Appetizer recipe collection

Creamy tomatillo and green chile dip with melted cream cheese, fresh coriander, and heavy cream. A rich, tangy Mexican-style cheese dip ready in under 30 minutes.

Sopa de tortilla, the authentic Mexican tortilla soup: a tomato-onion-garlic broth infused with mint, finished with fried corn tortilla strips and cheese. Ready in 40 minutes, pantry-friendly.

Tropical fruit and black bean salsa with diced mango, pineapple, papaya, red onion, and jalapeño. A fresh, no-cook salsa that's sweet, spicy, and colorful.

Tucson-style cheese tostadas with three Mexican cheeses (Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, anejo), roasted poblano peppers, and fresh cilantro on a crispy fried flour tortilla. A southern Arizona classic.

Turkey salad stuffed eggs with food-processor-chopped turkey, celery, red pepper, and green onion in a Dijon-mayo filling. A protein-packed twist on deviled eggs, great for using leftover turkey.

Delicious! And simple to make in a large batch for appetizers. As made in Thrace, the soft-dough may be spread into a sheet and cut in squares before baking, or each shaped individually into daintly "bastounakia" (little canes or sticks). The word "trifti" identifies the texture - crisp and crumbly in the mouth.

Veal stew browned on the stovetop then finished in the microwave with beef bouillon, mushrooms, tomato, and onion in a flour-thickened sauce. Fork-tender veal in under 40 minutes.

Microwave veal roast rubbed with garlic and pepper, cooked on an inverted saucer to stay out of the drippings. Simple technique with timing charts for rare, medium, and well-done.

Crispy deep-fried spring rolls packed with stir-fried tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and julienned vegetables seasoned with garlic, curry paste, and soy for an addictive Thai appetizer.

Vietnamese spring rolls (cha gio): crisp rice-paper rolls stuffed with ground pork, crab, glass noodles, garlic, and shallots, fried to a deep golden crunch. The crackly fried appetizer everyone fights over.

Braised root vegetables served chilled with a reduced cooking-liquid vinaigrette. Carrots, leeks, turnips, and parsnips dressed in dill and coriander.

Wild rice and mushroom soup simmered in vegetable stock with red wine, bell pepper, and parsley. A vegan, broth-based soup with earthy depth and chewy wild rice in every spoonful.

Yum Hoi Mang-Pu, a Thai mussel salad tossed with lemongrass, shallots, fresh mint, fiery bird's-eye chilies, lime juice, and fish sauce. Crisp, fiery, and sour, served over lettuce as a starter.