Appetizer

Game-changing two-minute pita chip hack? I’m seated.

From Polish pierogi and Italian ravioli to Japanese gyoza and Korean mandu, dumplings are universal comfort food. Even though there are as many variations as there are eaters, the classic Chinese dumpling is filled with a ground pork and garlic chive base to which cabbage, scallions, and black mushrooms can be added.

This should be in heavy rotation.

Bon appétit!

Lumpia Shanghai is a popular Filipino spring roll that’s traditionally filled with ground pork, onions, garlic and/or vegetables and shallow-fried in a skillet, giving it a light, crisp exterior.It’s the first thing the kids line up for, patiently waiting for the aunties to be done frying so they can cram a piping-hot lumpia into their mouths. I’m guilty of piling my plate up with lumpia only and eating as much as I can, not really caring about who doesn’t get any.

Whether we’re talking about date night at home or a quick weeknight meal, it doesn’t get much better than a giant bowl of steamed mussels. This dish has the kind of easy elegance and immediate gratification that I look for in both cases. Today, I’m sharing my favorite, most basic method for quickly steaming a batch of mussels. It’s simple — just mussels steamed with broth and white wine — but oh so very good!

A perfectly cooked beef tenderloin is truly a sight to behold. The delectable cut often made special-occasion appearances when I was growing up, but Easter Sunday and its rosy-hued tenderloin tea sandwiches was always a holiday favorite.After early church and egg hunts in our finest spring whites, my family would race home to enjoy my mother’s fabulous Southern spread.

More space for toppings.

Have you ever tried making your own crackers? Your very own crispy, crunchy, seed-topped crackers? My recommendation: try it. Definitely. Crackers are surprisingly easy to make at home with just five basic ingredients, a rolling pin, and a baking sheet. There is no kneading required nor yeast needed; just mix the dough for a minute, then roll, cut, and bake it.This recipe is pretty near fool-proof. I’ve made them with all white flour and with a 50/50 mix of white and whole wheat.

The dressing simply can’t be "beet."

Eating fancy at home has never been so easy.

A little yeehaw in every bite.

Guaranteed to be gone in minutes.

At every I-10 or I-49 gas station in Louisiana, you’ll find boudin laid out on roller grills and in display cases. They’re as easily accessible as Slim Jims, and for good reason: Boudin is Louisiana’s version of a snacking sausage that stuffs an entire meal into a single casing. There’s tender boiled pork, chicken liver, fluffy rice, diced veggies, and Cajun aromatics.

Dinner party plans stressing you out? Puff pastry cheese straws are here for you. These crispy, flaky, cheesy twists require just two ingredients and a few minutes of your time, and yet they deliver big — real big — out on the buffet table. Make puff pastry cheese straws for your next holiday party or serve them with cocktails for happy hour at home.These cheese straws are really an equal-opportunity appetizer. They go just as well with a glass of wine or a pint of beer.

If you struggle to get your guests out of the kitchen while you’re focusing on the roast turkey and Thanksgiving stuffing and are desperate for no distractions, I suggest you casually place a platter of these deviled eggs in the room you’d like your family and friends to gather in. I guarantee they’ll be like bees to honey, fleeing your workspace and helping you to not freak out in the eleventh hour.

It's the flexible soup of your dreams.

One is never enough.

Bonus: It’s so easy.

Baked brie in puff pastry takes “rich and luxurious” to a whole new level. Add a few friends and some good tunes playing in the background, and you’ve got yourself a bonafide party situation. When I make this appetizer as part of a big holiday gathering or for a cocktail party with lots of other nibbles, I often like to bake it in a pie plate instead of on a baking sheet.

Any time there’s an occasion for appetizers, be it game day, New Year’s Eve, a backyard cookout, or a fancy cocktail party, my husband’s go-to is pigs in a blanket. And last year, after years of simply buying a box from the freezer aisle, I decided to try my hand at making them myself. So, I grabbed a can of crescent roll dough (hello, buttery, flaky goodness!) and a package of mini cocktail sausages and got to work. And you know what I learned?

Bonus: There’s only 5 minutes of prep.

Better than the OG.

Creamy, dreamy, fluffy hummus is 10 minutes away.

