Appetizers recipes

Smoked salmon with Irish brown soda bread, mixed greens, capers, and cherry tomatoes. A classic appetizer plate served with lemon, butter, and a drizzle of good olive oil.

These Korean dumplings made with beef chuck and napa cabbage can be fried or steamed.

Chinese cold jellyfish salad tossed with shredded rainbow vegetables, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. A banquet-style appetizer famous for its crunchy texture and minimalist dressing.

Chocolate pecan cookie slices shaped into logs, baked, then cut on the diagonal and drizzled with white chocolate. A slice-and-bake method that yields 40 elegant cookies.

Rustic Italian focaccia topped with roasted red peppers, slow-cooked onions, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Garlic-infused olive oil dough hand-kneaded and dimpled for crispy edges.

Gloria's black bean soup simmers dried beans low and slow, then gets stirred thick with a blended sofrito of peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and oregano. A rich, Cuban-style puréed bean soup.

Porcini mushroom crostini with shiitake, cream, garlic, and Asiago cheese broiled on Italian toast. A rich, earthy Italian appetizer with deep mushroom flavor from dried and fresh fungi.

Creamy crab and clam dip with cream cheese and a kick of Tabasco, spread on melba rounds and warmed in the microwave. Ready in 10 minutes for easy party snacking.

Classic sausage cheese balls: raw breakfast sausage, sharp cheddar, and Bisquick mixed and baked until browned. The church-cookbook party snack that vanishes off every Christmas platter.

Crabmeat custard baked in the microwave with snow crab, sharp cheddar, and a silky egg-milk custard over crustless white bread. A quick savory custard with a touch of cayenne heat.

Marinated wild rice salad with porcini and white mushrooms, julienned carrots, walnuts, and Dijon vinaigrette. A make-ahead grain salad that gets better as it sits.

Chicken mulligatawny soup: a curried Anglo-Indian classic with carrots, celery, apple, rice, and tender chicken in a spiced broth. Comfort food with serious depth.

Mormor's Swedish meatballs made with beef and pork, allspice and ginger, poached in water then baked in a brown sugar-butter-beef broth glaze. A Scandinavian grandmother's holiday recipe.

Thai cucumber pickles, a quick sweet-sour-spicy side of sliced cucumber, red chiles, onion, and cilantro in a red wine vinegar brine. Five-minute condiment.

Chinese egg pancake rolls stuffed with seasoned pork, mushrooms, and scallions, steamed then sliced and drizzled with oyster-plum dipping sauce.

Broiled Brie topped with sliced almonds and confectioners sugar, caramelized under the broiler until golden and bubbling. An impressive 4-ingredient appetizer you can prep days ahead.