant schmear of puréed Sicilian pistachios. The creamy purée acts as the foundation for a bright combination of supremed citrus, sharp fennel and thinly sliced red onion. The dish is mellowed out with good-quality Italian olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and topped with salty slivers of ricotta salata. Serve as an impressive starter at your next dinner party or impress yourself on a weeknight. Either way, you’ve got a hit on your hands.
Spiced Holiday Punch for Everyone
Start with a spiced, citrus base, made with lemon peels muddled with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, star anise, black peppercorns and tea leaves. Then, make a holiday drink your way. If you choose to spike it, reach for a favorite spirited bottle. Gin leans your drink refreshingly botanical, while whiskey feels a bit boozier and plays nicely off the base’s warming spices. If you want to make a nonalcoholic drink, simply add soda water, tonic and, if you like, a few dashes of Angostura bitters. (Note that, while the bitters lend a nice layer of flavor and depth, they do contain a small amount of alcohol, so if you’re abstaining just leave them out.) The point here is to make a drink you want to drink — and for your friend, partner, cousin or parent to make the drink they want to drink.
Chicken Biryani
Just as beautiful for entertaining as it is for a comforting family meal, biryani is a Central and South Asian dish of layered rice, spices and meat or vegetables. There are many variations of biryani, but here, marinated chicken drumsticks are tucked in between layers of basmati rice, fried onion, whole spices and fresh herbs. Don't be intimidated by the multiple steps: Split up the work by marinating the meat in advance, and feel free to use store-bought fried onions instead of frying your own (use about 1 heaping cup). Traditionally, biryani is sealed with dough, but in this recipe, the lid is covered with a thin kitchen towel to ensure a proper seal and catch excess condensation so the rice steams properly. Garnishing with pomegranate seeds is not traditional, but they add a pop of color and a welcome fresh bite. Serve chicken biryani with raita, if desired.
Lechon Kawali
Lechon, or whole suckling pig, is traditionally prepared for large holiday gatherings in the Philippines, but lechon kawali, a dish of crispy deep-fried pork belly, is served year-round for special occasions. (Kawali refers to the pan used for frying the pork.) To maximize lechon kawali’s crispiness, it’s important to make sure the skin is as dry as possible. In this version, the pork belly is first simmered in a savory broth of onion, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns, then dried in a low oven. To finish, the pork is fried until the skin is crisp and crackly. Serve lechon kawali with a side of rice, and don’t skip the garlicky vinegar sauce for dipping, which balances the fried pork by adding a necessary tang.
Avocado, Radish and Iceberg Lettuce Salad
I’ve always liked this very simple salad that was served at La Taza de Oro, a now-defunct Puerto Rican diner in New York City.
Braised Chicken With Tomato and Potatoes
Long-simmered to a tender, falling-off the-bone state, this braised chicken is fragrant with smoky paprika and cumin. This dish aims to be Spanish chicken in salsa brava, but the addition of ancho chiles, traditionally used in Mexican cooking, lends a bit more heat. Along with a splash of wine and chopped tomato, it is hearty and warming, with a ruddy red sauce. Make the dish a day in advance, if you can; the longer it sits in the sauce, the deeper the flavor will be.
Arroz con Leche With Roasted Pineapple
With a touch of coconut, broiled pineapple and bright-red pomegranate seeds, this is a festive dessert. Many rice pudding recipes call for a custard, but this one just calls for simmering short-grain rice in sweetened milk — it may make you think of Thai coconut sticky rice. Serve it warm to cap a meal, and keep some for the next day. Leftovers make a fine breakfast.
Easy Crudités
A crudités platter can be as simple as a bunch of vegetables piled on a plate, or as composed as a work of art. Use a mix of raw and blanched vegetables, or just raw, keeping in mind that a variety of colors, shapes and textures will help create a beautiful platter and provide guests with more options. Keep the platter simple, or dress it up with additional snacks, such as marinated olives, artichokes, crackers and nuts, and add homemade or store-bought dips, such as hummus, tzatziki or ranch. This recipe easily scales up or down, just plan on about 1 cup vegetables total (blanched and raw) per person. Serve crudités alongside a charcuterie board for a more substantial spread.
Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread
If pulling apart slices of warm, cheesy, garlicky bread is your idea of a good time, do this: Slice crusty bread into a grid pattern, coat every nook and cranny with garlic butter, tuck in some shredded mozzarella and bake the whole thing. What was just a loaf of bread is now a worthy party centerpiece. You can prepare, wrap and refrigerate the loaf up to one day ahead. The format is adaptable, too: Season the butter with scallions, rosemary or other flavorings, or swap the mozzarella for Cheddar, pepper Jack or another melty cheese you’d use for a grilled cheese.
Spicy Carrot-Ginger Soup
Let’s proceed on the theory that everyone likes soup, and some soups are better than others. You might think of squash for an autumn soup, but this bright soup of carrots, stewed with ginger and jalapeño and finished with a good squeeze of lime and a handful of chopped cilantro, is an example of how not to make the all-too familiar stodgy too-thick purée. Still, feel free to try it with kabocha or butternut squash. If the soup is not to be served immediately, cool after puréeing, and reheat just before serving — it will taste fresher.
Miyar Taushe (Lamb and Squash Stew)
Stew is a luxury because it demands what we seem to have the least of these days: time. When making miyar taushe (also known as miyan taushe), this earthy-sweet stew from northern Nigeria, you stand vigil while lamb simmers on the stove, slowly coming undone, and butternut squash softens in the oven, its skin ready to cave in. The squash is rendered velvety in a blender, with a dusting of calabash nutmeg — woodsier and mustier than regular nutmeg — then united with the lush lamb stock. Yemisi Aribisala, a Nigerian writer and the author of “Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds” (Cassava Republic Press, 2016), notes that the pot should be big enough so the stew reaches only halfway up, because it splatters. At the end, you deliver to your guests bowls of tamed sun, hot, creamy, melty, thick and earthy-sweet.
