Starter

I know a salad of Brussels sprouts sounds mirthless, but I urge you to give it a chance. It has enough citrus, almonds and rough-skinned apple to be interesting.

Many gravlax recipes will instruct you to drain, turn, and babysit the fish while it cures. Not this one: Set it and forget it. Three days later it will be done.

A good party spread is as much about curation as it is cooking. By using quality store-bought items and plating them up with a little bit of TLC, you have a tasty, stress-free snack at the ready.

Bright citrus and fresh-ground pepper put a festive spin on two party staples: cured meat and Marcona almonds.

The only thing more crowd-pleasing than cheese is marinated cheese. If Manchego isn’t your thing, go for any semi-firm cheese like white cheddar, Gouda, or Monterey Jack.

A basket of unusual breadsticks will vanish in no time. The fact that you scatter the strips of dough on baking sheets rather like pick-up sticks results in great texture: they’re chewy where the strips overlap and crisp where they don’t.

Bay scallops—which are smaller and sweeter than sea scallops—are found in estuaries up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from New England to the Mid-Atlantic region. Any of them will work here, but if you really want to pull out all the stops, search for those from Nantucket Bay, which are prized for their candylike succulence. Celery purée swirled with black truffle butter enhances the delicacy of the seafood.

Great pimiento cheese is all about spice. Red peppers and hot sauce are essential to cutting through the richness of the cream cheese and cheddar.

Pale yellowish-white Castelfranco radicchio is usually tender and mild, but Chioggia (round) or Treviso (spear-shaped) varieties also work.

You need the fresh, soft, fiery red version of chorizo for this dish, the kind that bleeds out bright red-orange grease into the pot when you heat it.

A topping of salmon roe gives these deviled eggs an extra layer of flavor.

Yes, you can eat butternut squash raw: Thinly shave it into ribbons and marinate it in a zesty dressing and it’s a refreshing and fun new side for your fall table.

Adding silken tofu to the base of this dressing both enriches it with a little added protein and lends it a satiny texture. You can adjust the amount of water added to create something thicker and dippable for crudités or thinner and drizzly for tossing into salads.

Crispy roasted broccoli works just as well as an appetizer as it does a side dish when scattered over garlicky, ricotta-slathered toasts.

Millet and glutinous rice flours form the base of these fried, chicken-studded appetizers.