68 first recipes

I LOVE THIS RECIPE:) Asparagus salad is typical of many Chinese vegetable salads, in that the vegetable is first steamed, then cooled, before slicing and dressing.

Danablu soup: Danish blue cheese melted into a chicken broth and roux base, finished with cream and topped with whipped cream and parsley. Elegant first course.

Avocado banana baby food mashes equal parts ripe avocado and banana into a smooth, naturally creamy first food for babies. Two ingredients, no cooking, packed with healthy fats and potassium for growing little ones.

Fresh asparagus and earthy morel mushrooms dressed in a wild mushroom vinaigrette celebrating the best of spring. Elegant first course that showcases seasonal ingredients with refined simplicity.

Master method for cooking duck: first steam to render fat and tenderize, then roast at moderate heat for crisp skin. The two-stage technique pros use for perfectly rendered, crackling-skinned duck.

Classic French leek and potato soup made with just leeks, potatoes, butter, and stock. A 5-ingredient gluten-free soup that turns pantry basics into a creamy first course or light supper.

Apple-filled acorn squash with brown sugar, chopped walnuts, and orange zest. Baked cut-side down first for tender flesh, then filled and finished in the oven. A vegan fall side.

Chinese stir-fried oysters with garlic, ginger, green onions, and a light oyster sauce glaze. Blanched first, then wok-fried in under 2 minutes for tender, briny bites.

Microwave roast stuffed turkey cooks a whole 12-pound bird in a fraction of the oven time: breast-down first, then flipped, then rested to reach safe temperature.

Roman pickles brine fresh lettuce leaves with vinegar, dill, fennel, and salt for an ancient pickling method straight from Columella's first-century cookbook. Crisp, briny, and unexpectedly fresh.

A cold seafood pizza appetizer on a flaky crescent roll crust with sour cream spread, shrimp, crab, broccoli, and colorful bell peppers. The potluck crowd-pleaser that vanishes first.

Maple-flavored smoked turkey brined overnight in salt, brown sugar, maple flavoring, white wine, and spices. A two-stage process: smoke first for flavor, then roast to finish cooking.

Lorraine soup: classic French velvety chicken soup thickened with bread, ground almonds, and egg yolk, finished with cream, nutmeg, and lemon. An old-world first course with silky elegance.

Cream of artichoke and oyster soup poaches plump oysters in butter, then folds them into a tarragon-chervil pureed artichoke veloute finished with cream. Elegant French Creole first course.

Fish in horseradish sauce -- This recipe is the first of the 12 dishes that make up the traditional Polish Christmas-eve meal, which is eaten after sundown on Christmas eve.

White turnip soup pureed smooth with bread for body, finished with egg yolks and cream for a velvety French-style potage. A humble root vegetable transformed into an elegant first course.