Last weekend, I made a purchase that I'm pretty sure will change the way I serve cheese forever.

When I decided to host a casual yet elegant weekend brunch for my book club, I knew immediately that the main dish would be a quiche. For me, quiche is the ultimate special brunch treat, combining flaky, buttery crust with a rich yet light egg custard studded with flavorful mix-ins — in this case, sweet roasted cherry tomatoes, fragrant basil and tangy bits of goat cheese. And while it seems like a lot of work, most of the prep can be done ahead of time, leaving you with plenty of time to get dressed and relax on the morning of the party.

When it comes to easy and crowd-pleasing appetizers, cream cheese will always have your back. Spread it on toast bites and top with sliced radishes for an elegant hors d'oeuvre or warm it up with beans and spices for a party dip. Whatever the scene, whatever your need, cream cheese is your willing and able ally in the appetizer department.

Every dip, like every food, has a season. So if warm, oozy baked brie is just the thing for winter, what's the best dip to serve come spring? Well, it should be cool and refreshing, and desperately crying for the attention of some crunchy, fresh from the farmers' market crudité. This creamy Parmesan dip — an ode to Caesar dressing — does just that, and more! 

Butter makes everything better. So it stands to reason that flavored butter would make everything even more better. Times infinity. Judging by the butters Lucy Vaserfirer offers in this new cookbook, I'd say this logic definitely holds true. Chipotle butter for your grilled steak? Honey-orange butter for your muffin? We have just entered buttery nirvana.

When throwing a dinner party I invariably relax as the night goes on, but those initial moments can rank high on the stress meter. That's why I like to have an appetizer ready to go, something simple that I don't have to worry about too much. This goat cheese spread from BBC Good Food fits the bill — it's so pretty yet easy to make and serve. 

Q: We go through a fair amount of cheese at our house, and recently we started freezing the rinds. I know that we can simmer these in tomato sauce to give a nice flavor, and we've done that, but the problem is we go through WAY more cheese than we make homemade tomato sauce. 

A few years ago my friend Haley requested an "icebox cake" as his birthday dessert of choice. He (yes, he) described a towering black and white confection of stacks upon stacks of chocolate layers nestled between blankets of snowy-white whipped cream. I was excited at the very thought of mastering this mysteriously named "icebox cake." And then I Googled it...

Appetizer ruts happen much like any other rut. And they happen for a reason: we're creatures of habit. I know what I like to have around the house, and I'm in the routine of stocking up on good cheese, crackers and olives at the store. But for evenings when something more exciting is called for: baked ricotta is often the answer. 

Does reading "fold the egg whites into the batter" strike fear into your heart? So many recipes take it for granted that we know how to do this basic technique, but in reality, "folding" batter isn't exactly the easiest idea to grasp. This is why we're taking a three-pronged approach to showing you exactly how it's done: detailed written instructions, a photo gallery, and a short video. No more fear! After today, you can add a new technique to your repertoire of kitchen skills. More