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404 recipes found
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Strata
The classic bacon, egg and cheese sandwich is turned into a crowd-pleasing breakfast strata. Chunks of sandwich rolls are soaked in a chive and egg mix, then topped with thick slabs of bacon and grated Cheddar, then baked in the oven until soft and fluffy inside and melty and crispy on top. Halfway into baking, whole eggs are nestled into the top of the strata then baked until perfectly set, for a runny yolk that, for some, is crucial to any good B.E.C. Fresh chives are sprinkled on the strata before serving, plus a splash of hot sauce, if that's your thing. The strata can be prepared and refrigerated a day in advance, then baked right before serving.
Cheese Puff
Cheese puff is a scene-stealing side dish in which gooey grilled cheese meets cloudlike soufflé, defining itself as the ultimate comfort food. White bread, salted butter and cheese get bound together by a simple egg-and-milk mixture that coalesces these humble ingredients into a savory bread pudding. Stale bread works best for this recipe, as it absorbs the milk mixture better, but if you’re using fresh sandwich bread, simply dry it out in a low oven for about 10 minutes until stale to the touch (but not browned). Don’t be alarmed if your cheese puff deflates when you take it from the oven, as it’s normal and makes for a more custardy bite. While sharp Cheddar is a key component, any mix of firm, well-melting cheese, such as Gruyère, Gouda or provolone, will work nicely.
Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms
One of nature’s miracles is that mushroom caps make a perfect vessel for stuffing. They are most commonly stuffed with a simple mix of bread crumbs, butter and herbs. Beyond that, there are many ways to sweeten the pot, like these crab-stuffed mushrooms. They are easy to make using canned crab meat (though you can use leftover crab or lump crab meat if you like), garlic, fresh herbs, Parmesan, panko and just enough cream cheese to bring everything together and add tang. The flavor of the crab is the star of the show and it nicely compliments the juicy, earthy flavor of the mushrooms. Feel free to swap in crushed butter crackers for panko or use hot sauce instead of Worcestershire for some heat. Whatever you do, don’t skip the squeeze of lemon juice for a perfect hit of brightness before eating.
Eggnog Pudding
When it comes to luxurious holiday beverages, eggnog really takes the cake. Or in this case, the pudding. It’s no surprise that thick, creamy eggnog makes an equally thick and creamy pudding with hardly any effort. Store-bought eggnog is mixed with whole milk to balance out its richness and nutmeg is added for an extra hit of nostalgic spice. Rum or rum extract can be added at the very end to lift spirits even higher. This is a perfect recipe to place on your holiday dessert table for guests, or to use up any lingering eggnog in the fridge after the party has ended. It can be topped with any accessories you desire, such as crushed gingersnaps, cinnamon whipped cream or simply an extra dash of nutmeg.
Caviar Pie
This retro dish looks spectacular and stretches a few ounces of caviar or other fish roe so you can feed a crowd (plus, it goes great with icy martinis and chilled champagne). It's not literally a pie but rather a layered stack of all the best things to eat with caviar: minced hard-boiled egg held together with melted butter, diced peppery shallots, and cream cheese blended with sour cream and chives. With so much going on, you can opt for an inexpensive caviar, paddlefish roe, trout roe or even tobiko. For the cleanest look, set the components in a ring mold. However, you can also layer everything in a shallow bowl or freeform onto a plate. Have fun and serve it with anything crunchy, like potato chips, flavored tortilla chips, radishes and endive.
Rum Cake
An old-fashioned family favorite, this buttery, moist rum cake is made even richer with a soak of butter, sugar and rum. Orange zest in that glaze then gives it an additional burst of flavor, making it extra special – the kind of cake that breaks out of the holiday mold and gets served at every gathering to come.
Miso-Marinated Pork Roast
This pork roast tastes and smells like the holidays, savory with the scent of rosemary, cozy with a caramelized crust and warming with black pepper. Even though the marinade has only four ingredients, the finished roast has the wow factor of a restaurant dish. The best part about this centerpiece? You can’t mess it up. And though the accompanying cranberry sauce is optional, it brings a welcome fruity tang and pop of red to the table. The sauce can be made up to a week ahead of time and the pork can be marinated the morning you plan to roast it.
Hot Honey Baked Sweet Potatoes
Goat cheese and honey are a tried-and-true dream flavor pairing, but goat-cheese whipped cream and hot honey turn simple baked sweet potatoes into a veritable party. The combination of rosemary and nuts atop these plush orange babies is reminiscent of bar nuts.
