162 stale recipes

Crispy skinned red snapper crusted with eight spices including Szechuan peppercorn, star anise, cinnamon, and cumin. Pan-seared then oven-roasted for shatteringly crisp skin.

Brown sugar and cinnamon candied almonds cooked to firm ball stage in cream and butter. Crunchy, sweet, and addictive with just 7 ingredients and 15 minutes of work.

Homemade chocolate walnut cream candies with marshmallow cream, fondant, and heavy cream cooked to the soft ball stage. Old-fashioned candy shop fudge you can make at home.

Toffee-coated popcorn with pecans and mixed dried fruit, baked until crunchy. A homemade caramel corn snack mix cooked to hard-ball stage for a crispy, buttery shell.

Peanut fudge is old-school stovetop chocolate fudge made with milk, corn syrup, and unsweetened chocolate, beaten to the classic soft-ball stage and loaded with salted peanuts.

Whole grilled sea bass over a raw winter slaw of julienned carrot, parsnip, and celeriac with toasted walnuts and champagne vinegar. Bistro-style dinner for two in 30 minutes.

Old-fashioned coconut fudge candy shaped into little haystacks. Brown sugar, butter, and shredded coconut cooked to soft-ball stage, then dropped onto wax paper. Makes about 60 pieces.

Cold-smoked grilled pompano with a smoked tomato and aged balsamic vinaigrette. A two-stage technique that builds deep smoke and char on a rich Gulf Coast game fish.

Smoked and grilled pompano with a raw smoked-tomato and balsamic vinaigrette. A two-stage seafood main that builds wood smoke into the fish and a bright tomato dressing.

Chocolate praline truffles with homemade caramelized almond praline powder, semi-sweet chocolate ganache, orange liqueur, and a hand-rolled cocoa-dusted shell. A three-stage holiday confection worth the effort.

Massive fire camp chili recipe scaled to feed 1,200 people. Pinto beans, ground beef, bacon, jalapenos, and chili powder simmered for 6 hours over an open fire. A true crowd feeder.

Small-batch walnut brownies baked in a loaf pan with cocoa powder, one egg, and vegetable shortening. Dense, fudgy, and scaled for two to four people instead of a crowd.

Homemade date and nut candy roll coated in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Sugar, evaporated milk, and dates cook to soft-ball stage, then get shaped into logs with pecans and vanilla.

Honey drops candy boils pure honey with butter and a splash of lemon to hard ball stage, then pulls into chewy white taffy with a porous, melt-on-the-tongue texture.

Fruit Cornish hens: classic Chicken Marbella scaled up for small birds. Cornish hens marinated with garlic, oregano, prunes, apricots, green olives, and capers, then roasted until golden with brown sugar glaze.

A classic French bordelaise sauce built from scratch in three stages: matignon, espagnole, and a red wine reduction finished with poached bone marrow. The ultimate companion for game, beef steaks, and roasts.