Snack
993 recipes found
Cheese Crackers
Cheddar crackers. Cheese wafers. Coins, biscuits, straws and crisps. Known by many names and claimed by many grandmothers, they are all the same, delicious thing: a savory, addictive, shortbread cookie. The key to any short dough — that distinctive tender sandy crumbly texture — is the high fat-to-flour ratio, and this version not only relies on butter but also counts on the delicious fats that come from sesame seeds, block Cheddar and even the oil from the pecans. For a remarkable distinction among the many, many versions of these to be found, toast them until just passing golden into brown, and see how that in itself sets these apart.
Caviar Sandwich
I now prefer the caviar sandwich to all other more classic presentations at the holidays. All that caviar crammed into a sandwich makes me feel giddy and extravagant and very lucky to be alive the second I set eyes on it. Context is everything; what I could reasonably splurge for would feel forlorn if showcased on a proper silver trolley atop a mound of shaved ice with a mother-of-pearl spoon at the ready on its nearby velvet pillow, but here, by contrast, in the context of a lowly sandwich, it feels as decadent as if I were eating caviar straight out of the tin, like a midnight pint of ice cream. Buy the caviar you most prefer from a retailer you trust the most—the most expensive may by no means necessarily be your favorite-- and see if this luscious sandwich doesn’t make you feel pretty giddy, too.
Baked Carrot Cake Doughnuts
Lightly spiced and crowned with a tangy cream cheese glaze, these doughnuts are, quite simply, carrot cake baked into doughnut-shaped molds for a cuter, handheld form. (The batter could also be baked in greased mini-muffin or standard muffin tins; adjust the cooking time accordingly and bake until golden.) The floral sweetness of the golden raisins works well with the earthy carrots, but feel free to swap in your favorite chopped nuts instead. These come together in minutes without a mixer, and can be on your table within an hour. Like most doughnuts, they’re best enjoyed the day they’re made.
Galettes Complètes (Buckwheat Crepes)
If you can make pancakes for breakfast, you can certainly make crepes for dinner. These savory ones from Brittany — which use buckwheat flour and are filled with Gruyère cheese, ham and egg — are nutty, earthy and incredibly satisfying any time of day. Loosen the batter, if needed, using beer, water or hard cider; it all works equally well. Once you get the hang of the tilt and swirl, you can have your family fed in minutes, and unlike those nerve-shredded times when you brightly declare “It’s breakfast for dinner, kids!” — which children everywhere know is a sign that something is wrong for Mom — this is one instance where you can announce it, and mean it: Everything is actually alright. Galettes complètes are meant to be a meal.
Chopped Herb Salad With Farro
This dish is modeled on a Middle Eastern tabouli. Add just one cup of cooked farro or spelt to a generous mix of chopped parsley, mint, arugula and other herbs like basil or dill. Notice that I’m calling this dish a chopped herb salad with farro and not a farro salad with chopped herbs. It’s modeled on an authentic Middle Eastern tabouli, which should be all about the parsley, with just a small amount of bulgur. I add just one cup of cooked farro or spelt to a generous mix of chopped parsley, mint, arugula and other herbs like basil or dill. There are also chopped tomatoes in the mix, all of it tossed with lemon juice and olive oil.
Marinated Cauliflower and Carrots With Mint
This is an elaboration of one of my favorite carrot dishes. That dish couldn’t be simpler – steamed carrots tossed with sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt and fresh mint. It is good at room temperature or warm, as a starter or a side dish. I added steamed cauliflower to the mix but made no other changes to the formula. The cauliflower, which always loves a vinegar marinade, is a wonderful addition, very compatible with the carrots and pretty, too. The dish is great for a buffet as it only gets better as it sits. The dish is particularly beautiful if you use different colored carrots.
Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate sauce is easy to make, but it’s a good idea to do so in a double boiler, which eliminates the possibility of accidentally burning the sauce. If you don’t have a double boiler, improvise one by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Use high quality dark chocolate, not generic “baker’s chocolate,” for the best results.
Chicken Wings With Guajillo Anchovy Sauce
At Ducks Eatery in the East Village, the chef, Will Horowitz, believes in the bar snack as a maximum-detonation flavor bomb. And he’ll go to great lengths to achieve that: Many of the dishes at Ducks, including the restaurant's wings, shown here, depend on labor-intensive rounds of fermenting and smoking. For our version of the recipe, though, we asked him to reel in the effort without cutting back on the flavor. Think of the result (which involves anchovy fillets, Thai fish sauce, guajillo chiles, ancho chiles and ground chamomile) as a stealth way to sneak ambitious gastronomy into your next Super Bowl party.
