Looking for an easy appetizer? Claudia Roden shares these delicious bites in her latest cookbook, “Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes From a Lifetime of Travel,” and the recipes (including this one!) fit right into the Seriously Simple philosophy. Polenta was originally cooked and served as a porridge to feed poor northern Italian peasantry, and Roden…
Smoking-Hot Salmon
As we head into the holiday season, it’s handy to have a few healthy appetizers and snacks up our sleeves for guilt-free meals and nibbling before and between festivities. Hot-smoked salmon salad should be on your list. It’s a healthy, elegant, and seriously tasty salad—served chilled, despite the name—that is delightfully versatile and can be…
Crostoni With Tuscan Kale and Beans
If there’s a favorite way to taste the olio nuovo in Tuscany, it has to be these Tuscan kale (cavolo nero) and cannellini bean crostoni, a real seasonal treat. When you know you’ll be bringing home the freshly pressed olive oil, prepare all the trimmings in advance. Have some good crusty country bread ready, soak…
Extra Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Are an Irresistible Appetizer
Some appetizers seem to disappear more quickly than others. Take bacon-wrapped shrimp, for example: If they’re on the table, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll be the first to go. They’re just irresistible. Play around with the seasonings and dipping sauces for some variation. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with just dipping in clarified…
Figs With Jamón Serrano and Blue Cheese
Sweet, jammy figs, crunchy with seeds, are a perfect match for creamy, salty blue cheese. Add a few slivers of jamón serrano, and you’ll be blown away. I also love a version of this served with sliced tomatoes and garlic croutons. As with most recipes that are more assembly than cooking, there are various ways…
Blistered Shishito Peppers Are an Addicting Snack
If you’re looking for a fun and exciting snack to put out, look no further. This treat is easy to prepare. I was introduced to these little green peppers, and now I can’t get enough of them. Warning: They are addictive. Shishito peppers are an East Asian pepper variety. They’re picked green and their flavor…
Shrimp and Herb Fritters
A fabulous way to use lots of herbs and feed lots of people, these fritters are bound by breadcrumbs and eggs into dollar pancake-sized bites, delicious served as a tapa. They can be made with any combination of soft herbs that you like—cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, tarragon—as long as the ratios stay the same. Add different…
Hy Vong’s Spring Rolls (Cha Gio) With Nuoc Cham
Frying the spring rolls twice results in the crispiest wrapper and also allows you to make the rolls in advance and fry them in batches, as Tung did at Hy Vong. For the bean thread noodles, she recommends Pagoda Lungkow Vermicelli. Makes about 26 spring rolls 1 pound ground pork 1 3/4 ounce dried bean…
Keep It Simple With 3-Ingredient Asparagus Wraps
If you’re looking for a too-easy-to-believe appetizer, then this recipe is for you. It requires a mere three ingredients and just minutes to prepare. The asparagus is easily assembled in advance and ready to pop into the oven or on the grill when you are ready to serve. They make a great appetizer to pass…
It’s OK to Slurp Your Vegetables
When spring and summer bring warm days, I keep our meals light and garden-fresh with a minimum of cooking. Cold soups, abundant salads, tapas, and antipasti are elevated to dinner course level, providing simple and refreshing nourishment, while greedily taking advantage of the farmers market bounty. The trick to eating this fresh is to provide…
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