It’s easy to get caught up in planning the big Thanksgiving dinner and your dessert spread, so here’s your friendly reminder to not forget the appetizers. Because a pre-dinner nibble or two of something tasty is always a good idea (especially when partnered with a Thanksgiving cocktail!). As for what to make, we’re firm believers that Thanksgiving appetizers should look and taste totally impressive, but be shockingly easy to pull off.

Pronounced poh-taazh, potage is a fancy term for a thick and comforting soup cooked in a pot. Typically, it also infers that the soup is made of vegetables and is puréed until smooth. Like many French dishes, it originates from peasants and farmers who were using the ingredients they had available — in this case, any mix of vegetables. Potage is often enriched at the end with some kind of dairy.

As the days get longer and the weather warms up, my excitement for zucchini season grows. I love zucchini in any and all forms; whether they’re grilled, added to pasta, or shredded into savory pancakes.But my absolute favorite way to enjoy zucchini is when it’s breaded and fried into crisp, golden-brown batons. There’s just something about the crunchy outside contrasting against the tender zucchini center that can’t be beat.

It's caprese's hearty cousin.

Ruby-red tomatoes may be the crown jewel of summer, but I say that fried green tomatoes are the season’s unsung hero. Turn stubbornly unripe green tomatoes into a crunchy Southern specialty. You can make the ultimate fried green tomatoes by dipping in tangy buttermilk, coating in cornmeal, and then frying until golden. Once you taste them warm with a spicy remoulade sauce, you may never wait for tomatoes to ripen again. These fried green tomatoes are extra crispy.

It’s so delicious.

Gotta love salad on a stick!

It's the no-cook dish of my dreams.

For all the times I have ordered chicken lettuce wraps at restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, inhaled entire “appetizers” by myself, and sighed with happiness while licking sticky sauce from my fingers, it never once occurred to me to try making this dish at home. Partly, lettuce wraps have always felt like an indulgence that needed restriction to restaurant visits only.

It's bursting with corn flavor.

You'll want to put the sauce on everything.

Just trust me on this one.

It's always the first thing gone at any barbecue.

Unparalleled crunch.

When the heat of summer sets in I just want to eat meals that will cool me down. My relationship with soups, stews, and basically anything that comes out of the oven is on hold for these next few months. I prefer easy summer dinners that come together quickly when I don’t feel like cooking.Needless to say, this shrimp ceviche is on heavy rotation.

Brace yourself for the epic cheese pull.

It only takes 25 minutes.

Perfect balance of sweet and heat.

Summer rolls, also known as fresh spring rolls, are one of my favorite things to order at a restaurant. They are made from rice paper wrappers rolled around fresh crunchy vegetables partnered with cold proteins, fresh herbs, and sometimes noodles. Gỏi cuốn are Vietnamese in origin (along with chả giò, which are fried spring rolls) but there are countless variations of fillings made with an assortment of veggies and proteins.Summer rolls are also easy to make at home!

If you’re a savory breakfast person like me, a Scotch egg is a perfect food. The U.K. dish consists of a boiled egg that’s been peeled, covered in breakfast sausage, then breaded and deep-fried. It’s the perfect high-protein breakfast or snack. The roots of this dish are murky. Scotch eggs seem to have been around since the 1700s, with some claiming it was an Indian export due to its similarities to a dish called nargisi kofta.

The beauty of making brunch the center of any celebration, such as Easter or Mother’s Day, are the sheer variety of options. From hearty brunch casseroles, stacks of pancakes and French toast, and cinnamon rolls, the best brunch spreads have a little bit of everything. But let’s not forget the appetizers!Bite-sized mini quiches, breakfast sliders, and sweet mini Dutch baby pancakes are great options, along with classic deviled eggs, creamy dips, and puff pastry tarts.

Seed crackle is the new crouton.

Crisp, juicy, and so flavorful.

One bad hard-boiled egg can ruin you for life. At least, that’s what I believed until I learned how to cook soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs, and precisely how I wanted to eat them. The perfect hard-boiled egg has no green ring around the yolk and the innards are creamy and mellow (plus easy to peel!). And if you’re in the mood, you can stop short of the hard-boil and make a gooey soft-boiled egg instead.

Enjoy with a glass of good wine.

All the pickle girls out there — this one’s for you.

Three words: crushed barbecue chips.

Get your baguettes ready.