10,000 dream recipes

Creepy-crawly edible hornworms made from cucumber strips, cream cheese, and string cheese, served in hollowed-out tomatoes. A no-cook Halloween snack kids can help make.

Bacon clam chowder is a New England-style soup with minced clams, smoky bacon and half-and-half, simmered overnight for deep flavor. Skimmed and finished with seafood seasoning the next day.

Towering chocolate layer cake with whipped cream filling and rich chocolate frosting beaten over ice. Deep cocoa flavor in every bite.

Rich and creamy baked spinach casserole made with cream cheese, butter, and onion soup mix, topped with crispy breadcrumbs. Only 5 ingredients and a holiday side dish crowd-pleaser.

Fresh fruit pie with blueberries, strawberries, or peaches set in cornstarch-thickened glaze: whipped cream lining the crust, fruit filling on top, chilled until firm and sliceable.

A Southern-style gooey butter cake with a yellow cake mix crust and a rich cream cheese, egg, and powdered sugar filling. Cut into bars for the ultimate sweet treat.

German baked pork chops marinated in white wine, Hungarian paprika, caraway, and garlic, then finished with a sour cream gravy. Serve with buttered noodles or dumplings.

Coffee chiffon cake folds whipped egg whites into a coffee-spiked oil and yolk batter for a tall, springy cake with deep coffee flavor and the airy crumb that defines chiffon.

Fairy cookies made with both powdered and granulated sugar, margarine, and oil for a melt-in-your-mouth texture. A big batch sugar cookie recipe that bakes up light, tender, and crisp.

A quick, easy, and inexpensive dish that got my kids through college.

Creamy ambrosia fruit salad with mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, coconut, mini marshmallows, and sour cream. A no-cook, make-ahead holiday side dish.

Ninfa's green sauce is the legendary Houston Tex-Mex table dip: simmered green tomatoes, tomatillos, and jalapeños puréed with avocado, cilantro, sour cream, and garlic. Pale jade, creamy, dangerously dippable.

Creamy broccoli and artichoke casserole loaded with cream cheese, butter, and a squeeze of lemon, topped with crunchy cracker crumbs. Ready in 45 minutes with just 6 ingredients.

Pain au Sucre, Quebec sugar house maple toast: buttered whole wheat bread broiled with maple sugar until bubbling, topped with walnuts and cream. A 25-minute French-Canadian breakfast treat.

Hearty meat and Vidalia onion pie layers ground beef, sweet onions, mushrooms and a Swiss-cheddar sour cream custard over a flaky buttermilk biscuit crust. Southern comfort food in a skillet pie.

Polar Bear cocktail: Amaretto, white creme de cacao, chocolate syrup, and vanilla ice cream blended smooth. A creamy dessert drink ready in 10 minutes that makes 2 glasses.