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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Small sourdough rolls shaped into pumpkins and baked around a cube of Brie, the cheese melts into the crumb as it bakes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Fresh basil, good olive oil, and a food processor are really all this takes, a pesto that comes together faster than boiling pasta water.

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.

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.

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.

Bacon renders right alongside the carrots in the oven, so the fat crisps into the glaze along with the maple, no extra pan required.

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.

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.