Caramelized Kimchi Baked Potatoes
In this otherwise classic baked potato, kimchi is stepping in for bacon. It’s cooked down in a hot pan with butter and sesame oil to mellow its sharp, tangy edges while concentrating its salty savoriness. A pinch of sugar, though optional, helps the kimchi caramelize. Piled high on a fluffy baked potato, the umami-rich kimchi tastes fabulous with melted extra-sharp Cheddar and cooling sour cream. With such simple ingredients, it helps to really pile them on for maximum flavor impact.
Aglio e Olio Baked Potatoes
The classic Italian combination of aglio e olio (garlic and oil) finds a melodic expression in these Parmesan-festooned baked potatoes. Underneath the fluffy mounds of cheese is garlicky mayonnaise, which, when stirred into a hot pillowy spud, brings a comforting reminder of potato salad. In this recipe, it’s the little things that make a big flavor impact: Use fresh parsley or chives, crushed red pepper that smells fruity and looks jewel-bright, black peppercorns that you’ve toasted and cracked yourself (if you have the patience) and a flavorful extra-virgin olive oil that’s bold, bright or peppery. As in the simple but impactful pasta dish aglio e olio, these baked potatoes pack the biggest punch when each piece plays its part.
No-Bake Cheesecake
As its name suggests, this creamy no-bake cheesecake indulges your dessert cravings without the need to turn on the oven. If you find baking a traditional cheesecake daunting, this version comes together without having to fuss with a hot water bath, or worry about the finished cheesecake cracking. For the crust, graham crackers are combined with butter and brown sugar, with the food processor doing all the work for you. A combination of cream cheese, sour cream and whipped cream makes for a lighter, more airy cheesecake that holds its structure. To ensure the filling is smooth with no lumps, start with very soft bricks of cream cheese, removing them from the fridge at least 2 hours before making the filling. Give the cheesecake 24 hours to chill and set; your future self will thank you for it as you slice into it. Serve simply as is, or top with fresh fruit and additional whipped cream, if you like.
Mulled White Wine
This lighter, brighter take on mulled wine is both festive and modern, made with white wine rather than the more traditional red. The mulling spices stray away from the expected baking variety and include toasted coriander seeds, black peppercorns, fennel, allspice and bay. Blanc vermouth, elderflower liqueur and honey gently sweeten and layer flavors, while a final addition of lime juice adds a fresh pop of acidity.
Mulled Beer
Flipping the idea of a cold one on its head, mulled beer is served hot and infused with fragrant warming spices — cinnamon, allspice, clove and star anise — with maple syrup for sweetness, Cognac for fortification and orange (in both peel and juice form) for brightness. The resulting drink is festive and warming, ideal for cold weather celebrations. When choosing a beer to mull, reach for something that isn’t too bitter or hoppy, such as a Belgian-style wheat ale (witbier), Hefeweizen or a low-hop amber ale.
Pistachio Martini
In Boston’s North End, the pistachio martini is a common menu item, made with pistachio liqueur and vanilla vodka and then garnished with chopped pistachios. The origins are hard to pin down, but many believe the cocktail came about because of Boston’s strict liquor laws, which often inspire mixologists to get creative with flavored liqueurs. This recipe is based on the pistachio martini served at Caffé Vittoria, open since 1929, and it embraces the best parts of a pistachio dessert: rich and creamy, with plenty of bold pistachio flavor that’s accented by vanilla. Serve this at the end of a holiday dinner party as dessert in festive martini glasses that can hold at least 5 or 6 ounces.
Baked Brie Puffs With Chile Crisp
This flaky, creamy, sweet and spicy appetizer shrinks baked brie into single-bite, snackable sandwiches. (It’s hard to eat fewer than five.) They’re made by filling small squares of seeded puff pastry with a combination of Brie, raspberry preserves and chile crisp. The assembly is repetitive but not difficult — enlist friends to help, and they can be made up to 1 hour ahead of serving. If you want to serve the puffs warm, stick them in the oven for just a minute or two until the brie is gooey. If you have extra filling, add more to the puffs or save it to spread on tomorrow’s turkey sandwich. If you have extra puffs, eat them on their own as crackers.
Parmesan and Crispy Prosciutto Tower
Add drama to appetizer hour by making a tower of crispy prosciutto, Parmesan and crackers. Here, the crackers are made of puff pastry triangles sprinkled with black pepper, rosemary and sage leaves, then baked into herbaceous, flaky wafers. Shingle the crackers, oven-crisped prosciutto and Parmesan shavings into a tower, as if you were playing a delicious game of Jenga, but reduce the number of crackers each round so it peaks to one or two crackers at the top. Light in feel but hefty in flavor, with pops of salt, herbs and black pepper, this tower is exactly what you want from cheese and crackers, but in an altogether new, eye-catching format.
