10 finest recipes

Old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookies made with shortening for extra-chewy texture. A from-scratch drop cookie recipe that makes three dozen.

Oatmeal raisin bar cookies spread in a shallow pan and baked at 325. Three cups of rolled oats, sour milk, and raisins in a soft, cake-like sheet cookie. Mix, spread, bake, done.

Lebanese tabbouleh herb salad heavy on fresh parsley and mint, fine bulgur, lemon and olive oil. Served on romaine leaves, the proper Middle Eastern way.

Loaded brownies with melted unsweetened chocolate, marshmallows, pecans, and chocolate chips baked into a fudgy, gooey slab. Stress-baking at its finest.

Mrs Fields apple cobbler cookies loaded with chopped Granny Smith apples, apple butter, raisins, and pecans, rolled in a cinnamon-oat crumb coating. Fall baking at its finest.

Cajun shepherd's pie with a spicy beef and pork meatloaf base, julienned zucchini and squash, and creamy buttery mashed potatoes browned on top. Louisiana comfort food at its finest.

Vegan wild rice crepes stuffed with a savory trio of shiitake, oyster, and button mushrooms, finished with a silky nutty almond sauce. Elegant plant-based entertaining at its finest.

Irish comfort food at its finest: fluffy mashed potatoes whipped with butter-soft apples. Sweet and savory collide in this traditional side that pairs beautifully with bacon or fried fish.

Aunt Velma's 3-ingredient Scottish shortbread is buttery, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Mixed by hand and baked golden, this old-fashioned holiday cookie recipe is pure simplicity at its finest.

Traditional Canadian sweet pickled beaver brined overnight, simmered with pickling spices, then roasted under a sticky glaze of brown sugar, dry mustard, cinnamon, white wine, and pineapple juice. Wild game cooking at its finest.