1,962 topping recipes

Drunken pioneers pasta: wagon wheels topped with sauteed peppers and onions in a quick red wine and beef-stock sauce with basil and rosemary. Pantry weeknight pasta in 25 minutes.

Classic baked flan with a deep amber caramel top and silky vanilla-orange custard underneath. Spanish-style cream caramel made the proper water-bath way for a dinner-party showstopper.

Festive vegetable bake from the microwave with broccoli, cream of broccoli soup, and crunchy french fried onions on top. The classic green bean casserole spirit, ready in under 25 minutes.

Layered no-bake mocha mousse slice with coffee-soaked sponge fingers, white chocolate cream, and a dark chocolate Kahlua mousse top. An Australian tiramisu cousin that slices clean and cold.

Flaky puff pastry shells filled with orange-scented cream cheese whipped cream and topped with cherry pie filling. A dinner party dessert that looks dressed up but takes 30 minutes.

Grilled swordfish sandwiches marinated in lemon and oregano, topped with a cool cucumber-yogurt sauce and peppery watercress on a crusty roll. A Greek-inspired summer dinner in 30 minutes.

Low-fat no-bake cheesecake built on cottage cheese and gelatin, topped with fresh strawberries and raspberries. Heart-shaped Valentine's-ready dessert that skips the cream cheese and the oven.

Turtle shells are a novelty edible-insect snack: cooked cicadas dipped in warm chocolate glaze and cooled into crunchy, chocolate-topped morsels. A bold entry into entomophagy for the adventurous.

Whipped shortbread cookies that practically melt on the tongue. Beaten with cornstarch and powdered sugar for a cloud-light, almost feathery crumb. Top with a candied cherry or pecan half.

Mexican pizza on cornmeal-dusted personal crusts topped with seasoned ground beef, taco sauce, cheddar, and finished with cool lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and scallions. Pizza-night-meets-taco-night.

U.S. Mints are intensely fudgy mint chocolate brownies spiked with espresso and creme de menthe, then topped with a smooth mint chocolate glaze. Make-ahead chocolate-mint squares for entertaining.

Grilled beef tenderloin topped with melted Asadero cheese and a butter-mounted chipotle sauce, finished with crumbled Cotija and fresh cilantro. A Mexican-style steakhouse treatment for special-occasion grilling.

Pavlova: a crisp meringue shell with a soft, marshmallow-like center, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. The Australian summer dessert that lets seasonal berries and stone fruit shine.

Alice's lemon pie is a heritage 9-ingredient meringue pie with a cornstarch-thickened lemon filling and powdered-sugar meringue topping. Light, tart, and finished in a deep dish pastry shell.

Beef miroton is a classic French method for transforming leftover roast beef into a new meal. Sliced beef simmered in a tangy onion-vinegar sauce, topped with bread crumbs, and baked until crisp.

Kulich is the tall, golden Russian Easter bread scented with saffron, rum-soaked raisins, almonds, and orange zest. Baked in coffee cans for the traditional cylindrical shape and topped with lemon glaze.