57 first recipes

Silky blended corn soup with fresh kernels, leeks, and cream. Modern comfort food ready in 40 minutes for easy vegetarian dinners or elegant first courses.

This has been a hit since I first made it on X-mas a few years ago! This dish has been demanded at every occassion!

Provencal fish stew with haddock, fennel, thyme, and bay leaf in a tomato-white wine broth. Served over garlic croutons, 40 minutes from the first sear to the ladle.

Baked red snapper topped with a steamed yucca root, tomato, and vegetable relish seasoned with thyme and cayenne. The vegetables are steamed first, then spooned over the fish to finish baking together.

Mexican-style red rice with tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, and vegetable broth, finished with green peas and pimiento. Toast the rice in oil first for fluffy, flavorful grains.

Pumpkin Frangelico cheesecake: a spiced pumpkin cheesecake on a gingersnap crust, spiked with hazelnut Frangelico liqueur and topped with a boozy sour cream layer. The Thanksgiving cheesecake adults reach for first.

Moist cranberry banana bread with walnuts and an optional Grand Marnier cranberry syrup soaked into the top. Fresh cranberries are simmered first, then folded into a rich banana batter.

French ratatouille of eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomato, onion and garlic, stewed in olive oil with thyme and bay leaf. Each vegetable cooked separately first so nothing turns to mush. Serve hot or cold.

This is one of my favorites. Deep fried tofu with a peanut sauce for dipping. This one calls for pressing the tofu first. It makes it denser.

Deep-fried asparagus spears coated in egg wash and bread crumbs, finished with freshly grated Romano cheese. Blanched first for a tender center with a crispy shell.

First this double corn bread is absolutely delicious itself. Using the already-yummy cornbread makes a even more flavorful stuffing that has apples, celeries, pecans, and mixed herbs.

Chilled peach soup with white wine, orange liqueur, maple syrup, and whipped cream. A silky, boozy fruit soup that works as an elegant summer dessert or first course.

Chilled cinnamon peach soup with ripe summer peaches, warm spices, orange juice, and yogurt. A refreshing first course or light dessert that captures peach season in a bowl.

This dish is very, very hot. It may not seem so at first, but the spices have a cumulative effect that builds up over the course of the meal.

This holiday fruitcake recipe may change your mind about fruitcakes. Golden, buttery, and chock full of fruits and nuts make this delicious from the first bite to the last.

Stilton mille-feuille layers crisp puff pastry rounds with whipped blue cheese mousse, port-soaked golden raisins, and warm walnuts. An elegant dinner-party first course or cheese-course dessert.