This is a forgiving and crowd-pleasing appetizer that you can easily modify by using different seasonal toppings. You can prepare the polenta up to 2 days in advance, and the tapenade up to 3 days. On the day of your party, simply broil the polenta squares and top them with the tapenade.
The inspiration from this cake came from Tartine's pumpkin tea cake. I wanted to make a lighter, cake-ier cake, closer to a dessert you'd eat at a dinner party than to a quickbread you'd eat for breakfast. The frosting recipe is based on my idol Dorie Greenspan's Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting.
It is not every day that you get a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce that also boasts a healthy dose of antioxidants. Try it with beef, chicken, pork or even some grilled shrimp. Click here to visit the new home of KitchenDaily!
What's more welcome at a game-day party than a cheese ball? A cheese ball that looks like it belongs in the game, of course. Three cheeses team up for some serious yum.
In the northeast part of the country, this Italian sausage and peppers recipe will be found at virtually every block party, county fair, family reunion, or any other gathering where people are grilling sausage. Italian sausage topped with sweet and tangy peppers is such a classic combination; it's hard to imagine one without the other.
Seafood rice is a South American dish similar to Spanish paella, that is made with rice, shrimp, clams, squid, bay scallops, onions, garlic, bell pepper, cilantro and spices.
I make these late and often -- this is my back-pocket 10-minute meal after a very long day or a longer party. They're fast, good food you can eat with your hands. And because tacos often spill at random, you’re allowed to be slightly animalistic about the whole affair -- a very good perk, because no one has the energy for manners in the middle of the night. I felt odd making these in a well-lit kitchen and styling them for a camera -- they are at their best when cooked by dim, early morning kitchen light, and hastily -- but you’ll rectify that for me tonight, won’t you?
