250 start recipes

Red snapper baked en papillote with a creamy green peppercorn pan sauce. A bistro-style fish dinner with tender flaky fillets and a peppery wine cream that takes 30 minutes start to finish.

Rich West Indian Christmas cake soaked in rum and sherry with dried fruits, warm spices, and browning for deep color. Start the fruit a month ahead for a dense, boozy holiday cake worth the wait.

Sourdough starter from scratch in two days using water, active dry yeast, sugar, and flour. The fast-start version that skips the wild-yeast wait, refresh with flour and water as you use it.

A bright summer breakfast sundae layered with vanilla yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh seasonal fruit, and crunchy granola. This no-cook breakfast comes together in minutes and makes a beautiful, protein-packed start to warm weather mornings.

Start your day with one or two wedges of this cheesy and tasty broccoli frittata with a cup of orange juice or some fresh fruits. It satisfies your taste buds and provides enough nutrients before the lunch hunger hits you.

My hearty soup starts with a homemade stock simmered low for hours, then strained and skimmed clean before a load of vegetables, pasta, and pulled meat go in. A from-scratch, stick-to-your-ribs bowl made the old-fashioned way.

Thursdays at The Dove's Nest means Potpie Day, and our customers start calling early in the morning to reserve one in case we run out before they get seated. Most tell us that it's the best chicken potpie they have ever tasted.

This simple fruit salad works at the start of the meal or as a dessert. The fruit is lightly glazed with either a simple syrup or agave syrup. Ginger, a bit of lemon, and some savory thyme which pairs amazingly with summer fruits accents the tartness of the berries and the sweetness of the stone fruit.

Green smoothies are a wonderful easy way of increasing your leafy green intake - if you are new to green smoothies, start slowly and over time add more greens. The pineapple in the smoothie contains powerful digestive enzymes, while the spinach is loaded with iron. Coconut water is a wonderful way to quench your thirst while replenishing electrolytes - did you know that it was used by doctors during World War II to do transfusions when donor plasma was not available?

Low-fat berry muffins studded with fresh raspberries and warm cinnamon, finished with a tart lemon glaze. A lighter breakfast bake with crisp tops and tender, fruit-flecked crumb.

Creamy cranberry sherbet whips fresh cranberries with evaporated skim milk and gelatin into a tart, frosty scoop. A low-calorie holiday dessert with rosy color and fluffy texture.

Creamy squash, apple, and corn bisque: butternut, Granny Smith apples, and sweet corn simmered with leeks, finished with cream and nutmeg. A tart-sweet fall bowl topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.

These mouth-watering crepes are filled with raspberry sauce and drizzled with creamy orange syrup. No one can resist these deliciously warm crepes to be a starter of the day.

Make creamy homemade yogurt without a yogurt maker, just milk, a spoonful of live yogurt as a starter, and your oven with the light on as a cozy incubator. Lightly sweetened with vanilla, set in hours.

Smoked chicken soup with chipotle peppers and basmati rice for a spicy, smoky one-pot meal. Simple ingredients, bold Southwestern heat in every spoonful.

Tropical Venezuelan sparkling wine punch bursting with passion fruit, citrus slices, and bubbles. Mix, chill, and serve this festive tisana over ice for easy entertaining.