Ginger-Scallion Squiggles
Crunchy, flaky and aromatic with ginger and scallion, these squiggles are a fun twist (pun intended) on the classic cheese straw. Instead of cheese, these puff pastry appetizers are studded with ginger, scallions, nori, peanuts and red pepper flakes — and instead of straight sticks, they’re curved and curled to make snake-like squiggles. Serve them at your next cocktail party, as an afternoon snack to visitors or as an appetizer before a bigger meal. They’re the most crisp the day they’re made, but can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day.
White Bean Dip With Cumin-Chile Oil
This silky white bean dip has a crowd-pleasing, hummus-like appeal, but it’s seasoned with toasted cumin, lemon zest and chile flakes instead of tahini. Drizzling warm cumin oil over the top brings out the earthy flavor of the beans and adds a richness that makes the dip even more velvety. You can make the dip up to five days ahead (store it in the fridge), but don’t add the cumin oil until right before serving for the most pronounced contrast of flavors and textures.
Halloumi-Stuffed Sweet Peppers
Mini peppers make adorable, colorful wrappers for cheese in this sweet and savory recipe that’s extremely easy to make. Just stuff the diminutive peppers with chunks of cheese (halloumi, or paneer also works), some garlic and herbs, then roast until they collapse into soft, caramelized heaps filled with salty, not-quite melted cheese. You can serve these on crostini or lettuce to make festive finger food, or plop them on salads, rice dishes, eggs or beans.
Loaded Focaccia
Beautiful to behold, fun to eat and a snap to make, these loaded focaccias are like charcuterie boards, but with an edible base. You can use any kind of flatbread to make them, but thick pieces of focaccia work particularly well, holding their own against whatever is on top. The key here is to choose a few toppings that work well together, like figs or persimmons, blue cheese and walnuts, or Parmesan, arugula, salami and pepperoncini. Or, use one combination of ingredients for one side of the focaccia and another for the other side. Just bear in mind that keeping things simple will look and taste the most harmonious.
Nutella Tres Leches Cake
The dreamy, moist dessert is surprisingly light and airy thanks to the chocolate sponge cake. Cocoa powder bloomed in hot coffee gives the cake a rich, deep chocolatey flavor. Traditionally, tres leches cakes are made with a vanilla cake soaked with condensed and evaporated milks and heavy cream or whole milk. In this lush chocolate version, we replaced the condensed milk with chocolate hazelnut spread and whisked that into evaporated and whole milks and heavy cream for a big hit of chocolate and hazelnut flavor. The cake gets finished with a delicious and light chocolate hazelnut whipped cream with chocolate sprinkles.
Saltfish Fritters
A festive fixture in the Caribbean, these fritters — which are sometimes referred to as stamp and go in Jamaica — are fun to eat, relatively easy to make and best served piping hot. The rewards for a direct line from pan to plate are crispy edges and fluffy, chewy centers, thanks to a little lift from baking powder. For entertaining success, prepare the salt cod and seasoning ahead of time, and then simply mix and fry the batter as guests arrive. If possible, use coconut oil for frying to add an additional layer of tropical aroma. Serve fritters as is, or with a spicy dipping sauce like pepper sauce.
Paneer Pakoray (Paneer Fritters)
Paneer, a mild and firm cheese widely used throughout South Asia and beyond, makes the perfect base for this salty, spicy snack or starter. The addition of rice flour to the batter for these bite-size fritters makes for an extra crispy coating. Chaat masala, a funky, umami-rich spice blend readily available at Indian grocers, adds notes of sour mango and earthy cumin — perhaps the defining flavors of this ultimate fried cheese snack. Homemade or store-bought paneer works for this recipe, although the latter tends to vary in consistency. If the variety available is on the firmer side, soak the cubes in warm water for 10 minutes and drain before using. Serve with store-bought or homemade mint or mango chutney.
Espagueti Verde (Creamy Roasted Poblano Pasta)
At weddings, baptisms and other special occasions across Mexico, pots of spaghetti coated in creamy green sauce sit on most every banquet table. Smoky with charred peppers and tangy with crema, it’s the dish everyone loves. Throughout the country, the herbs in it change — there may be epazote, cilantro or parsley — but there are always roasted poblanos. Traditionally, the chiles are pureed into a sauce to coat the pasta, but you can skip that step to highlight even more of their flavor and texture. Cream, Mexican crema and queso fresco temper any lingering heat and round out the whole dish to a tangy finish.