Recipe Sifter

Classic French blanquette of veal with cauliflower in a velvety white roux sauce finished with sour cream. Slow-simmered tender veal stew, lightly nutmegged. Serve over rice pilaf or buttered noodles.

Pumpkin and broccoli chowder simmers pumpkin puree with sauteed onion, soy sauce, tomato, and a hit of maple syrup, then folds in steamed broccoli and a touch of cream. A fall-into-winter soup.

Pureed red lentil soup with bacon and leek, finished with cream and served with poached chicken liver dumplings. A refined European soup with old-world elegance.

Curry lobster risotto: arborio rice cooked the classic risotto way with West Indian curry powder, ginger, and shallots, finished with sweet papaya, mango, banana, and chunks of cooked lobster.

Authentic Chinese hot and sour soup with wood ear fungi, dried lily buds, shiitake mushrooms, pork shreds, and silken tofu. Tangy, peppery, and finished with egg ribbons and sesame oil.

White chicken chili with tomatillos, Rotel tomatoes, cannellini beans, green chiles, and lime juice. Stovetop or crockpot, topped with sharp cheddar.

Classic turkey stuffing with bread cubes, sautéed celery and onion, butter, and chicken broth. Simple enough to memorize, good enough to make every Thanksgiving.

Chili shrimp stir-fry: wok-fired shrimp in a glossy Thai chili paste sauce with ginger, garlic, scallions, sherry, and a sesame oil finish. A 30-minute restaurant-style dish done cleaner than takeout.

Creamy Thai-style coconut chicken soup with lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, and enoki mushrooms. A fragrant, spicy bowl inspired by tom kha gai that's ready in about an hour.

Javanese peanut pasta with fettuccine tossed in a spicy peanut sauce made from chunky peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, and rice vinegar. Topped with coconut and cucumber.

Basic quinoa cooked pilaf-style with garlic and olive oil, toasted in the pan before simmering in chicken broth. A nutty, fluffy grain side dish in under an hour.

Microwave seafood paella with shrimp, mussels, and orange roughy over tomato rice. Ready in about 25 minutes of microwave time with no stovetop or oven required.

Chiles rellenos con queso stuffs roasted green chiles with Monterey Jack, dips them in fluffy egg batter, and fries to golden puffs. Topped with a spiced cinnamon-clove tomato sauce.

Chicken and zucchini soup built from scratch: a whole chicken simmered with parsnip, turnip, and lemon, then enriched with browned Italian sausage, pasta shells, and grated zucchini stirred in at the end.

Lapin en gibelotte braises rabbit in white wine with bacon, garlic, and a bouquet garni, then finishes the strained sauce with cream. Old-school French country cooking with no shortcuts.

Potato gnocchi with wild mushrooms: pillowy handmade gnocchi from salt-baked potatoes, tossed with morels, porcini, shiitakes, and oyster mushrooms in a garlic-shallot pan sauce with Parmesan.