These apple cheddar crostini with a drizzle of honey are the perfect sweet-and-savory appetizer. Ready in just 20 minutes, they’re a crowd-pleasing bite for parties or holiday gatherings.

Apple Cheddar Crostini 

beet hummus in dish at food52 test kitchen

Make this vibrant roasted beet hummus in under an hour with just a few simple ingredients. Creamy, earthy, and slightly sweet, it’s the perfect dip or spread for any occasion.

Beet Hummus

A revelatory flavor combination, this recipe has, hands down, the highest reward-to-effort ratio in this book. If you make one recipe, try this one. When dates are harvested in late summer and early fall, they are at what is known as the rutab stage, with flesh that is custard-soft and lush. Where I live in the northeast Unites States, it's also tomato harvest season, my favorite time of year. This dish is transcendent when made with peak-season rutab dates and summer's finest tomatoes, but you can make it with hydroponic midwinter cherry tomatoes and regular Medjools and still find yourself greedily mopping up the buttery remains. 

Use just enough yuzu kosho to add fragrance and a breath of heat without overwhelming the other flavors. If you can't find yuzu kosho, don't let that stop you: This dish is good with just the butter! Sometimes I like to omit the kosho anyway and stir a tablespoon of good red wine vinegar, along with an extra-generous pinch of flaky salt, into the hot butter instead; other times I go with red pepper flakes and lime zest. Not the same, but differently delicious.

Hot Date: Sweet & Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date, From Party Food to Everyday Feasts

tomato and dates on a plate in Food52 test kitchen

Rutab & Summer Tomatoes With Sizzling Brown Butter

This is a beloved family favorite, passed down from my aunt to my mom, and now to me: Asian-style wings with bang bang sauce. They’re sticky, sweet, savory, and packed with garlicky heat. And while they take a minute to come together, they’re more than worth the wait.

Isabelle Jardin alongside the beauty shot of her family Asian-style wings.

Aunt Debbie’s Chicken Wings

What You’ll Need:
- Sifting spoon or mesh spoon
- Bowl of ice
- Bowl of water
- Big mixing bowl
- Big pot for boiling water

Pork & Shrimp Dumplings in Chili Sauce in Food52 Test Kitchen

Make homemade pork and shrimp wontons with scallions and a spicy chili sauce. Easy step-by-step recipe with folding tips, prep time, cook time, and serving size.

Pork & Shrimp Dumplings in Chili Sauce

I went to the Atlanta Harvest Farmer's Market in Ellenwood, Georgia and was happy to still see tomatoes despite us getting closer and closer into the fall season. They were plump, juicy, and ready to be used!

Flatbread pizza is one of my favorite appetizers whether I'm out at dinner or hosting a dinner party. You can get creative with the toppings and match whatever might be in season for the month!

Flatbread pizza with a balsamic vinegar drizzle, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese

Caprese Flatbread Pizza

Crudo might seem like a restaurant-only dish, but it’s surprisingly simple to make at home. With sushi-grade fish from your local Japanese market and a few seasonal ingredients, you can create a fresh, elegant dish that feels special without being complicated.

A plate of yellowtail crudo with nectarine and meyer lemon relish

Bright, fresh, and flavorful, this Yellowtail Sashimi with Meyer Lemon Relish and Herbs is a no-cook appetizer featuring cured sushi-grade yellowtail, vibrant herbs, and a tangy, citrusy sauce.

Yellowtail Sashimi with Nectarine & Meyer Lemon Relish

a fresh toasted baguette topped with fresh grated tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies & chives

Pan Con Tomate

This savory heirloom tomato tart features jammy tomatoes, a creamy basil mascarpone filling, and a crispy parmesan polenta crust. Perfect for summer lunches or easy entertaining.

homemade heirloom tomato tart with basil cream and fresh parmesan

Heirloom Tomato Tart With Basil Cream

In our test kitchen, resident baker Isabelle teamed up with Tiara—the founder and pastry chef behind NYC’s beloved The Pastry Box—to create this fluffy, cheesy garlic focaccia. It’s approachable for bakers of all levels and perfect for when you want fresh, homemade bread the same day. Soft, garlicky, and loaded with melty mozzarella and Parm, this focaccia hits all the right notes without the fuss.

plate of homemade cheesy, garlicky foccacia  bread

Learn how to make a soft, cheesy garlic focaccia in just a few hours. 

