Appetizers recipes

Microwave oyster stew warms canned oysters in buttery milk with celery salt and cayenne. A six-ingredient seafood soup ready in 5 minutes flat.

Veal scallopini with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms in a lemony, garlic-mustard sauce. Microwave-finished Italian-American classic ready quickly.

Cold crab dip with cream cheese, mayonnaise, sharp aged cheddar, hard-boiled eggs and minced onion. Mixed in 10 minutes and refrigerated. Serve with crackers, toast points or crudites for parties.

Rotel dip melts a pound of processed cheese with Rotel tomatoes, canned chili, and browned sausage into the ultimate game-day queso. Four ingredients, one pot, ready in 20 minutes and scoopable with corn chips until the bowl is empty.

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.

Goan ginger-scented tomato and cabbage soup is a light, vegetable-forward broth with fresh ginger, garlic, and a finish of torn mint leaves. Served ladled over alphabet pasta for a playful Indo-Portuguese coastal twist.

Old-fashioned chicken soup is comforting homemade chicken soup made fast in the microwave: a whole chicken simmered with carrot, celery and onion into a clear, soothing broth, strained and ready for noodles.

Classic French coq au vin: chicken browned in butter, then simmered with red wine, brandy, pearl onions, and mushrooms. A rustic red wine chicken braise streamlined for the microwave.

Baked spinach artichoke dip lightened with sour cream instead of mayo and cream cheese, warmed with a hint of nutmeg, and topped with bubbly mozzarella and parmesan. A hot, cheesy crowd favorite.

Minced squab in lettuce cups, the Cantonese classic: chopped squab stir-fried with water chestnuts, bamboo, and mushrooms in a savory oyster-soy sauce, finished with crisped skin and wrapped in crisp lettuce.

Scallops with garlic, ginger and chives: bay scallops seared in butter, baked in coquille dishes under a parmesan-bread crumb crust. A 30-minute dinner party appetizer with restaurant polish.

Quick tuna rice casserole with cream of celery soup, carrots, and minute rice baked in 15 minutes. A fast pantry dinner when you need supper on the table now.

Mini sausage Reubens on party rye with smoked sausage, sauerkraut, Thousand Island, and bubbly Swiss cheese. Butter-toasted bread keeps them crispy under all that tangy, melty goodness.

Crispy chicken flautas rolled in flour tortillas and fried golden in two minutes flat, served with homemade guacamole loaded with jalapeno, cilantro, and fresh lime juice.

Add an authentic Chinese dish to your cookbook with this scrumptious recipe that's easy to follow.

Khao-Tung Hna-Tung (Crusty Rice with Shrimp Dip). recipe