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Melted Cheese and Chorizo with Grilled Bread

Before the success of Animal restaurant, the glowing New Yorker profile, and their new fish spot, Son of a Gun, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo Were upstart caterers to the stars. Bummer, they can't cater your Oscar party (they're already booked), but they've shared the recipe for one of their most popular dishes: melted petit basque cheese and chorizo dip with grilled bread. animalrestaurant.com

Smoked Haddock Soup

Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, shared this recipe as part of a St. Patrick's Day feast he created exclusively for Epicurious. He recommends pairing the soup's complex flavors with a Riesling, but says you also can't go wrong with a pint of Guinness.

Poached Shrimp with Lemon-Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Any shrimp will work in this recipe, but for the best-tasting, most sustainable choice, go for American farmed or wild shrimp.

Winter Salad with Lemon-Yogurt Dressing

We love using kohlrabi in salads. The light green or purple veggie looks like a cross between a turnip and a fennel bulb and tastes like celery root or a mild turnip.

Pear Wedges with Prosciutto and Mint

In this riff on melon and prosciutto, very ripe pears give the juiciest, most delicious result.

Eggs Derby

This may be the most decadent recipe in the entire collection—all good things baked into one dish so creative and rich that making it causes the cook to chuckle periodically at the luxury and process. Don't wait for Derby Day.

Eggplant, Oyster, and Tasso Gratin

You are, no doubt, familiar with the so-called trinity of Louisiana cookery: onions, celery, and bell pepper. Susan Spicer of New Orleans, a self-described eggplant freak who cooks in an internationally inflected Creole style, has honed a new sort of trinity: eggplant, oysters, and tasso.
Here, tasso, an intensely flavored smoked pork of Cajun origin, serves as a seasoning, in the same way that a smoked pig trotter flavors a pot of greens. Although Spicer recommends that you serve scoops of this gratin as an appetizer, consider yourself warned: We have done the same. And no matter what we served to follow, it paled in comparison. Your guests might be happier with a large helping of this Creolized casserole and a salad.

Chicken Taquitos

This easy Epicurious-exclusive recipe is from Chef Dave Northrup of Rush Street in Los Angeles. It's perfect for any Super Bowl or tailgating party. Just pick up an already cooked chicken at the store, shred it, add some fillings, roll up the tortillas, and pan-fry them.

Crispy Creamy Rock Shrimp with Sweet Chile Aioli and Apple Slaw

This is a delicious Web-exclusive recipe for Epicurious by Chef Kerry Simon at Las Vegas' Simon at Palms Place Hotel and Spa. It's an interesting take on the classic creamy rock-shrimp dish and a great appetizer for a Super Bowl gathering or any party.

Summer Melon with Fig and Proscuitto Fruit Cup

I've been eating fruit for breakfast for what seems like forever, and I'm pretty tired of your average fruit cup. So this salad is a play on a breakfast fruit salad—complete with that breakfast classic pork (parma) and a wonderful kick from chile flakes that'll definitely get you on your toes early in the morning.

Pigs in a Blanket

Along with shrimp puffs and the ubiquitous nut-coated cheese ball, some version of these tasty bites was all the rage at 1950s cocktail parties. They haven't lost their allure—just some fat and calories—in this slimmed-down incarnation that swaps reduced-fat hot dogs and crispy leaves of phyllo for the traditional fat-laden cocktail sausages and crescent-roll dough.

New England Clam Chowder

This clam chowder has been an American classic since the early 1800s, and it’s easy to see why. Cream—strike one! White potatoes—strike two! Bacon—should be strike three, you’re out! Here’s the good news: By replacing whole milk and cream with skim milk and yogurt, I had a calorie deficit—which I used to include some bacon.

Pea Pesto Crostini

I don’t keep a lot in my freezer, but one thing you’ll always find there is a package of frozen peas. They’re sweet, they have a lovely green color, and when puréed they can satisfy a craving for a starchy food. If you’re not a big fan of peas, at least give this a try. I think it’s going to be your new favorite thing. I can’t resist eating it straight out of the bowl!
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