10,000 icing recipes

Strawberries Romanoff muffins are a no-bake brunch trick: toasted English muffins spread with cinnamon-raisin purée, piled with hulled strawberries, drizzled with brown-sugar sour cream, and topped with toasted almonds.

Creamy leek risotto with Parmesan and fresh parsley, built one ladle at a time with vegetable stock. A simple vegetarian Italian rice dish that works equally well with courgette (zucchini) for a summer swap.

Mexican chili beef with cubed round steak braised in crushed tomatoes with jalapeno, cumin seeds, and oregano. A lean, no-bean chili simmered low until fork-tender and saucy.

Filipino ginisang ampalaya with bitter melon, pork, shrimp, and scrambled eggs in a savory patis sauce. A classic Pinoy ulam best served hot over steamed rice.

Fenugreek has a 'spicy' taste most similar to the effect of cumin - it makes the food spicier without adding a particular taste of its own

Hot-sauce chili simmers cubed beef chuck with green chilies, hot pepper sauce, chili powder, and cumin into a no-bean Texas-style chili. Two-stage cook for fork-tender beef.

Prawns in spice-laden coconut sauce: a South Indian-style prawn curry in a rich coconut sauce built from a freshly ground chile-and-spice paste, cooked until the oil separates. Fragrant, creamy, and warming.

Halloween Jack-O'-Lantern cupcakes made with pumpkin, buttermilk, and pumpkin pie spice, topped with pumpkin frosting and decorated with black licorice faces and green gumdrop stems.

Lorraine's red stew fish: West African style fish stew with onions, tomatoes, and jalapeños ground into a deep red sauce, thickened with cornstarch and finished with butter. Spoon over rice or fufu.

Pepper beef balls simmer tender meatballs in a glossy soy-ginger sauce with green peppers, onion, and tomato, thickened to coat. A pepper-steak twist in meatball form, served over rice.

Quick turkey almond stir fry with snow peas, mushrooms, and a ginger-soy sauce. Lean turkey breast cubes cook in minutes for a fast, healthy weeknight dinner.

Steamed persimmon pudding with brandy, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg, flambed at the table and served with whipped cream. An old-fashioned holiday dessert with spectacular presentation.

Shrimp, chicken, water chestnuts, and Chinese ham wrapped in pork caul fat, deep-fried into crispy golden rolls, and served with hoisin dipping sauce. An impressive Chinese banquet appetizer with showstopping presentation.

Boneless chicken in a creamy cheese-mustard sauce made with cream of chicken soup, served over rice with broccoli and chopped pimentos. A quick weeknight dinner.

Ground turkey burritos with refried beans, green chilies, picante sauce, cumin, and Monterey Jack cheese wrapped in flour tortillas. A 30-minute Mexican dinner that's easy to customize.

A Victorian-era Irish lobster recipe from novelist Thackeray: tender lobster stewed in butter with mustard, vinegar, ketchup, and cayenne. Rich, briny, and steeped in literary history.