Fast Snacks from Star Chefs

By Food & Wine
Updated February 27, 2017
These amazing fast snack recipes from star chefs include Rick Bayless's cheesy queso fundido and Wolfgang Puck's smoked salmon pizza.
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Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

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Chef: Jose Garces
For this classic tapa, Jose Garces stuffs his delicious crab salad into individual piquillo peppers and roasts them until hot. But instead of laboriously stuffing piquillo peppers, spread the crab mixture in a baking dish, top it with slices of the peppers, then cook until warm and melty.

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2 of 15

Grilled Oysters with Spicy Tarragon Butter

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Chef: Bobby Flay
Bubba Hiers, brother of TV cook Paula Deen, serves fantastic grilled Gulf Coast oysters smothered in butter and Parmesan cheese at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah. Bobby Flay modifies the recipe by topping his oysters with a blend of butter, tarragon and hot sauce, then returning them to the grill so the butter melts into little pools in the shells.

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Warm Olives with Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon

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Chef: Marc Murphy
He serves these olives warm to accentuate the marinade’s lemony flavor.

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4 of 15

Crispy Onion Rings

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Chef: Peter Hoffman
“There’s nothing better than a simple tempura of a primo vegetable,” states chef Peter Hoffman. For this sensational version, he coats thick onion rings in an ultralight batter and quickly fries them. Hoffman says that any vegetable that slices nicely, like delicata squash, fennel or zucchini, would be great here, as long as it “takes to the batter”—meaning the batter stays on.

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Smoked Sturgeon with Caviar and Everything Bagel Crumbs

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Chef: Daniel Humm
This simplified version of Daniel Humm’s whimsical appetizer at NYC’s Eleven Madison Park has store-bought smoked sturgeon, hackleback caviar and rye crackers.

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Fried Peppers with Prosciutto

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Chef: Jenn Louis
Spanish cooks traditionally fry sweet-hot Padrón peppers and toss them with salt. Adding prosciutto and mint makes the peppers extraordinary.

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Bayless's Queso Fundido al Tequila

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Chef: Rick Bayless
This simple, 20-minute dip of melted cheese flavored with tomatoes, chiles, onion and a hit of tequila from chef Rick Bayless is just the thing to satisfy a sudden craving for something warm, salty and gooey.

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Spam-and-Kimchi Musubi

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Chef: Roy Choi
“This is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of Hawaii,” says Roy Choi about the sushi-like musubi, a mix of seared Spam, sushi rice and pureed kimchi, all wrapped up in nori. “If you’ve been swimming, if you’ve been hanging on the beach, it’s the perfect snack. Something about it just hits the spot. And the best place to find it is at a 7-Eleven.”

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Almond Crusted Chicken Wings

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Chef: Andy Nusser
Andy Nusser says these wings, coated with crunchy chopped almonds, are a favorite Casa Mono staff meal. He serves them with a superfast lemon aioli, a mix of store-bought mayonnaise, grated lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.

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Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche and Caviar

Credit: Quentin Bacon
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Chef: Wolfgang Puck
The classic pizza from chef Wolfgang Puck is actually very easy when made with store-bought pizza dough.

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Coconut-Crab Cocktail

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Chef: Michael Psilakis
Chef Michael Psilakis's bright, fresh crab tacos incorporate traditional Latin ingredients and a hit of Asian chile sauce. Cooked shrimp would be great here as well.

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Warm Camembert with Wild Mushroom Fricassee

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Chef: Daniel Boulud
Daniel Boulud makes this oozy appetizer with Vacherin Mont-d’Or, a creamy cheese sold at top cheese shops. F&W makes it with Camembert, which is as rich and runny as Vacherin Mont-d’Or, but much easier to find.

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13 of 15

Zucchini-Ricotta Fritters

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Chef: Mario Batali
The delicious fritters showcase garden-fresh zucchini and rocambole garlic.

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Tangy Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Dip

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Chef: Michael White
“My mom used to make this sun-dried tomato dip to spread on grilled cheddar sandwiches,” says Michael White. He serves it with crudités.

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Broccoli Rabe Pesto Bruschetta

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Chef: Gabe Thompson
He turns broccoli rabe into a healthy, peppery pesto that’s delicious on toasted bread.

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