The very first cookbook to catch Stephanie Sullivan’s eye, at 14 years old, was A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price. “Until that moment,” she recalls, “cooking was mostly something other people did before I ate.” Next came the 1959 edition of The Fannie Merritt Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook: “The only library book in my life I did not return.”  

Today Stephanie’s collection weighs in at over 700 volumes. Sometimes she follows the recipes, and sometimes she combines several recipes for the same thing to get the best of all possible versions. When we asked for a selection of small plates for the best of all possible parties, we could almost hear her running through hundreds of options in her head.

Her favorite of the seven she shares with TABLE readers? “The chorizo and figs reconstruct a dish I had in Barcelona.” Dive confidently into these well-considered recipes and plan an intimate gathering for your nearest and dearest, supported by the fact that they’re the result of a lifetime of recipe research. Bon appétit!

Chorizo with Sweet-Sour Figs

1 cup sugar

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cinnamon stick

6 cloves

½ lemon

12 fresh figs

1 lb chorizo, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp white wine

1 tbsp tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

Combine sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon in saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add figs, cover, simmer about 20 minutes. Cool figs in syrup to room temperature.

Cook sausages in oil and 2 tablespoons of the wine until cooked through and brown. Remove from heat, pour off most of the fat, and deglaze pan with 4 T of water and remaining wine. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper and simmer 1 minute. Add figs with their syrup to sausages and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

To serve, spear sausages and figs on picks and serve warm.

NOTES: You can use canned figs when fresh are not available. Drain them first and reduce cooking time to 5 minutes.

Fruitful Lentil Salad

Serves 10

2 cups brown lentils

2 large oranges

1 large red bell pepper, cut into medium dice

1 large unpeeled Granny Smith apple, cut into medium dice

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/3 cup scallions, white and light-green parts, thinly sliced 

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp orange juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Kosher salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

Cook lentils in water until just tender; drain, and set aside until cool.

Meanwhile, working with one orange at a time, slice off both ends. Put the orange on a cutting board cut side down. With a sharp knife, cut away the peel and pith by slicing from top to bottom, following the contour of the orange. Working over the large bowl to collect juice, remove seeds, slice across into ½-inch slices, cut each slice into pieces, and add to the bowl. Add the bell pepper, apple, onion, parsley, and scallions.

Whisk together vinegar, orange juice, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour into bowl. Gently stir in the lentils until well combined. Set aside for at least 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a platter, and garnish with parsley leaves and orange slices.

Grilled Avocados, Tomatoes, and Lemons 

4 avocados, unpeeled, halved

3 lemons, halved

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced 

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp capers, drained

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare a hot fire in the grill. Lightly brush cut sides of avocados and lemons with olive oil. Place cut side down on grill and grill for 1 to 2 minutes or until skins begin to brown. Let cool.

Lightly brush 1 side of tomato slices with olive oil and place cut side down on the grill. Grill for about 2 minutes or until the oiled side is charred. Arrange on a platter with some slices grilled-side up.

Slip skins off avocados and cut flesh into quarters. Arrange on top of the tomatoes. Squeeze juice from half a grilled lemon over avocados. Scatter red onion and capers over all. Salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze more lemon juice over the top and arrange the remaining grilled lemon wedges on the platter as garnish.

Prosciutto Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained

1/2 cup prosciutto, julienned and sautéed until crisp

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp onion, grated

1 tbsp white wine 

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup roasted red peppers, peeled and diced

1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1 cup mayonnaise, divided

Gently toss crabmeat, prosciutto, and breadcrumbs in a bowl.

Stir together egg and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Gently fold egg mixture into crabmeat. Cover and chill at least 1/2 hour. Shape mixture into 12 patties, using a scant 1/4 cupful for each. Place patties on a wax paper-lined baking sheet; cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Cook 6 patties in 1 T butter and 1 T oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from skillet; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining patties, butter, and oil. Serve warm with Red Pepper Mayonnaise. Garnish with lemon slices if desired.

For mayo, with food processor running, drop garlic through food chute. Add diced pepper, lemon juice, ground red pepper, and 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Process 1 minute or until very smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Transfer to a bowl; stir in remaining 3/4 cup mayonnaise. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

 

Spiced Preserved Lemon Dressing

1 preserved lemon

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chili powder

½ cup fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Rinse preserved lemon in water, drain, and cut in half. Remove seeds and flesh from half of the lemon and chop rind into little pieces; set aside.

Remove seeds from remaining lemon half and add to the bowl of blender along with fresh juice, olive oil, cumin, and chili. Process until pureed and season to taste. Stir in reserved rind. Serve over asparagus, seafood, or as a dip for crudités.

Tomato Pie  

3 tbsp water

2 tsp cornstarch

1 cup + 2 tbsp flour

2 tsp sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

10 tbsp salted butter

2 tbsp sour cream

3 to 4 tomatoes

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup sliced basil 

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups grated cheese (combo of sharp cheddar, Gruyere, and/or Monterey Jack)

Freshly ground black pepper

Mix water and cornstarch thoroughly. Put in microwave for 30 to 40 seconds, stirring once halfway through. Chill in freezer for 10 minutes so gel is firm when you mix the dough.

Put the flour in food processor with sugar and salt and process for 5 seconds. Add the cornstarch gel and pulse briefly 5 times at 1-second pulses. Add butter and sour cream all at once and process until the dough comes together in a ball (about 20 to 30 seconds). Cover and pat into disc, refrigerating for at least an hour and up to 48 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Roll out the piecrust and freeze for about 15 minutes before baking. Press a sheet of aluminum foil into the crust and fill the pie with pie weights. Prebake the crust for 15 minutes, then remove the foil, using the tines of a fork to poke a few small holes in the bottom of the crust, and bake for 10 more minutes.

Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups. Lightly salt the chopped tomatoes and set them in a colander over a bowl to drain while you are prebaking the crust. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.

Sprinkle a layer of chopped onion over the bottom of the piecrust shell. Spread the drained chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, and a sprinkling of pepper. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. Alternatively, you can put the cheese mixture in the bottom and top with sliced (rather than chopped) tomatoes.

Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees until browned and bubbly, 30 to 45 minutes.

Tuna Balls in Wine and Cream

10 tbsp seasoned panko breadcrumbs

3/4 cup chicken broth, separated

1/2 cup dry white wine, separated

2 6½ oz cans of oil-packed tuna, flaked

2 hard-boiled eggs, finely diced

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tbsp minced parsley

4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Flour

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup heavy cream

In a medium bowl, moisten the breadcrumbs with 3 T of the chicken broth and 1 T of wine. Mix in tuna, hard-boiled egg, beaten egg, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.

Form the mixture into 1-inch balls and roll in flour. Heat the oil in a skillet and lightly brown the tuna balls on all sides.

Add the remaining 7 tablespoons of chicken broth, the remaining 5 tablespoons of wine, the cream, and salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add more chicken broth if the tuna balls are not lightly coated with sauce. Serve the tuna balls warm or at room temperature.

STORY BY KEITH RECKER / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW BURKLE / FOOD STYLING BY CLAIRE VREDEVOOGD

Try a few more recipes from TABLE

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Chicken Bruschetta

Hummus Two Ways

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