Cheese Ball
A classic party cheese ball: cream cheese and sharp cheddar beaten smooth with a little Worcestershire and garlic, chilled firm, and rolled in toasted pecans and fresh herbs just before serving.
- Total time
- 2 hr 20 min
- Yield
- Serves 12
Appetizers
Small plates for the start of a meal, or the whole of one.
Small plates for the start of a meal, or for a table where the small plates are the meal.
Most of these are party appetizers in the practical sense: they scale, and each one says plainly how far ahead it can be made. That matters more than the recipe itself when you are cooking for a room.
Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip
Hot, creamy spinach artichoke dip made in a slow cooker, with the spinach squeezed dry so the dip stays thick and scoopable for the whole party.
- Total time
- 2 hr 15 min
- Yield
- Serves 12
Fried Green Tomatoes
Southern fried green tomatoes: firm, tart slices salted to draw out water, dredged in seasoned flour, buttermilk and a cornmeal crust, and pan-fried golden. Served with a quick remoulade.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Yield
- Serves 4–6
Beef Caprese Skewers
Seared sirloin, tomato, mozzarella and basil on a stick, finished with a balsamic glaze you reduce yourself.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Yield
- Makes 24 skewers
Corned Beef and Sauerkraut Egg Rolls
A Reuben sandwich in a fried wrapper. The sauerkraut has to be wrung dry or the whole thing bursts.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Yield
- Makes 12
Beef Spring Rolls with Peanut Lime Sauce
Rice paper, herbs and seared beef, rolled cold. Nothing is cooked except the meat and the noodles.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Yield
- Makes 12 rolls
Air Fryer Salmon Bites with Garlic Cream Sauce
Eight minutes in the basket, caramelized outside and barely set within, with a lemon-garlic cream to dip.
- Total time
- 23 min
- Yield
- Serves 4
Cheddar Bay Crab Cakes with Lemon Butter Drizzle
Barely bound lump crab with sharp cheddar and garlic, chilled hard so it holds, seared in butter and finished with lemon.
- Total time
- 1 hr 15 min
- Yield
- Makes 8 crab cakes
Creamy Stuffed Mushroom Dip
Everything that goes inside a stuffed mushroom — garlic, herbs, cream cheese, a buttered crumb top — baked as one scoopable dish.
- Total time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Yield
- Serves 10 as an appetizer