Akara (Crispy Bean Fritters)
Traditionally, àkàrà is a celebration food. The plump rounds should be cakelike and fluffy on the inside with a golden exterior, as they are in this recipe from “My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora” by Yewande Komolafe (Ten Speed Press, 2023). Popular in Yorùbá cuisine, it’s a simple dish that requires a careful hand when prepared. Each step from puréeing the ingredients, mixing the batter and frying is critical to developing layers of flavor and texture. Àkàrà is best served warm as a meal when paired with ògi (a fermented cornstarch paste), as a small chop enjoyed by itself or as a sandwich filling between pillowy soft slices of agége bread.
Crispy Rice With Salmon And Avocado
This recipe for golden-crisp blocks of sushi rice topped with cool and creamy salmon and avocado is a riff on a spicy tuna and crispy rice dish created by Katsuya Uechi, a Los Angeles chef who was inspired by yaki onigiri. While the dish does require a number of steps and is best eaten right when it’s made, you can break up the work by cooking the rice and seasoning the salmon with lemon zest and jalapeño up to 24 hours ahead. (In fact, the results will be better if you do.) Right before serving, slice and fry the blocks and top with the salmon and avocado. These gorgeous two-bite treats make an excellent party hors d'oeuvres or full dinner with a cucumber salad.
Marry Me Chicken
This cozy dish, which went viral on TikTok with claims that if you prepare it for someone, you will end up getting married, features boneless chicken breasts nestled in a creamy, tomato-y sauce. With wedding bells in mind or not, this dish comes together fairly quickly and is just as great for entertaining as it is for a family meal. In this version, the addition of tomato paste adds a bright acidity to the rich cream sauce and complements the sun-dried tomatoes. Serve with crusty bread to sop up all the juices as well as tangy green salad to balance out the sauce’s richness. Or, try it over pasta, rice or polenta.
Roasted Pepper Antipasto
A simple, pretty appetizer, this antipasto can be served in individual portions or as part of a buffet table. Roast your own in-season peppers for the best flavor, and spring for top-quality anchovies.
Fish in Tomato-Basil Broth
Steamed in a savory tomato broth, the fish in this easy recipe remains exceptionally moist. For the best results, use a white-fleshed fish, like cod, striped bass or halibut. Any extra broth is great to have on hand: Make this dinner, and you'll also get about a quart of chilled soup for lunch.
Plum Crostata
This showstopping Italian-style fruit tart nestles juicy ripe plums — any type, or substitute apricots — into a sweet pastry shell. This recipe makes enough for two crusts: Save the second in the freezer so you can make a second tart any time you like.
Pigs in a Blanket
Mini hotdogs tucked into flaky and tender store-bought crescent rolls are equal parts retro, nostalgia and comfort wrapped into one bite-size bundle. Homemade pigs in a blanket are an evergreen party staple and a cinch to make. If you can’t find cocktail-size wieners, you can simply cut half a dozen regular hotdogs into 1 1/2 inch-long pieces and use those. Serve with your favorite condiments, like honey mustard or ketchup. This is a snack that never falls out of favor.
Kosua ne Meko (Eggs With Pepper Relish)
A hard-boiled egg split slightly down the middle and stuffed with a chunky tomato relish, kosua ne meko is a quick Ghanaian snack sold by street vendors. Classic versions include hard-boiled eggs that have been cured by dredging them shell-on through dampened salt a day before. The relish, referred to as “raw pepper,” can taste different depending on the vendor, but it always has crushed tomatoes, red onions and chiles. For home cooks, this can be a simple dish made quickly (or ahead) to share broadly — at the beach, a picnic, an afternoon cocktail party or a potluck brunch. An asanka, a small mortar and pestle with a rough interior, is used to prepare the raw pepper, but a food processor can also step in. Simply salting the egg before adding the relish, or after, can at least hint at the salt-dredging technique.
Panna Cotta
Though panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italian, this pudding-like dessert actually spends very little time on the stove. Gelatin and sugar are dissolved in warm milk before being mixed with heavy cream and vanilla, then poured into ramekins to chill and set. Surprisingly simple and ideal to make in advance, this recipe makes a traditional vanilla-flavored panna cotta that can be dressed up any number of ways, with fresh berries or diced stone fruit, raspberry sauce or fruit caramel. Serve directly from the ramekins for a more casual dessert, or unmold the panna cottas for an impressive and elegant end to any meal.
Frozen Watermelon Daiquiris
Fresh watermelon juice is one of summer’s most refreshing treats, and is arguably even more of a treat when used to make specialty summer cocktails. Its fresh, sweet flavor pairs well with everything from vodka to tequila to gin, and, in this case, white rum. Inspired by the ingredients in a classic daiquiri, this recipe uses frozen cubes of watermelon in place of ice for a potent, full-flavored drink. Along with freshly squeezed lime juice, a generous pour of rum and a splash of simple syrup to round things out, this is the ultimate summer party cocktail. If you think to freeze some watermelon ahead of time, you can have a pitcher of watermelon daiquiris ready in ten minutes, any day you like.
Michelada
A classic Michelada means different things to different people but its core ingredients remain constant: cold beer, lime, salt. Serve the beer-based cocktail as is, over ice, in a chilled glass rimmed with salt or adapt from there to your preferred Michelada by adding a litany of condiments such as: Worcestershire sauce (or salsa inglesa), hot sauce, Maggi seasoning, and Clamato or tomato juice, or both. If you like, switch out the salt rim for a Tajín rim.