140 party recipes

Artichoke squares baked with chopped artichoke hearts, shredded cheddar, eggs, and oregano. Onion and garlic sauté in the artichoke marinade for extra depth. Great party appetizer.

Individual baked corn custards with green onions and a crispy Parmesan breadcrumb topping. Scaled for two, low-calorie, and elegant enough for a dinner party side.

Giant chocolate chip cookie baked in a pizza pan, smothered in melted chocolate and peanut butter, then piled high with fresh fruit and chopped candy bars. The ultimate dessert pizza for parties.

Shrimp puff pastry loaf wrapping a buttery shrimp, tomato and red pepper filling in golden flaky pastry. Elegant make-ahead seafood centerpiece for dinner parties and holidays.

Cocktail seafood Swiss quiche bakes crab and shrimp into a creamy custard of eggs, milk, mayonnaise, and nutty Swiss cheese. A make-ahead party slice that cuts cleanly into bite-size cocktail wedges.

Smoky, briny oysters folded into whipped cream cheese with horseradish kick, topped with butter-toasted almonds, and baked until bubbling. The hot dip that turns any party into an event.

Vegan pesto tofu manicotti: shells stuffed with mashed soft tofu, basil pesto, scallions, peppers, and mushrooms. Topped with marinara and shredded soy mozzarella, baked until bubbly. Plant-based dinner-party comfort food.

Grand Marnier chocolate pecan torte: a flourless ground-pecan chocolate cake laced with orange liqueur, glazed with silky chocolate ganache, and crowned with whipped cream rosettes and fresh orange slices. A showpiece dinner party dessert.

An elegant chilled walnut custard cream spiked with kirsch, unmolded and drizzled with warm chocolate sauce. A make-ahead French-inspired dinner party dessert that serves 10.

Loaded avocado dip with bacon, sour cream, cucumber, and a kick of hot sauce. A no-cook party dip that's like guacamole's smokier, tangier cousin.

Spicy coconut peanut sauce with garlic, lime, and chili peppers ready in just 15 minutes. Drizzle over grilled chicken, fish, or lamb, or use as a bold vegetable dip for your next party spread.

Fungus among us salad tosses crisp iceberg, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and red onion with chilled creamed spinach as a green, gloopy 'fungus' dressing. A Halloween party gross-out salad kids love.

Stilton mille-feuille layers crisp puff pastry rounds with whipped blue cheese mousse, port-soaked golden raisins, and warm walnuts. An elegant dinner-party first course or cheese-course dessert.

Cool, refreshing big-batch fruit salad with watermelon, cantaloupe, plums, nectarines, and grapes tossed in chilled mint-lime simple syrup. A summer party showstopper.

Elegant cranberry twist on Peach Melba with poached peach halves, vanilla ice cream, and a pureed cranberry-kirsch sauce. A stunning dinner party dessert served in stemmed glasses.

Here's a recipe that I make whenever I'm recruited to make dessert for a dinner party. It's perfect for Passover since it contains no flour, but I bake it 12 months of the year.