10,000 fried recipes

French toasted tuna sandwiches dipped in vanilla egg batter and griddled golden. A clever mashup of tuna salad and French toast ready in 20 minutes.

Layered lamb and Italian sausage meatloaf baked in a Bundt pan with bulgur wheat, pine nuts, pistachios, and Middle Eastern spices like allspice, cinnamon, and mint. A showstopping ring-shaped meatloaf.

Throughout the Middle East, bureks are made by folding buttered, cheese-filled phyllo dough into little triangular shapes. Cigarro bureks taste the same but, as the name implies, are rolled into cylindrical shapes resembling small cigars.

Chicken and dumplings casserole layered with chicken breasts, onion, celery, carrots, and sage in broth, topped with hand-rolled dumpling balls. One-dish oven dinner.

So to start off with the first post, I decided to make a meal that screams of comfort food. Whilst it does take a bit of a while to get the meal done, once you take that first bite, heaven couldn’t seem closer if you were Adam trying to touch God’s finger in the “Creation of Adam” fresco created by Michaelangelo. The meal I speak of is Cottage Pie. There is much debate as to what exactly a cottage pie is and how it is different to a Shepherd’s pie...I don’t know. The dominant theory is that Sheperds pie uses lamb mince, whilst a cottage pie uses beef mince. I don’t know about you, but the term “Sheperds Pie” does not get my tastebuds going quite as well, so I prefer the term cottage pie. Besides, comparing the price of ground (mince) beef to ground lamb, a student would pick up the beef mince in a heartbeat without even so much as glancing at the lamb in the meat section. This cottage pie that I made is full of flavour, and just makes you want to cuddle up next to a fire and watch TCM movies all day either by yourself, or with a significant other. Here is the recipe:

Pasta stuffed pizza-style, jumbo pasta shells filled with shredded zucchini, torn pepperoni and Italian bread crumbs, baked under tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. A pizza-night mashup in shell form.

This tasty side dish made with pinto beans, salt pork and jalapeno peppers goes great with rice or even bread bowls.

Italian balsamic chicken: grilled chicken breasts marinated in balsamic, olive oil, and herbs, then sliced into strips for salads, wraps, or antipasto boards. Meal-prep friendly protein with big flavor.

Cajun shepherd's pie layers spiced beef-pork meatloaf, julienned sautéed vegetables, and creamy mashed potatoes, then broils until golden. Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana spin on the British classic, loaded with cayenne and bell pepper.

Hearty vegetarian two-bean and cheddar cheese pie loaded with chickpeas, kidney beans, and melted cheddar in a homemade biscuit crust. A filling, protein-rich meatless dinner baked in just 25 minutes.

Tuna chili Texas-style with kidney beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, and red wine vinegar. A quick microwave chili that swaps ground beef for canned tuna.

Sweet potatoes with a hint of orange: cooked sweet potatoes baked with cinnamon, dried apricots, and fresh orange slices. A lighter, fruit-sweetened holiday side with no marshmallows or piles of sugar.

A crunchy no-cook snack mix of graham cracker squares, chocolate malt balls, banana chips, and honey roasted peanuts. Toss it together in 10 minutes for movie nights, road trips, or after-school munching.

Chicken artichoke pizza loaded with marinated artichoke hearts, zucchini, mushrooms, olives, and Roma tomatoes on a Boboli crust with Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheese.

If you're not in the mood for meat, try this scrumptious dish made with black eyed peas, squash, chili peppers and corn.

Slow-simmered pinto beans with salt pork, red chili pepper, tomato paste, cumin, and chili powder. An old-school chuck wagon recipe that cooks all day and feeds eight hungry hands.