10,000 bitter recipes

Mom's chicken piccata with egg-dipped, flour-coated breasts browned in butter and simmered in a tangy lemon broth. A simpler weeknight take on the classic Italian-American dish.

Hot and spicy roasted almonds tossed in butter, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, cayenne, and garlic powder, then finished with coarse salt. An addictive bar snack ready in 30 minutes.

Invite your neighbors over for dinner so they can try this succulent and tantalizing dish that can easily be made with your crockpot.

Indiana persimmon pudding cake with ground almonds and buttermilk baked in a tube pan. Dense, moist, and warmly spiced with native persimmon pulp.

Mexican chocolate sauce made with unsweetened chocolate, Kahlua coffee liqueur, cream, butter, and corn syrup. Rich, pourable, and keeps in the fridge for up to three months.

Ham rolls with grapes and tomato cream sauce is an elegant little main: thin ham rolled and warmed, then napped in a silky strained tomato cream studded with wine-poached green grapes. Bistro flair, surprisingly simple.

Saffron-kissed almond biscotti with bright lemon zest and a glossy egg-white glaze. Twice-baked until dry and crisp, these Italian cookies actually improve after a few days in a paper bag.

Obatzda, the classic Bavarian beer cheese spread with ripe Camembert, cream cheese, butter, and caraway seeds. Rustic, pungent, and ready in 10 minutes. A beer garden staple.

A delicious and decadent cheesecake made with oreo cookies and chocolate chips.

A two-layer cocoa cake with a cooked fudge frosting made the old-fashioned way, heated to soft-ball stage and beaten until thick. Cake flour keeps the crumb feathery light against that dense, candy-like frosting.

Fastnacht kucka: Pennsylvania Dutch molasses and honey doughnuts made with an overnight yeast sponge. Soft, slightly sweet, and deeply traditional Shrove Tuesday eating.

Almond Brown Sugar Biscotti: classic twice-baked Italian cookies with anise, brown sugar warmth, and chopped almonds. Crisp, dunkable, makes 3 dozen and stores for a month.

Old-fashioned chocolate cake with deep cocoa flavor and tender, moist crumb from buttermilk and boiling water. This vintage one-bowl recipe bakes into pure chocolate nostalgia.

Date pecan snowball cookies rolled in powdered sugar with a buttery, crumbly shortbread base. No eggs, no leavening, just butter, flour, dates, and pecans.

This unique snack made of raisins, walnuts and coffee is a tasty treat when on the go or at work.

Can't make up your mind how fancy to get? Here are 2 presentations of this tasty squash--one homey and one for "dress-up".