Cheesy Garlic Focaccia

These Basque-inspired nachos are layered with crispy kettle chips, Iberico ham, grilled olives, pepperoncini, and manchego cheese. An easy, elevated twist on party snacks.

Basque Nachos

These pork wontons are filled with ginger, shiitake, and water chestnuts, then tossed in a savory soy-sesame sauce. A comforting homemade dish that’s perfect for sharing.

Grandma’s Wontons

Crispy fried cabbage wedges paired with a vibrant herb slaw and smoky aioli make for an irresistible combination of textures and flavors. Perfect as an appetizer or a show-stopping side dish, this recipe is sure to wow.

Chef’s Tip: Any leftover aioli pairs beautifully with roasted vegetables or as a dip for fries.

Perfect as an appetizer or a show-stopping side dish, this recipe is sure to wow.

Fried Cabbage & Slaw with Smoky Aioli

"A panzanella is a stale-bread salad: Day-old bread is torn into bite-size pieces and then toasted into chewy, crunchy croutons that briefly soak up the juices of whatever else you choose to construct your salad with. Tying for first place with homemade breadcrumbs, a panzanella is one of our favorite uses for a rejected loaf of sourdough bread. The ideal level of stale is a loaf that’s a day or two old, but you can make a worthy panzanella even if your forgotten loaf has turned to brick—simply pour a thin stream of water onto your hardened loaf and pop it into a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes; the resulting steam will nudge it back to life. This rendition leans on the convenient delight of a frozen bag of peas and a tin of our flavor-loaded chili crisp smoked salmon to create a fabulously textured summer salad."—

Chili Crisp Salmon Panzanella

"I used to watch my lola roll her lumpia, one by one, into edible "presents." Lumpia, is, in essence, a fried spring roll. The crispy outer layer is like the wrapping paper for the vegetable mixture within. They're a total crowd-pleaser and the perfect appetizer for celebrations with friends and family. Bring them to a party and people will lose their minds.
They're usually made with meat, but I use traditional, humble root vegetables here-carrots, celery-and then add chickpeas for a little hearty protein and a meaty quality, when cooked with my holy trinity: onions, garlic, and ginger. It's the most delightful little pocket of flavor inside crackly, crunchy skin. I'm drooling already.
This pairs well with all those sauces from the Sawsawan section, and, honestly, this would be a really fun, interactive thing to cook with friends. Frying lumpia as you play music and drink wine: What says "holidays" more than that? You can also fold big batches and freeze them. Then just fry up a few when you're in a snacky mood.
Making these for friends carries on my lola's legacy-so much of cooking is about nurturing and caring for people, so I feel like I'm taking that love, comfort, and warmth that she gave me and passing it onto my friends and family. It's taking her love and keeping it alive."—

Lola's Vegetable Lumpia by Woldy Reyes

"This luxurious dish combines briny mussels with a rich, decadent bone marrow butter and a bright, aromatic white wine sauce. Pair it with crusty bread to soak up every last drop."—