Salmon Rillettes
A light but rich tasting spread made with fresh and smoked salmon. This is my adaptation of David Lebovitz’s adaptation of Susan Loomis’s salmon rillettes, a recipe that I have been wanting to make for years. A more buttery version is in Susan Loomis’s wonderful book “Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin,” and on David Lebovitz’s eponymous website. David uses a mixture of steamed fresh salmon and smoked salmon, and I have followed suit, changing the proportions slightly. I used much less butter – 1 tablespoon, and a tablespoon each of olive oil and crème fraîche, as well as some Greek yogurt, and I still came up with a mixture that I can call rillettes. You can serve the spread with sliced bread or crackers, spoon onto endive leaves, cucumber rounds or squares of red and green pepper, or use as a filling for miniature bell peppers. You can also substitute these salmon rillettes for the smoked trout rillettes in the recipe for “Lentils With Smoked Trout Rillettes” from earlier this week. As always, use a fork, not a food processor, to make this.
Lemony Roasted Chicken Wings
These meaty out-of-the-ordinary roasted wings are infused with lots of lemon, garlic and rosemary, then roasted on a bed of fingerling potatoes. Use a large roasting pan that's at least 3 inches deep, or a big earthenware gratin dish, or a couple of Pyrex lasagna pans side by side. The lemony chicken and potatoes are delicious hot and crisp, but just as good at cool room temperature.
Savory Babka With Ricotta and Herbs
This cheese-filled bread has the same soft, rich dough of a traditional babka, but instead of being filled with cinnamon or chocolate, it has an herb-speckled, garlic-scented ricotta swirled throughout. Some optional chopped ham or olives give the bread an even saltier tang, but you can leave it out for something milder. Leftover babka makes excellent toast or — if you want to take it to another level of gooeyness — grilled cheese sandwiches.
Cacio e Pepe Crackers
These quick, easy crackers are a crispy twist on the classic pasta dish, and an excellent cocktail hour snack. Rolling the freshly made dough between sheets of parchment expedites chilling, then cutting crackers with a pastry wheel (or pizza cutter) reduces waste. Do grate your own cheese for this instead of using store-bought, pre-grated cheese, as it plays an integral role in making the dough moist. These cheesy crackers can be kept simple, allowing cheese and pepper to dominate, or gussied up with any combination of onion powder, ground mustard or garlic powder, depending on your preference. This recipe makes a large batch, but the crackers will keep for up to one month, depending on your snack habits.
Jalapeño Jangjorim With Jammy Eggs
Jangjorim is a Korean dish of soy sauce-braised meat, often studded with pulled eye of round (sometimes sold as “jangjorim meat” at Korean grocery stores), hard-boiled eggs and wrinkly kkwarigochu (shishito peppers), which are mild enough to eat whole. This version, inspired by my mother’s recipe, uses eggs that are just boiled enough that they’ll peel easily and the yolks will remain fudgy. In place of the shishitos are fat, juicy jalapeños, adding a welcome freshness and fruity heat. And the beef is brisket, shredded into long, pleasurably chewy strands, which soak up the umami-rich soy sauce brine. As a banchan, this dish is an ideal accompaniment to a bowl of fresh white rice. Any leftover sauce you might have is a large part of the joy of making jangjorim: It tastes fabulous when soaked into rice with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, or as a sweet, saline base for soba noodles.
Smoked Sardines Rillettes
Canned smoked sardines are easy to come by, and if you eat fish (especially if you are trying to find ways to eat more fatty fish because of their high omega-3 values), they should be a staple in your pantry. Look for Pacific sardines, which are a Best Choice on the Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch list. (Atlantic and Mediterranean are poor choices.) Like the other rillettes posted on this week’s Recipes for Health, you can use these as a spread for bread or crackers, or as a filling for peppers or endive leaves or cherry tomatoes. The rillettes also go well with lentils, like the smoked trout rillettes featured earlier this week. The crème fraîche is optional but recommended (you could substitute olive oil or yogurt); I like the way it loosens and enriches the mixture.
Fried Guacamole
The fried guacamole that Angelo Sosa serves at Abajo, his tequila bar, reminded me of the fried ice cream served at some Chinese restaurants. It’s creamy, crunchy and cool on the inside. It’s easier than you might think and it makes for a nice tidbit to enjoy with a drink, or as a first course with a salad. You can prepare the guacamole and freeze it early in the day, leaving only the frying for the last minute. The fritters can also be kept warm in a 150 degree oven for at least 30 minutes.
