140 party recipes

Creamy corn and walnut dip with cream cheese, lime juice, cumin, and ground red chili. A no-cook Mexican-inspired party dip with crunch and heat, ready in 10 minutes flat.

Lacy, crisp pecan cookies made with just 5 ingredients: egg white, brown sugar, flour, salt, and chopped pecans. A dainty, old-fashioned tea party cookie that bakes in 10 minutes flat.

Pistachio chicken stuffs pounded chicken breasts with pistachios, mushrooms, and ham, then bakes them under an apricot-chutney glaze. An elegant dinner-party main with sweet, savory, and nutty in every bite.

Four pepper salsa with red, yellow, and green bell peppers plus green chiles, pulsed in a food processor with plum tomatoes, mustard seeds, and fresh cilantro. A colorful, make-ahead party salsa.

Steak a la Stone broils thick-cut filet mignon, slices it thin, and tosses it in a buttery sauce of sauteed onions and pimientos. Served on toast points for an elegant retro dinner party main.

Flourless chocolate cake studded with dried mission figs simmered in dark rum. Dense, fudgy, and boozy with deep cocoa flavor. Serve chilled with soft whipped cream for a dinner party dessert that feels effortlessly sophisticated.

Green bean bundles tied with blanched leek ribbons and steamed until bright, served over two silky sweet pepper sauces (one red, one yellow) perfumed with white wine and basil. A dinner party side that looks painterly on the plate.

Roquefort meat loaf rolls a three-meat blend of beef, pork and veal around a creamy Roquefort and bread filling, jelly-roll style. Sliced like a pinwheel for a dinner-party meatloaf with serious blue cheese punch.

"You're ready to invite the gang over for a last-minute party any time as long as you can pull this favorite from the freezer and pop it in the oven. Watch them go crazy! (Warning: habit forming!)"

Salted caramel ice-cream and desserts have become standard on many restaurant menus in Singapore – as delicious as they are, they are not always the healthiest and are usually loaded with refined sugar and questionable fats. This very easy dessert will satisfy your sweet tooth, while giving you a boost of antioxidants, and magnesium. And the best part is that it can be ready in under 45 minutes (including freezing time).

Chickpea and spinach soup spices a creamy chickpea base with curry, cardamom, and nutmeg, then folds in tender wilted spinach. Vegetarian, lightly creamy from skim milk and a partial puree, ready in under an hour.

Potato leek soup with sweet corn, carrots, celery, and a hit of hot paprika. A rustic German-style soup with a partially blended texture and only a splash of cream for finishing.