10,000 bitter recipes

Classic French tarte Tatin with 5 pounds of Golden Delicious apples baked in caramel and topped with flaky puff pastry. A showstopping upside-down dessert worth the effort.

Southwestern biscuits and gravy: fluffy masa buttermilk biscuits smothered in a smoky ham gravy loaded with fire-roasted green chiles. Classic Sunday brunch with a New Mexico accent.

Escalloped salmon bakes flaked canned salmon in a buttery white sauce topped with bread crumbs until golden and bubbling. Old-fashioned American comfort dish from the canned-fish era, ready in 30 minutes.

Bite-size chicken puffs feature crisp Swiss cheese pate-a-choux shells split and stuffed with a creamy chicken, celery, pimento, and white wine filling. Classic make-ahead party appetizer.

A custard-style rhubarb pie with evaporated milk, cinnamon, and cloves poured over fresh rhubarb in a single crust. Tart, creamy, and warmly spiced. A springtime classic.

Brown sugar cookie dough with butter, egg yolk, vanilla, and brandy. A versatile piped or spooned wafer cookie base that bakes thin, crispy, and golden in under 10 minutes.

Roast goose with a festive wild rice stuffing of mandarin oranges, chestnuts, and pine nuts. The skin is pricked to render the goose's rich fat and crisp golden, making a classic Christmas centerpiece.

Christmas ornament cookies are sturdy rolled sugar cookies cut into large bauble shapes and pierced with a hanging hole. Bake, decorate, and hang on the tree as edible ornaments or gift tags.

Easy fruit cobbler with a self-rising batter that puffs up around any sweetened fruit. Six ingredients, no mixing with the fruit, and the batter magically rises to the top as it bakes.

Smooth, rosy pimiento soup made with chicken broth, half-and-half, and a hint of hot sauce. Ready in 30 minutes flat, this Southern charmer is comfort in a cup.

Crispy fried eggplant: rounds salted to draw out any bitterness, then breaded in seasoned flour, egg and thyme-flecked crumbs and fried golden in butter and oil. Crisp outside, tender-not-mushy inside, finished with lemon.

Salsify is a long, thin, darkly earth-coloured root, can be found in greengrocers's shops in February, also available as preserved ; when scrubbed, it is revealed to be white whithout an obvious outer skin.

Cinnamon raisin French toast soaked in a rum-spiked egg custard with nutmeg, fried golden in butter, and drizzled with homemade maple-rum syrup. Weekend brunch just got serious.

This is great with a cup of sweetened tea on a winter morning but also good just to simply cheer you up!

Grilled lamb rib chops with a creamy white wine and gorgonzola sauce. Bold blue cheese reduction over rosy lamb, fast enough for a weeknight and rich enough for a special occasion.

Flourless chocolate almond torte with chopped dates, unsweetened chocolate, and whipped egg whites for a dense, rich cake. Topped with melted chocolate glaze and served with fresh cream.