Starter

The clams in this dish are steamed with tomatoes, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes. The flavors are simple and delicious. Dinner in under an hour never tasted so good.

The flavor of peas and bacon takes me back to my childhood; that’s why I like this pasta dish so much. I feel like a little kid wolfing this down. It’s even good cold!

These breadsticks bake to golden crispness in the convection oven, and are a fun project to do with kids.

Roasting red bell peppers is a snap in the convection oven because the heat can be so intense that the skin on the peppers chars without cooking the flesh. Pureed and thinned with chicken stock, they turn into a stunning and flavorful soup.

Roasting concentrates the flavor of tomatoes in this light, refreshing, easy-to-make soup. It’s irresistible either hot or cold.

This thick and creamy soup gains a rich flavor when the potatoes are roasted in a bit of bacon fat.

Roasting brings out a deep concentrated flavor in foods. This soup tastes incredibly rich, but is low in fat and calories. However, I sometimes garnish the soup with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

Here’s a soup for late summer when eggplants, tomatoes, and red peppers are luscious and ripe. Top the soup with a dollop of plain yogurt and pesto for added zip.

There are two kinds of pumpkins—those intended for carving jack-o’-lanterns, and those that are usually smaller and rounder, with thick, fleshy skins, which are intended for pumpkin pies. Either kind of pumpkin is suitable for soup, though you may need to drain the jack-o’-lantern’s cooked flesh to concentrate the pulp. In the convection oven, you can roast the pumpkin to make pumpkin puree. See the Note below.

Cooking the onions for this hearty soup requires less tending in the convection oven than in a saucepan and the aroma is just as wonderful!

This updated classic soup of Mexico is easier to make when you let the convection oven do the cooking. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice to each bowl when you serve it.

Baked in the convection oven, this soufflé rises high and is almost noncollapsible. However, you’d still better have the table set and be ready to eat when the soufflé is done because it won’t stay puffed forever!

Serve small wedges as an appetizer or large wedges for a vegetarian main dish.

This simple tart, a little like a quiche, is perfect as a first course or snack. Add a salad to the menu and it can star as the main dish.

Onions, sliced and cooked in the convection oven, literally melt into sweetness. Here the melted onions are baked in a rich custard, flavored with Parmesan, and cradled in a flaky pastry. This is terrific for a special occasion.

This focaccia adds onions, olives, and dried tomatoes to the top. Cut into bite-sized pieces, it’s a great appetizer. The dough mixes most easily in a food processor.

This delicious flat bread is great cut into 1- to 2-inch squares and served as an appetizer or cut into larger squares to accompany soups and salads. You can create tasty variations by trying different cheese combinations, such as Cheddar, Swiss, or Monterey Jack, or by changing the herbs to oregano and parsley, or chives and shallots.

Chicken-wing drumsticks are a favorite appetizer and are so quick and easy to prepare and cook in the convection oven. For a bit more fire, add crushed red pepper flakes to the marinade.

Simple to make, the unfilled cream puffs freeze easily, then can be reheated and stuffed with this tasty smoked salmon filling just before serving. You can also serve the cream puffs for dessert filled with vanilla ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce—the French bistro classic, profiteroles.