Appetizer

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.

I’ve never really met a chicken wing that I didn’t like. No matter the type, though, crispy skin is a must. Getting the skin nicely browned and blistered isn’t difficult at all. It just requires a little time and a staple pantry item: baking powder. Baking powder is the secret ingredient that makes the best crispy chicken wings for your next game day party or weeknight dinner. We bake them in the oven here, but you can also cook the chicken wings in your air fryer.

Jalapeño poppers are the ultimate game-day snack. They’re spicy, crisp, and a serious crowd-pleasing appeziter. The catch? They aren’t very practical to make at home. Restaurant-style poppers require a deep fryer, a messy breading setup, and a lot of planning to pull off. To solve this, we created a recipe that ditches the deep fryer altogether while still delivering on texture and flavor. What’s our secret? Bacon.

Show me a platter of baked chicken wings slathered in sticky Buffalo sauce and I can take ’em or leave ’em. But show me a platter of ultra-crispy garlic Parmesan wings blanketed with a double-dose of punchy garlic, plenty of salty Parm, and some melted butter for good measure, and I’ll be first in line to pile them on my plate. Serve themwith ranch dressing or blue cheese dip, alongside carrot sticks and celery sticks for your next party.

One of the ingredients is in the soup aisle!

You just need six ingredients and 15 minutes.

And there isn't even heavy cream.

Like the classic, only cuter.

They've got everything you want — and more!

Every year the impending arrival of the Super Bowl incites a parallel culinary sport: churning out new recipes for chicken wings, different versions of creamy dips, and other easy appetizers. February calls for seven-layer dip, nachos, and hot wings. It’s the one Sunday I dispense with the hummus and bask in the glory of bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers. (Or bacon-wrapped anything.

The dipping sauce is everything.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but it’s pretty much a fact that if at least one dip is present when watching the Super Bowl, it’s always the first dish to get wiped clean. Whether you’re hosting people or keeping things low-key, a great dip should absolutely be in your plans, no matter how many of you it is gathered around the television.

Join the ‘goon squad!

So simple, so satisfying.

Bon appétit!

It’s ready in less than an hour.

These will be gone before you know it.

All the cooking happens in the oven, so you barely need to stand in front of the stove.

Casually read a book while you wait.

Those cans of chickpeas sitting in your cupboard have been hiding an amazing secret. Roasted in the oven, chickpeas transform into a crispy, salty, savory snack. So tiny. So easy to eat by the handful. So irresistible. Roasted chickpeas are easy to make and customize. Here’s everything you need to know. Canned chickpeas: Using canned chickpeas is the easiest method, but you can cook dried chickpeas if that’s what you have on hand.

So much better than chicken noodle.

What's a bowl?

Crab cakes should be all about the crab — no questions asked. They should be crispy on the outside, moist and flaky on the inside, and taste exclusively of fresh, delicious crab. No fillers or excess spices getting in the way. If you agree, you’ve come to the right place. Our crab cake recipe is intentionally unfussy. We’ve put crab meat at the center of the equation, and thrown in just enough extras to hold the patties together.

Equal parts easy, fancy, and fun.

Hosting a holiday gathering means planning the menu, music, and atmosphere. I always include a festive appetizer to make the evening feel more celebratory and buy a little extra time to finish last-minute preparations once the doorbell starts ringing. Cranberry jalapeño dip is a play on the crowd-pleasing classic: pepper jelly and cream cheese. With its vibrant red hue and sweet-tart flavor, this cranberry jalapeño dip is a must-make this holiday season.

Low effort, high reward.

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.Our cheese straws are made with puff pastry, which is cut into strips and then twisted into “straws.

It's got 3 types of cheese.

It never lets me down.

Everyone will go back for more.

Get the party started.

Happy soup season, everyone!

Shatteringly crisp!

Crisp, chewy flatbread is a welcome start to any party, and tastes great with whatever toppings you have on hand. Pizza works just as well, cut into bite-sized pieces and served warm from the oven. Whatever you call it, these 24 recipes and techniques for making crackly-crusted dough, with or without toppings, are easy crowd-pleasers.For the quickest party prep, use store-bought pizza dough or puff pastry, or freeze your own rounds of homemade pizza dough for future use.

Trust us: It'll disappear in seconds.

If you've never made ceviche before, this is the recipe you need.

It doesn't get any better than this.

The slow cooker makes easy work of this creamy, comforting classic.

Potatoes — what’s not to love? Fluffy, creamy, starchy delicious potatoes. Yes, with butter. And maybe sour cream. But a baked potato for dinner is just the beginning. Potatoes also make the best appetizers. Don’t believe me? Here’s what to do.

Fried cornbread slathered with salted butter? Sign us up.

The salad that will steal the show.

One is never enough.

Cranberry Brie bites are my go-to.

It turned me from a grape skeptic into a voracious grape eater. 

They're crunchy, salty, snacking perfection.

Oh, and it cooks in 30 minutes.

It comes together in just 5 minutes.

The only late-summer appetizer you need.

It's the secret to a perfectly crisp coating.

Sticky, spicy sauce and all.

Who doesn't love Hawaiian rolls?

A reason to never throw away bacon grease.

It doesn't get any more epic than this.