Oh hey, recent graduate. Congratulations and allow me to officially welcome you to ~ adulthood ~. Whether you’re starting your first job or beginning your next degree, you’ll find yourself both hosting and attending parties that go beyond pizza and fries. To help you prep to impress, here are seven recipes that I wish I had a college course on. (Psst Food Network Kitchen is offering a 30-day free trial, claim yours here.)
1. Perfectly Poached Eggs
A poached egg over avocado toast is a brunch staple. Have you ever wondered how they do it?! I was once intimidated too, but poaching an egg is actually easy once you follow the right technique. The Food Network Kitchen app has amazing tips, like making sure the egg is super cold, pouring the egg from a small cup instead of out of the shell directly, and turning the egg with a slotted spoon, and more. Intrigued? Get ready to host your own restaurant-worthy brunch by following the recipe here.
2. Classic Alfredo Sauce
If you served your guests a plain bowl of linguine or spaghetti they’d be pretty underwhelmed. Adding an alfredo sauce is a total game-changing, easy and affordable way to impress. All you need is butter, heavy cream, Parmesan, black pepper and some pasta water. Get the recipe here.
3. Garlic Bread
Go a step further and make your own garlic bread. The most important tip is to buy a good loaf of crusty bread or leave a loaf of french bread or a baguette out overnight so it crisps up a bit. Now that you have amazing pasta and garlic bread, all that’s missing is the wine! Watch the video here.
4. The Best Tuna Salad
Another seemingly basic recipe that is important to master is tuna salad. From lunches to picnics, this classic is a crowd-pleaser, whether it’s served on sandwiches or with veggies and crackers. The secret? It’s all in getting the right ratio of mayo to mustard. Then you can get creative adding celery and even pickles to your tuna salad. Learn how to make this, step-by-step, here.
5. Two-Ingredient Pizza Dough
Instead of ordering a pizza, create personalized pizzas with unique toppings like figs, arugula, pineapple, you name it! This easy recipe requires no yeast and no rising time, just measure, mix, knead, roll out and enjoy with friends. Find the recipe here.
6. Baked Brie Bites
It’s basically a fact that baked brie is, and will forever be, a crowd-pleaser. One of my best friends started making a similar recipe after college and it was such a hit, she served it at almost every party thereafter. For a fun twist on classic baked brie, try this bite-size version here.
7. Garlic Chicken & Potatoes
Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your roommates, or for a dinner party, this meal will definitely impress. It’s loaded with flavor thanks to plenty of garlic, plus cumin and just a pinch of red pepper flakes, but the best part is that it’ll take you just about 40 minutes to get it all on the table. Follow the recipe, step-by-step, here.
If these sound as delicious to you as they do to me, check out more recipes here in the Food Network Kitchen app. Looking to take your culinary skills to the next level? You can join a live cooking class with Food Network chefs and rewatch any classes, too. Happy cooking!