Fast, Make Ahead Cocktail Party

Cauliflower Fritters

To create these wonderful tapas, Spanish chef José Andrés makes a batter with crunchy nubs of chopped cauliflower florets, fries spoonfuls in a skillet and then tops the fritters with yogurt sauce and a dollop of caviar. Skip the caviar to keep this supereasy dish budget-friendly.

Easy Hummus with Tahini

Hummus can do more than cling to a carrot stick. Grace Parisi's sublime version adds nutty flavor to potato salad, eggs and soup.

Blue-Cheese-and-Walnut Dip with Waldorf Crudités

With walnuts, mayonnaise, apples and grapes, this recipe is a riff on classic Waldorf salad.

• More Fabulous Appetizers

Crab Rolls with Lemon Aioli

New Orleans chefs often drown seafood in rich, spicy sauces, but here, chef Jason McCullar simply dresses sweet crabmeat (a Louisiana staple) in lemon-scented aioli. The crab salad is wonderful piled on hot dog buns like a New England lobster roll or arranged delicately on small rolls as hors d'oeuvres.

Lamb Pizzettes

This recipe is based on the Arabic lamejun, a thin piece of dough topped with minced meat, then baked. Here Grace Parisi flavors ground lamb with cumin, mint, and pine nuts.