THE RECIPE JOURNAL

Medjool dates split open and packed with goat cheese, then finished under a rosemary-walnut crumble, a five-ingredient appetizer that looks far more complicated than it is. Ready in under 30 minutes, including the oven time. I developed this one while I was pregnant and looking for any way to work more dates into my diet, if you know, you know. Servings: 12-15 dates Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 (12-oz.) package pitted Medjo

Thin-sliced sweet potato rounds stacked on their edge in a muffin tin crisp at the edges while staying soft in the middle, think potato gratin, but portioned and easier to serve. A little Parmesan on top does the rest. Same idea as the pumpkin shapes, I love making food look fun to get the kids excited to eat, especially around the holidays. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30-35 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Ingredients: 2 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds

Mini potatoes get a vinegar soak before roasting, which is the trick behind that salt-and-vinegar-chip tang, crisp edges, fluffy centers, no fryer required. Salt and vinegar chips are a favorite in our house, so turning that flavor into a roasted potato side was an easy sell around here. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients: 1.5 pounds mini potatoes (about 700 grams) 2 cups vinegar (white or apple cider wort) 2 tablespoons sal

Potato and pumpkin purée get worked together for a gnocchi dough that's softer than a standard potato gnocchi, finished in a Gruyere cream sauce with sage. I saw Trader Joe's pumpkin-shaped pasta and it inspired me to put a pumpkin twist on gnocchi. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 10-20 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Ingredients For the gnocchi: 4-5 gold potatoes (or 1 large russet potato) 1/2 cup pumpkin purée 1 1/2 - 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for knea

Sharp cheddar is what separates this from an average broccoli soup, that and blending only part of the broccoli, so you still get texture in every spoonful. This is our cold-weather go-to, and it's what I make whenever someone in the house is sick. Servings: 6-8 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients 4 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 1-2 heads of broccoli) 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 tablespoons unsalte

Frozen goat cheese gets breaded and fried until the outside turns crisp and the inside stays soft, then finished with a honey drizzle, a five-minute-prep appetizer that disappears fast at parties. These are inspired by Vanderpump Rules, my favorite reality show, the SUR-style bites, just made mine sourdough, of course. Servings: 12-15 bites Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes (including freezing time) Ingredients: 8 oz goat cheese 1/2 cup all-pu

Same shaping method as the mini pumpkin loaves, sized up into bowls, bake them, hollow them out, and they're ready for soup or dip. I'm always looking for fun ways to feed my family, especially the kids, a soup bowl you can actually eat afterward tends to win them over. Links to Supplies You Will Need: Unbleached parchment paper Kitchen Twine Mini Bread Proofing Banneton Kitchen Scale Dutch Oven Servings: 5 bread bowls (weighing around 200g each) Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Small sourdough rolls shaped into pumpkins and baked around a cube of Brie, the cheese melts into the crumb as it bakes. Another one made to get the kids excited, anything shaped like a pumpkin is an easy way to add some holiday fun to the table. Servings: 8-10 Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus fermentation time) Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 24 hours (including overnight refrigeration) Ingredients: Cup measurements are approximate. For the most accurate results, especially wit

Mini sausages wrapped in a sourdough discard dough instead of crescent roll dough, the tang cuts through the richness of the sausage more than a plain dough would. This is our go-to party and game day appetizer. My husband and I love hosting, and these are always the first thing to disappear off the tray when friends come over. Makes: 24 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Rise Time: 1-3 hours prior to wrapping, 30 minutes after wrapped around mini sausages Total Time

Small dough balls tossed in garlic butter and packed into a pan so they pull apart cheese-first, sourdough discard worked into the dough for extra flavor. This one's inspired by a pizza spot in downtown West Palm Beach. Servings: 8-10 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 30-35 Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients: For the Dough: 250g sourdough discard 200g warm water 400g all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 2 tablespoons olive oil For the

Thin salami slices fold and stack into a rose shape around mozzarella and tomato, a five-minute appetizer that looks like it took a lot longer. I made these for a Bachelor watch party, roses felt like the perfect (and punny) way to tie into the show. Servings: 12 skewers Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 12 slices of salami 12 cherry tomatoes 12 mozzarella pearls (or small balls of fresh mozzarella) 12 fresh basil leaves 12 wooden or metal skewers Inst

Discard rolled thin and baked until crisp makes for a cracker with more flavor than most store-bought boxes, and it's a good way to use up starter between feedings. These are amazing for kids, they're genuinely easy to make, and they're one of my favorite ways to use up discard instead of letting it go to waste. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30-40 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Ingredients: 100g sourdough discard 1 tbsp melted butter Adjust according to discard amount; e.g

Fresh basil, good olive oil, and a food processor are really all this takes, a pesto that comes together faster than boiling pasta water. We love picking the basil and ingredients straight from our garden to make this. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 0 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: 2 cups fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts) 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

Two toppings, one baguette, caramelized onion and steak on one half, classic tomato and basil on the other, so there's an option for everyone at the table. This is a fun girls' night appetizer, the kind people love taking photos of before they dig in. I love making food look as pretty as it tastes. Servings: 4-6 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Caramelized Onion Steak Bruschetta 🧅🥩 Ingredients 1 ribeye steak 2 large sweet onions, thinly sli

Cherry tomatoes roast down into something closer to jam, spooned warm over cold burrata, an appetizer that's mostly assembly once the tomatoes are out of the oven. This is a fun girls' night appetizer, the kind people love taking photos of before they dig in. I love making food look as pretty as it tastes. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25-30 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients 1 lb cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes or flavor bomb (red or rainbow) 1 tbsp hig

Fried until the skin shatters, then tossed in BBQ sauce while still hot so it actually clings, a game-day standard done the classic way. This is actually the recipe that gave me my first video to go viral, wings have been a big part of Kramer Kitchen ever since. Servings: 4-6 (for 4 people, you would have 5-6 wings per person & for 6 people, you would have 3-4 wings per person) Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients For the Wings: 2 lbs

Bacon renders right alongside the carrots in the oven, so the fat crisps into the glaze along with the maple, no extra pan required. This is in our regular weeknight rotation, but it's also become a holiday table regular when we want to spruce things up. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Ingredients 2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut to less than ½ inch thick 1 pound thin-sliced bacon ¼ cup maple syrup Honey, for drizzling (optional)

Cauliflower florets get battered and baked until crisp at the edges, then tossed in buffalo sauce, most of the crunch of a wing with none of the meat. Same wing-night rotation, just the veggie version, we make this one when we want the buffalo flavor without the meat. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients for the Batter: 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup cornstarch J

A dry rub of lemon pepper on wings fried until the skin shatters, no sauce needed, just a squeeze of fresh lemon at the end. Another one in our wing rotation, we switch it up depending on what we're craving. Servings: 4-6 (for 4 people, you would have 5-6 wings per person & for 6 people, you would have 3-4 wings per person) Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20-30 minutes Total Time: 35-45 minutes Ingredients For the Wings: 2 lbs chicken wings, flats and drumettes 1 tsp salt 1