Starter

This Vietnamese-style dish infuses fresh mussels with intense flavors of garlic, pepper, and fish sauce. A cast-iron pot, the ideal cooking vessel, gets very hot, cooking the mussels quickly and heightening the flavors of the seasonings. You can also use a wok or Dutch oven.

All sorts of neglected or leftover vegetable bits can be transformed into these lovely, lacy-crisp, colorful tempura pancakes.

Smoked paprika, Spanish chorizo, and Manchego cheese give this a Latin kick. Eat it as a snack or serve with cocktails.

This recipe was created by our salumist, Eli Cairo. He says, "Everyone should know how to make a chorizo doughnut!"

Mashed potatoes take on a new form in this delicious dish. A mixture of mashed potatoes and wilted kale is shaped into patties and pan-fried, then paired with a dressed-up mayo. Serve as a first course or with a salad for a light lunch.

It's the watercress that makes this new riff on a classic greener—and zestier, too.

The product: Kefir is a drink that looks and tastes like yogurt, usually made from cow's milk or goat's milk. It's in the dairy section.
The payoff: Body and tanginess in soups.

Swapping chickpeas for edamame gives your go-to party dip a new flavor twist—and a festive green hue—while still packing in plenty of filling fiber and protein.

Forget juggling a plate of food with your cocktail glass: These no-fuss kebabs make it easy to munch while mingling. Plus, just one savory skewer delivers nearly half of your daily protein needs.

This spin on onigiri, Japanese sticky white rice balls, combines the earthiness of brown rice and mushrooms with the crunch of a sesame seed crust. The key is cooking the rice until it releases all of its starch, then chilling it in the fridge so you can easily roll it into balls before baking. If you have any sheets of nori (seaweed) lying around, you can cut them into strips and wrap them around the rice balls before or after baking.

Pretty-in-pink salmon is loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

This tomato-Worcestershire-vodka soup gets served in shot glasses for fun. Look for the pickled veggies near the jarred vegetables in the supermarket.

Curry powders vary in flavor and heat; begin with two tablespoons and add more according to your taste.

For this colorful and festive starter, be sure to grate the peel from the tangerines before cutting off the rind and slicing them into rounds.