365 better recipes

Marinated eggplant in olive oil: salt-pressed, vinegar-soaked strips layered with garlic, oregano, and chile in extra-virgin oil. An Italian antipasto that gets better for months.

Make-ahead Italian pasta salad with rotini, crisp vegetables, and tangy garlic vinaigrette that gets better overnight for easy potluck and picnic perfection.

Start a fire in your mouth with these scrumptious chicken wings that taste better than the restaurant kind and also save you money!

Raspberry pecan thumbprint cookies spiced with cinnamon and allspice, filled with seedless raspberry jam and topped with chopped pecans. Better the next day.

Use this south of the border style chicken in your quesadilla's, panini's, pasta and other favorite dishes. Better yet, enjoy it on it's own!

Cold chicken pasta salad with sharp cheddar, pepperoni, and Belgian endive in Italian dressing. A make-ahead dish that's even better after chilling overnight.

Skillet garlic croutons toasted in butter with thyme. Homemade croutons with real garlic flavor in 15 minutes, far better than anything from a box.

Garlic marinated olives with lemon, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, and sherry. A make-ahead antipasto jar that gets better every day in the fridge.

Shchi is a traditional Russian cabbage and sauerkraut soup with beef brisket, marrow bones, porcini mushrooms, and root vegetables. A deeply layered pot that tastes even better the next day.

Golden, puffy calzones stuffed with three cheeses, prosciutto, fresh tomatoes, and garlic. Crispy crust, molten filling, and ready in about an hour. Better than delivery.

Sliced chicken with broccoli stir-fries cornstarch-velveted chicken with tender-crisp broccoli, ginger, and scallions in 25 minutes. Better than takeout, lighter on oil.

Everything tastes better with bacon. Needless to say when bacon meets beef tenderloin, it's an ultimate combination. We made this during the weekend, it was delicious.

Better-than-anything cake with German chocolate base soaked in sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, topped with whipped topping and crushed Heath or Snickers bars. Make-ahead party cake.

Crunchy cabbage slaw with shredded carrot, green pepper, and currants in a tangy vinegar-mayo dressing with celery seed. Light, crisp, and better after a good chill.

Grilled corn and tomato salad tosses smoky charred corn kernels with sweet cherry tomatoes, red onion, and a light rice vinegar dressing. A make-ahead summer side that's even better the next day.

Chicken cacciatore braises bone-in chicken pieces with Italian plum tomatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, and mushrooms in a herby tomato sauce. The Italian hunter's-style classic that gets better the longer it simmers.