Japanese Beef and Rice Soup
When the chef Marco Canora was told to cut back on coffee, soda, wine and beer for health reasons, he found himself sipping cups of broth from the stockpots at his restaurant, Hearth, instead. Soon he had designed an entire system of healthful eating (and drinking) around the stuff. This soup, wintry but light, is a satisfying example. At Brodo, a takeout window that he opened in 2013, a to-go cup of broth can be customized in as many ways as an espresso at Starbucks — with ginger juice, mushroom tea and other aromatics and add-ons. This is easy to pull off at home, too.
Dark Chocolate Flan With Pumpkinseed Praline
A light and fluffy flan seasoned with chile, cinnamon and anise, and topped with a filigree of pepita praline (just hulled pumpkinseeds mixed with caramel). This is dinner party pudding at its zenith.
Whole-Banana Bread
There are a lot of flavors beyond banana hanging out in this loaf: coconut, chocolate, tahini and almond extract. They get along so well that you end up with something that tastes notably better than almost any other banana bread you’ve had before. It’s cocoa-rich, nutty and not too sweet. Using the whole fruit — both banana flesh and peel — punches up the banana flavor, but doesn’t overshadow the other notes. Nadiya Hussain’s recipe offers numerous substitutions; you could play up nutty notes by opting for almond butter and almond milk, or swap in olive oil in place of coconut oil. The recipe inspires infinite permutations.
Coconut Caramels
Making your own candy may seem daunting, but time and attention are all you need. This recipe calls for two sugars: granulated, which provides the base for your caramel, and an inverted sugar, corn syrup, which stabilizes and keeps the caramel from crystalizing. The line between soft-chewy and hard candy is a delicate one, so a candy thermometer is recommended for precision. Ginger and cardamom will add a nice zing, but lean into other warm spices, such as cinnamon, black pepper or chili powder, if that’s what you have on hand. A final coat of toasted, finely shredded coconut lends an almost buttery crunch, and prevents the pieces from sticking. Wrap up individually if you have the time: These are made for sharing and can be frozen for up to a month.
Cucumbers With Labneh and Cherries
This recipe comes from Kismet, the chef Sara Kramer's restaurant in Los Angeles. There, the labneh is made in-house, providing an advantage that can never quite be overcome at home. Still, buy the best labneh you can find. This recipe calls for cherries, but any stone fruit can work: apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines. The slight pickle intensifies the fresh fruit, the taste of summer. The Persian cucumbers can be cut on the bias, as specified here, or sliced thinly on a mandoline.
Fennel ‘Quick Kimchi’
This is not a traditional kimchi, but it approximates the flavor profile, bypassing a lengthier fermentation and instead relying on vinegar. In Korea, this dish would be considered a muchim, which can refer to any number of “seasoned” or “dressed” salads or other preparations. That also means you can eat it right away, though this fennel kimchi will keep up to two or three days before losing its crunch. Admittedly, fennel is not a traditional ingredient in kimchi, but its gentle aniseed flavor provides a clean landing pad for the spicy dressing, which leans on pantry stalwarts like gochugaru, sesame oil and fish sauce. Enjoy this as a hearty salad alongside fish, pork chops or any main dish that could use a fresh accompaniment. For a vegetarian option, you can swap out the fish sauce for soy sauce.
Matzo Brei with Caramelized Apples
This recipe is adapted from the restaurant Jane in downtown New York. There, the chef Glenn Harris offers a matzo brei that is an expanded version of his mother's. Mr. Harris's mother, in Brooklyn, made sweet matzo brei with honey or jelly, or matzo meal pancakes the size of silver dollars sprinkled with sugar. His version is much more elaborate, with cubes of caramelized apples, a vanilla-honey sauce and mascarpone.
Chocolate Snacking Cake With Tangerine Glaze
This moist, darkly bittersweet snacking cake is easily mixed with a whisk. Using a neutral oil rather than butter allows the chocolate flavor to shine, and gives the crumb an especially velvety texture under a sweet-tart glaze. You can use any kind of orange for the topping. Tangerines and mandarins (including clementines) are bright and spicy, but regular navel or juice oranges work just as well. Or if you can find blood oranges, the glaze will take on a pinkish hue and a sweeter, richer flavor.
Roasted Macadamia Butter
Macadamia nuts have the highest level of monounsaturated fats, but they are also expensive, since the macadamia tree only produces nuts after seven to 10 years. Making your own nut butter ensures that it contains just nuts — and none of the sugar or hydrogenated oils that some brands include. The roasted macadamia nuts are central to this butter, but try blending in pitted medjool dates for a little sweetness or folding in toasted coconut flakes for a tropical flavor. Spoon this macadamia nut butter over warm pancakes or waffles, or whisk a spoonful of the nut butter into salad dressings to add depth.