Appetizer Recipes

Individual party pizzas on homemade dough with Italian sausage, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella. Pre-baked 7-inch crusts topped and finished in the oven.

Kasseropites: Greek kasseri cheese, tomato, and basil hand-rolled into crescent pastries, baked golden. A vegetarian Greek appetizer made from scratch with a red wine vinegar dough.

Kasseropi are Greek cheese crescents filled with kasseri cheese, fresh tomatoes, and basil in handmade olive oil dough. A golden, flaky vegetarian appetizer baked until bubbly.

Danish leveropostej: a classic pork liver pate with anchovies, onion, allspice, and clove, wrapped in pork fat and baked in a water bath. Served sliced on smorrebrod or as a first course.

Savory mini corn muffins topped with smoked turkey and cranberry relish make elegant two-bite appetizers for holiday entertaining.

Mushroom rounds are Polish-style puff pastry appetizer rings filled with creamed mushrooms. A laminated double-dough technique creates flaky shells worth the overnight rest.

Mushroom turnovers in a cream cheese pastry with a sauteed mushroom-cream filling and optional sherry. An elegant make-ahead appetizer that freezes well before baking.

Crispy fried onion patties made with flour, cornmeal, and hot sauce, dropped by the spoonful into hot oil. A quick, crunchy appetizer ready in 20 minutes flat.

French onion tart with a handmade butter pastry, slow-cooked onions, bacon, and a silky cream custard. Baked low and slow for a rich, golden filling.

Oysters Rockefeller, the New Orleans classic appetizer with fresh oysters on the half shell topped with a rich spinach, scallion, and anchovy butter and broiled hot.

Stuffed mushroom pancakes filled with ground mushrooms, onions, and bread, folded envelope-style, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried in butter. An Eastern European savory crepe.

Crispy pecan-potato pancakes topped with cilantro-marinated grilled shrimp, cool cucumber salsa, and a roasted red pepper cream sauce. A restaurant-style appetizer.

Microwave-poached sole fillets bathed in a creamy white-wine shrimp sauce. An elegant fish dinner from the 1980s microwave-cooking era, ready in 40 minutes without dirtying a stovetop pan.

Microwave roast turkey with pan gravy cooks a 12-pound bird in under 90 minutes using the breast-down, breast-up method. A speedy small-kitchen solution for holiday dinner without tying up the oven.

Russian pastries (pirozhki) with a tender cream cheese dough wrapped around savory ground beef, sour cream, dill, and chopped egg. Make-ahead friendly and freezer-stable for up to a month.

Salmon oysters are crispy pan-fried fritters made from canned salmon, eggs, flour, and baking powder. Shaped like oysters and fried golden. Serve with fries, coleslaw, and tartar sauce.