Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipes

A wheel of brie is topped with a crackling layer of pecan-caramel brittle for this popular appetizer. Serve with toasted rustic bread or crackers.

These crunchy thyme-flecked nuts are delicious served with sherry and slices of manchego cheese.

These elegant mixed nuts perk up a plate of seasonal snacks.

Although it takes about an hour to prepare and fry enough chips for eight, it's worth the effort: They are absolutely irresistible. If kept in resealable plastic bags, they'll stay crisp for up to five days.

Crunchy and buttery, these puff pastry straws are a wonderful way to kick off a gathering and get your dinner guests hungry for the big meal. With three different ways to flavor them (gruyère, anchovy, or olive) you can either make one or buy extra puff pastry and make all three! Whichever one you pick, they all pair particularly well with a glass of crisp sparkling wine.

For an unconventional pre-turkey bite, serve a seafood appetizer at Thanksgiving. This dish is the love child of two retro hors d'oeuvres: relish trays and shrimp cocktail. Build-your-own crostini topped with quick-pickled shrimp and vibrant fixings will tide people over and wake up their taste buds.

These delicious grilled proscuitto-wrapped figs with blue cheese and pecans are an ideal accompaniment to many kinds of wine.

Brown butter is enhanced with red onion, lemon, and fresh herbs to make a flavorful condiment for briny flame-kissed oysters.

These lightly sweetened nuts have a nice crunch that's equally enticing before and after a meal. Serve the almonds and pine nuts in small dishes alone or alongside cheese or other appetizers, or use them to fill individual cornucopia favors left at place settings.

Mini crab cakes encrusted with sesame seeds get a kick from wasabi and soy sauce. The toppings of wasabi, mayonnaise, cucumber, and pickled ginger add creaminess, crispness, and tang, as well as color.

Before the Thanksgiving feast, welcome guests and whet appetites with a relish tray -- including this Garden Veggie Dip, Herb-Marinated Olives, Pickled Carrots, and Smoky Almonds -- and a couple of classic gin cocktails (Negroni and Gibson).

Whole peeled chestnuts add structure to this pumpkin soup, texture that's important if the squash is too watery. 

Use these Italian style rice balls to complement our chicken-liver crostini.

These savory bites make for great party hors d'oeuvres.

These little toasts make a delectable Thanksgiving appetizer. Be sure to use Fuyu persimmons -- they should be ripe but sliceable.

The crab cakes can be formed and chilled a day ahead, and can be fried up to an hour ahead; reheat them in a 250-degree oven on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack just until warmed through, 8 to 10 minutes.

A warm, cheesy artichoke filling is at the heart of these puff pastry pockets.

Cottage cheese may seem like an unusual choice, but it adds a tangy flavor similar to that of sour cream. The potatoes can be prepared through step 4 up to a day ahead; refrigerate, covered, until ready to proceed.

This recipe is from Entertaining with Emeril, episode 2.

For a festive presentation, serve this Winter Squash Dip appetizer in a large, round, hollowed-out squash, such as a turban.

These spicy cheddar crackers are hard to resist. Freeze some of the logs of dough to have on hand for unexpected guests.

Served in a roasted pumpkin, this hearty dip can be eaten on crackers, bread, or baby carrots.

Ruis, a dark, dense Finnish bread, is made for smoked fish and herb-flecked butter, but any dark rye or brown bread will work here.