Mussels With White Wine and Bone Marrow Butter

"This recipe has been a constant thread in our family, a communal ritual shared between three generations huddled around a kitchen island, all covered in flour while folding dumplings and talking nonsense together. A classic combination of pork and napa cabbage beloved by many families, it’s a recipe that uses simple ingredients but provides maximum flavor through techniques I’ve learned watching my grandma since childhood. For example, she always grinds her own pork shoulder to provide the utmost freshness (although fresh, good-quality packaged ground pork works just fine if you don’t have a meat grinder). She also salts diced napa cabbage and then squeezes it to release excess water, a technique that allows the cabbage to soak up pork juices rather than release liquid that dilutes the filling. She even taste-tests the filling by microwaving a small pea-size amount for 20 seconds (so it’s fully cooked), then adjusts seasonings as needed before folding. It’s these little rituals of ingenuity that make a grandma’s dumplings so special. Dumplings take time, especially the first go-around, but they’re worth the effort—especially when done with friends, family, and good conversation."—

Frankie Gaw Tip: A good rule of thumb for dumplings is to start making the filling while the wrapper dough is taking its 30-minute rest.

Classic Pork Dumplings by Frankie Gaw

Leeks Vinaigrette by Laurie Woolever

Leftover Chicken Croquette With Marinara Sauce

"This is a delicious, seasonal recipe that’s been on my menus for several years. Finding quail can be a bit tricky, but I promise it’s worth the effort. Try to find them semi-boneless, to make the workload easier. They make for an impressive appetizer, or a light supper on their own with a bottle of young Chambolle Musigny. And remember! Leave the quails a little pink in the middle — there’s nothing worse than a gray, dry bird."—

Quail on Toast by Ed Szymanski

There’s nothing wrong with a classic buffalo wing, but this recipe uses Calabrian chilis to add a new layer of complexity that’s worth trying. By blending oil-packed chilis with garlic and vinegar, you create a creamy emulsification. This process tempers the heat while adding richness and mouthfeel to the wing sauce, all without sacrificing flavor. While a typical buffalo sauce calls for almost equal parts hot sauce and butter, this recipe calls for just a couple of tablespoons to let that chili flavor shine. As is classic for Buffalo Wings, I recommend serving with my 

Calabrian Chili Chicken Wings

The Test Kitchen has been engaged in a fierce debate recently over which creamy, mayo-based dressing reigns supreme: Is it Blue Cheese, or is it Ranch? It should be obvious already that I’m team Blue Cheese. This recipe is my go-to when it comes to iceberg-based salads and, of course, buffalo wings. I prefer a rich, mild blue cheese like Danish Blue or Gorgonzola and always try to crumble it myself. I also call for a little buttermilk which helps to loosen the consistency and add a subtle tang. This should last up to a week in the fridge. 



Ultimate Blue Cheese Dressing

"This preparation is all about the anchovy. Salty, garlicky, and spicy. It's messy, oily, and addictive. This recipe actually was an accident. I had purchased some very fancy anchovies and was planning on just warming them to serve on toast, but they immediately liquified in the warm oil. And so I did what any rational person would do: I poured the resulting sauce onto a beautiful piece of toast and tasted it. So good, and among the easiest appetizers ever." —

Melted Anchovy Toast by Renee Erickson

I recently wrote a piece describing how to get to snowy, paper-thin sliced cabbage with just a knife. And though it goes great with katsu or on a sandwich: this is my absolute go to recipe to make once I've plowed through a whole head. It is my adaptation of a the bari salad from a Japanese restaurant in my neighborhood called 

. Its made up of cabbage, “assorted seaweed”, and shiso leaf. But it’s the dressing—a supremely nutty and creamy roasted sesame mixture—that really takes the dish to the next level. You can put it on anything, from crudites to skirt steak. After a bit of research, I discovered that this style of mayo-based sesame dressing is super common in Japan, and brands like Kikkoman and Kewpie make incredible bottled versions. But it’s also *super* easy to make it at home with ingredients you very well may have in your pantry. I simplified the salad itself by swapping out the seaweeds and shiso for furikake. I love furikake and probably go overboard with how much I put in here, but it just adds such a necessary bit of crunch as well as a little oceanic, brine-y taste that really goes nicely with the sesame. Plus, it makes this salad even easier to whip up once you have it in your pantry.

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