10,000 buttery recipes

Make-ahead mashed potato casserole with sour cream and cream cheese, refrigerated overnight, then baked the next day. The Thanksgiving and holiday side that frees up your stovetop.

Old-California empanadita pastry with a flaky cream cheese and butter dough. A versatile chilled make-ahead dough for sweet or savory hand pies, brushed with egg wash before baking.

Kolachky dough made with cream cheese, butter, egg yolks, and flour. An overnight pastry dough that rolls out flaky and tender for filling with fruit or nuts.

Kolachky cream cheese dough, the rich, flaky pastry base for these Eastern European cookies. Just flour, butter, cream cheese and egg, chilled overnight, rolled on sugar and filled with prune, apricot, walnut or poppy seed.

Fruity couscous sauteed in butter with rum-soaked raisins, sugar, and chopped nuts, topped with yogurt. A sweet, nutty side dish or light dessert ready in 25 minutes.

Variations: Omit parsley, add tarragon or rosemary.

Garlic shrimp scampi-style with butter, white wine, and parsley over rice. A simple weeknight classic adapted from the Drawbridge Inn, ready in under 30 minutes.

Red lentil dahl simmered with turmeric, green chili, and butter-fried onions. A simple vegetarian Indian classic finished with fresh lemon juice.

Sauteed smallmouth bass meunier dredged in cornmeal and flour, pan-fried in butter, and finished with a vinegar pan sauce. A classic French-meets-camp fish preparation.

Cheesy garlic bread with melted Swiss, garlic butter, and parsley spread between slices of French bread. The pull-apart loaf appetizer that ruins regular garlic bread for everyone.

Easy to pack and perfect as crudités for that favorite dip, the crunchy texture and sweet taste of carrots is popular among both adults and children. Although they are shipped around the country from California throughout the year, locally grown carrots are in season in the summer and fall when they are the freshest and most flavorful.

All root vegetables can be sautéed. However, because of their density they must be cut into thin slices or a small dice. If not, the exteriors will burn before the center is cooked.

Caramelized onion topping with rosemary and toasted pine nuts, slow-cooked in butter and olive oil. A savory make-ahead spread for crostini, pizza, roast meats, or tossed with pasta.

Fried rabbit simmered first in salted water with peppercorns and bay leaves until tender, then dredged in flour and pan-fried in butter until golden. A two-step method for crispy, juicy rabbit.

Spaghetti alla chitarra tossed with butter-sauteed mushrooms, garlic, crushed chilies, oregano, and freshly grated Parmesan. An elegant Italian pasta that comes together in under 45 minutes.

Roast leg of venison, no marinade required, larded with salt pork and garlic, rubbed with thyme butter, and roasted to rare with a quick pan gravy from the drippings.