136 litter recipes

Red onion soup caramelized in butter with white wine, beef broth, and a dash of Angostura bitters, finished with Parmesan. A refined twist on French onion soup ready in 35 minutes.

Whole chickens stuffed with sausage dressing and smoked over charcoal for 5 hours with a wine-herb water pan. Louisiana-style backyard smoking at its finest. Serves 8.

Quail breasts braised in a lemon-butter sauce with mushrooms, nutmeg, sherry, and Angostura bitters. A Southern-style game bird dish served over egg noodles.

Wine-marinated venison chops stacked with green pepper rings, rice, onion, and tomato slices, then oven-steamed in a garlicky tomato sauce spiked with Angostura bitters. A complete one-dish meal.

A killer no-bean Texas-style chili with coarse-ground chuck, beer, tequila, whiskey, and six whole jalapeños. Not for the faint of heart.

Here's a recipe for pumpkin soup. It comes from Jon Gatewood, the executive chef of Emma's restaurant in the Silas Griffith Inn in Danby, Vermont.

No-bake key lime pie made with lime gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, fresh lime juice, and zest folded into a beaten egg-white cloud. A retro Florida pie that sets up cold without an oven.

Scalloped oysters and chicken: browned chicken breast layered with plump oysters, buttery cracker crumbs, white wine cream sauce, and a splash of bitters. A retro holiday-worthy casserole.

Pitlai is a South Indian lentil stew with bitter gourd (karela), chickpeas, tamarind, and a ground coconut-spice paste. A tangy, complex vegetarian curry with toor dal and jaggery.

A wonderful venison chili that's loaded with flavour.

Low-fat fudgy chocolate cake made with buttermilk, strong coffee, and cocoa powder, topped with a glossy cooked chocolate icing. No butter needed.

Hearty no-bean beef chili built on 3 pounds of stewing beef, half a cup of chili powder, masa harina for body, and a secret weapon: a dash of Peychaud's bitters and nutmeg at the finish.

Pumpkin praline pie hides a buttery pecan-praline layer beneath spiced pumpkin filling in a hot-water pastry crust. A Southern Thanksgiving pie that outshines the standard version.

Master Coney sauce: the classic Detroit-style hot dog topping with ground beef, tomato, and a warm spice list of cinnamon, allspice, clove, cumin, chili powder, and mint. Simmered low for three hours.

Halloween gag cookies rolled in Grape-Nuts and served from a clean litter box with a scoop. Chocolate and gingerbread dough logs shaped like, well, you know. Harmless fun.

Whole wheat cookies shaped like cat poop, rolled in Grape-Nuts, and served in a litter box. Two dough options: chocolate or gingerbread. The ultimate gross-out Halloween party hit!