Recipe Sifter

Hearty red bean, rice, and sausage soup with carrots, celery, red pepper, and tomato sauce. A one-pot Louisiana-inspired meal that thickens as it simmers and keeps for days.

Chicken fried steak with creamy pan gravy: tenderized chuck or round pounded with seasoned flour, breaded in cracker crumbs, fried until golden, then smothered in cream gravy made from the drippings.

Apple cheddar soup with curry, ginger, and dry mustard pureed silky smooth and topped with sharp cheddar. A warming autumn soup that balances sweet apples with spicy, nippy heat.

Warm rice and barley salad with shrimp, butter-toasted almonds, raisins, and a Dijon vinaigrette. A hearty grain salad cooked entirely in the microwave and served on lettuce.

Tom kha gai is a Thai chicken coconut soup infused with galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, finished with fish sauce, lime and serrano chiles. Light, fragrant and ready in under 30 minutes.

Miss Allie's chicken and rice casserole is an old-fashioned one-pot bake where chicken slow-cooks over onions, mushrooms, and butter, then rice steams in the rendered pan juices. Pure Sunday-supper comfort.

Classic chicken gumbo built on a dark roux with okra, fresh tomatoes, and rice simmered right in the pot. One Dutch oven, pure Cajun comfort from start to bowl.

Authentic crawfish etouffee builds on a dark roux with the Cajun trinity, a small army of garlic, and Louisiana crawfish tails. Smothered over rice, this is true New Orleans comfort food.

Prawns Hunan style: flour-dusted shrimp flash-fried in peanut oil, then tossed with a ginger-garlic-chili paste and a reduced soy-chicken stock sauce. Bold, spicy, and fast.

Post-Thanksgiving turkey enchiladas with green chiles, Monterey Jack, and sour cream rolled in corn tortillas with a homemade chili-cumin red sauce. Leftover turkey, reinvented.

Slow-braised shredded beef in red and green chile sauces with tomatillos, green chiles, and cumin. A New Mexican-style chile stew served with avocado and white cheese.

Luxurious Brie and leek soup with half-and-half, chicken broth, and a pound and a half of melted Brie strained silky smooth. Garnish with fresh chives and cracked pepper.

Pork chile verde: tender pork simmered in a tangy blended sauce of tomatillos, jalapeño and green chiles with cumin. A comforting Mexican green chili for rice or tortillas.

Creamed chicken in a from-scratch white sauce with peas and slivered almonds, seasoned with savory. Serve over biscuits, waffles, or in puff pastry shells.

Curried pork cutlets in a peach and ginger sauce with fresh peaches and peach jam. A quick skillet dinner where sweet fruit meets warm curry spice in under 25 minutes.

Mongolian beef stir-fry with flank steak, scallions, garlic, hoisin, and oyster sauce. A fast wok-fried takeout favorite with a sweet, savory, slightly spicy sauce.