2,897 bitter recipes

Sourdough silver dollar hotcakes with an overnight fermented batter, baking soda for lift, and a tangy flavor no regular pancake can match. Makes 30 mini pancakes.

Chicken cacciatore braises bone-in chicken pieces with Italian plum tomatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, and mushrooms in a herby tomato sauce. The Italian hunter's-style classic that gets better the longer it simmers.

Lasagne pie is a crustless impossible pie with all the flavors of lasagna but none of the noodles. Ground beef, three cheeses, tomato paste, and a Bisquick batter that forms its own crust.

Toasted pita chips split, cut, and bake pita bread into crisp triangles for dips, soups, and lunchboxes. Two ingredients, eight-minute bake, much better than store-bought.

Crunchy cabbage slaw with shredded carrot, green pepper, and currants in a tangy vinegar-mayo dressing with celery seed. Light, crisp, and better after a good chill.

Bacon and bean soup simmers slivered bacon with kidney beans, carrots, celery and turnip in a thyme-scented beef broth. A hearty winter soup that tastes even better the next day.

Spicy Indonesian noodles with ground beef, bacon, tomatoes, and authentic seasonings like boemboe nasi goreng and sambal oelek. This one-hour dish tastes even better the next day.

Chinese-American General Tso's chicken with crispy deep-fried bites tossed in a sweet-and-tangy chili-garlic-ginger sauce. Better than takeout, ready in under two hours including marinade time.

Italian-style green bean salad tossed with thinly sliced onions, red wine vinegar, olive oil, basil, and Parmesan. A low-calorie make-ahead side dish that gets better the longer it chills.

Pickled pink eggs tinted with beet juice and brined in a vinegar-pickling-spice mix with garlic and bay leaf. Classic pub-snack or potluck appetizer that gets better the longer it sits. Just six ingredients.

Olive oil marinated mushrooms simmer button mushrooms in herbed wine vinegar with thyme, garlic, and brandy. A make-ahead antipasto that gets better after a night in the fridge.

Homemade Thai sweet chili sauce with rice vinegar, fish sauce, plum sauce, and serrano chilies. Sweet, tangy, and spicy dipping sauce ready in 30 minutes. Better than store-bought.

Chiles rellenos with green chili strips wrapped around cheddar cheese cubes, dipped in a light egg batter, and deep-fried golden. Classic Mexican stuffed peppers done the traditional way.

Apricot and cardamom bars with dried apricot, apricot nectar, and unsweetened applesauce in the batter, finished with a sweet apricot glaze drizzle. Low-fat and done in 45 minutes.

Homemade oven-baked croutons from day-old bread, slow-dried at low heat until golden and crunchy. One ingredient, any herbs you like, and better than anything from a bag.

Crispy battered shrimp deep-fried until golden and tossed in a spicy-sweet sauce with garlic. This Chinese restaurant favorite is ready in 40 minutes for a crowd-pleasing dinner.