10,000 bitter recipes

Oatmeal millet muffins with rolled oats softened in boiling water and toasty whole millet for crunch. The morning muffin with two grains, golden tops, and tender, rib-sticking crumb. Freezes well.

Delicate almond-scented cookies sandwiched with honey-sweetened apricot filling, shaped like little pillows and sealed with fork tines.

Pork chops and stuffing baked in cream of mushroom soup gravy. Each browned chop gets topped with a homemade bread stuffing mound and baked for one hour.

Pan-seared chicken breasts baked in amaretto-orange sauce with Dijon mustard. Sweet, tangy main dish that freezes well for make-ahead meals.

Family macaroni and cheese blends Velveeta into a classic béchamel for ultra-creamy sauce, then bakes with shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack on top until bubbly. Crowd-pleasing weeknight comfort.

Shrimp fettuccine in a buttery white wine sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes, and Creole seasoning. Shrimp stock builds deep seafood flavor into every strand.

Chocolate nut torte: a four-layer sponge cake filled with silky cooked chocolate-buttercream frosting and topped with chopped nuts. An old-world holiday torte for special occasions.

Potato soup with butter dumplings: tender potatoes simmered with celery and parsley, dotted with rich nutmeg butter dumplings, finished with sour cream.

Praline coffee cake with a brown sugar sour cream batter topped with cinnamon pecan streusel. A warm, nutty breakfast cake baked in one pan.

Open-faced sub sandwiches on toasted English muffins with salami, lettuce, tomato, onion rings, basil, and melted American cheese. Broiled 5 minutes for a quick hot lunch.

Harvest apple bread with three cups of fresh chopped apples in a brown sugar batter, topped with a warm cinnamon-almond streusel. Dense, moist, and loaded with fruit.

Sweet potato bread, a soft, golden yeast loaf enriched with mashed sweet potato and eggs and studded with raisins. The sweet potato keeps the crumb moist and tender. A lightly sweet bread, lovely with butter.

Old fashioned shortcake with tender buttermilk biscuits split, buttered, and layered with sweetened fruit and whipped cream. A classic summer dessert that beats any sponge cake bakery version.

Chuck's New England clam chowder layers tender chopped clams, potatoes, and celery into a silky roux-thickened half-and-half broth finished with a splash of sherry. Classic Yankee comfort in a bowl.

Mississippi mud bars layer fudgy pecan-studded brownies under a glossy chocolate frosting and another shower of toasted pecans. Cut into small bars, they yield over four dozen from one 9x13 pan. Southern bake-sale royalty.

Buttermilk orange cake studded with raisins and nuts, topped with a citrus-sugar glaze broiled into a caramelized, crackly crust. Served warm with whipped cream for an old-fashioned dessert.