Recipe Sifter

Grilled vegetable herb and goat cheese sandwiches layer grilled zucchini and Japanese eggplant with sundried tomato herb oil, creamy goat cheese, and spinach on baguette.

Stuffed butternut squash filled with wild rice, torn whole wheat bread, red onion, sage, thyme, and fresh orange juice. A hearty vegetarian main dish.

Beer and beef stew from Granite Brewery with cubed beef, root vegetables, Dijon mustard, and a dark chocolate-brown roux. A pub-style stew thickened with a proper French roux.

Creole shrimp gumbo simmers a dark roux with shrimp, crabmeat, oysters, okra, tomatoes, and the holy trinity. Louisiana-style seafood stew served over hot rice with a kick of Tabasco.

Creamy low-calorie crab and asparagus soup with dry sherry, lemon zest, and fresh vegetables in a light skim milk base. A guilt-free bowl of comfort ready in one hour.

Baked orange roughy with stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and Italian herbs. A light, low-fat one-pan fish dinner with a thick vegetable sauce.

Grilled smoked sausage with herb-marinated vegetables including zucchini, squash, leeks, and tomatoes. A homemade basil-oregano vinaigrette adds flavor to this easy summer grill meal.

Lamb Creole gumbo with browned lamb riblets, okra, black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, and white wine simmered low and slow. A hearty Louisiana-style pot that serves eight and freezes well.

Old-fashioned bean and bacon soup made with dried pinto beans, smoky bacon, carrots, celery, and a splash of vinegar at the end. Slow-simmered, hearty, and far better than the canned version.

Hy's Georgia chain-gang chili: a three-meat marathon chili with burgundy-marinated beef, ground pork, and poached chicken, simmered three hours with three kinds of chiles, beer, and Sauterne.

Grilled Chicken, New Potato & Roasted Garlic Quesadilla recipe

Not Just Regular Beef Stew: a refined version with seared tenderloin cubes, red wine, clove-studded onion, and grated potato as a natural thickener. Pearl onions and fresh parsley finish.

Louisiana red beans and rice with the holy trinity, cumin, thyme, and hot sauce. A hearty vegetarian version of the Cajun Monday classic, served over steamed rice.

Garlic lover's lentil soup: a quarter cup of garlic anchors this pressure cooker lentil soup with leeks, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and balsamic. Vegan, high fiber.

Noodles in fairy butter, a sweet historical pasta tossed in a rich sauce of hard-cooked egg yolks, butter, sugar, orange flower water, thyme, and basil.

Welsh trout and bacon (Brithyll a Chig Moch) stuffs whole rainbow trout with fresh herbs and butter, wraps it in bacon, and bakes it in foil. Simple, rustic, and brilliant.