Recipe Sifter

This rich crumb topping keep well on the pantry shelf or in the refrigerator. Halve the recipe if you use crumbs sparingly.

Louisiana crawfish bread studded with chopped crawfish tails, green onions, parsley, thyme, and garlic baked into a savory quick bread. A Cajun-style bread that's part cornbread, part seafood loaf.

Curried cream of eggplant soup with potato, thyme, and basil, puréed velvety smooth and finished with cream. Salt-sweating removes bitterness for a mellow, earthy bowl.

A silky puréed leek and rice soup with tender chicken breast, brightened by fresh lemon juice and bouquet garni. Light, elegant, and naturally creamy without a drop of cream.

Creamy garlic soup simmers a whole bulb of garlic with herbs, then thickens with an egg yolk and olive oil liaison for rich, velvety body. Served with toasted baguette rounds and grated Swiss cheese.

Creamy onion soup with sauteed yellow onions, chicken broth, thyme, and a milk-flour finish. A quick, comforting weeknight soup that lands halfway between French onion and potato-leek.

Critterless chili, a hearty vegetarian bean chili with serrano pepper, six cloves of garlic, cumin, cayenne, and spaghetti sauce as the tomato base.

This scrumptious dish is made with a variety of spices that creates a mouthwatering aroma in the kitchen.

Cuban black bean stew with ham, rum, and oregano served over rice. Dried beans soaked overnight and simmered until creamy, thickened by mashing a cup of beans back in.

Grilled oysters on the half shell drenched in a rich curry cream sauce made with homemade fish fumet, topped with a tropical red banana salsa spiked with serrano chiles, tamarind, and fresh mint. A showstopper.

This stuffing is for eggplants, pepper, tomatoes and zucchini. It is made with olive oil and served as a cold vegetable dish.

Dried tomato salad dressing made by soaking sun-dried tomatoes in red wine vinegar with basil, thyme, and rosemary in olive oil. No cooking needed, just 6-12 hours to marinate.

Duck gumbo simmers deboned duck in a dark butter roux with okra, tomatoes, and the Cajun holy trinity for a rich bayou stew. Ladle over rice for a Louisiana cold-weather classic.

Easy Italian mushroom spaghetti sauce built from fresh roma tomatoes, tomato paste, and four herbs, simmered with plenty of mushrooms. Vegetarian as-is, or add meatballs or browned beef.

Lamb Creole gumbo with browned riblets, stewed tomatoes, okra, black-eyed peas, white wine, and lemon. A Cajun-Louisiana stew with a lamb twist that freezes well.

The coriander, sugar and bland cheese balance the tartness of green tomatoes in this recipe.