157 crackling recipes

Warm brie melted over fresh herb sprigs, scored in a diamond pattern and ringed with baby pear tomatoes. A quick microwave appetizer served with crusty French bread for scooping.

Classic moules mariniere with fresh mussels steamed in dry white wine, cream, and onion, finished with parsley and cracked pepper. A simple French bistro dish with just 6 ingredients.

Smoked salmon canapes on crisp jicama triangles with lime-spiked Neufchatel cheese and cracked black pepper. A light, no-cook appetizer that looks like it came from a caterer.

A bare-bones homemade sausage base of ground beef and cracked black pepper, stuffed into casings and left to dry. The blank-canvas starting point for building your own Italian, breakfast, or smoky sausage blends.

Dijon-marinated flank steak crusted with cracked black pepper and grilled hot and fast. Three ingredients, an overnight marinade and 15 minutes on the grill. Steakhouse flavor on a weeknight budget.

Pepper-crusted roast beef rubbed with Dijon and coarsely cracked mixed peppercorns, served with a compound butter of roasted red peppers, basil, and parsley. A showstopper roast that slices beautifully.

Sliced ripe Roma tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, fresh minced herbs, and cracked black pepper. A 5-minute Italian appetizer or side with only 4 ingredients. Vegetarian and naturally low calorie.

Chewy walnut squares made with brown sugar, one egg, and just half a cup of flour. A no-butter bar cookie that stays soft in the center with a crackly top.

Dill pickles brine whole cucumbers in a hot vinegar, water, and salt solution with garlic and fresh dill. Old-fashioned canning jar pickles ready to crack open in 3 to 4 weeks.

Grapes, dried apricots, figs, fresh salad greens and cooked turkey breast make a delicious, refreshing yet wholesome salad.

Salmon en papillote steamed in parchment with seared zucchini, crookneck squash, onion, merlot, lemon butter, and Grand Marnier. A 7-minute oven finish for restaurant-style presentation.

Lamb rib chops broiled under a rosemary-garlic quince jelly glaze. A 15-minute dinner-party main with a sweet-savory lacquer that caramelizes under the broiler.

Traditional Viennese beef soup simmered from scratch with chuck, marrow bones, leeks, celeriac, turnips, and cauliflower. Rich, clear broth with tender meat and root vegetables.

Cheesy Ham, Walnut, and Vegetable Stromboli recipe

Mako shark steak au poivre borrows the classic French steak au poivre treatment for meaty shark, seared in cracked pepper and napped with a Cognac-cream pan sauce. A 1980s steakhouse twist on a bistro classic.

Truffle and ahi tuna drizzled with oil and vinegar.