Recipe Sifter

Wartime impossible pie from South London with one batter that splits into crust, custard, and filling as it bakes. Use it sweet with coconut and vanilla, or savoury with canned tuna or salmon and frozen vegetables. Pantry magic.

Mushroom bisque made from scratch with a full pound of fresh mushrooms, white wine, chicken broth, and heavy cream. A rich, velvety soup thickened with a roux and cornstarch.

Mushroom pate: a vegetarian appetizer of buttery sauteed mushrooms and onions deglazed with sherry, then blended with cream cheese and fresh parsley. Spread on crackers or crusty bread for the perfect cocktail snack.

Mushroom soup concentrate is a homemade replacement for canned condensed mushroom soup, built from fresh mushrooms, butter, onion, celery and broth. Use it in casseroles or thin with milk for a quick bowl.

Pressure cooker saffron brown rice with mushrooms, leeks, carrots, and fennel seeds. A one-pot vegetarian side that cooks hands-off in 25 minutes.

Mushrooms Barcelona: fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter, finished with dry sherry, lemon juice, orange peel, toasted walnuts, and parsley. A Spanish-style tapas appetizer ready in 20 minutes.

New Delhi spiced chicken with turmeric, curry, coriander, and ginger-coated chicken breast stir-fried with tomatoes, peppers, raisins, and a splash of sherry. Indian-inspired and ready in 40 minutes.

New England creamy clam chowder built the right way: bacon-rendered base, tender potatoes, two cans of minced clams, and a finish of half-and-half plus heavy cream. No tomatoes, no shortcuts.

New Orleans daube with a 4-5 pound beef roast braised low and slow with salt pork, sherry, cloves, and thyme, served sliced over spaghetti with pan juices.

New potato casserole with thinly sliced potatoes and onions baked under butter until tender and golden, served with herbed sour cream. Five ingredients and effortlessly simple.

Waldorf chicken salad with poached chicken breast, crisp red apples, toasted pecans, and a tangy yogurt-mustard dressing. A lighter take on the classic with three built-in variations.

Vegetarian nori rolls with brown rice, cucumber, carrots, daikon, bean sprouts, and umeboshi plum. No-cook, low calorie, and packed with crunch.

Ochsenschwanzsuppe, a classic German oxtail soup simmered for 5 hours with vegetables, thickened with browned flour and butter, and finished with Madeira wine. Deep, beefy, and velvety.

Olive Garden spaghetti carbonara copycat: thick-cut bacon and sautéed mushrooms tossed with spaghetti and a creamy béchamel-Parmesan sauce. The American-Italian chain version, no raw eggs required.

Onion and mushroom bhajis are Indian-style fritters dipped in spiced yogurt batter and deep-fried golden. Crisp, vegetarian appetizer with turmeric, cumin, coriander, and chili. Makes 10 fritters.

Crustless onion pie with sauteed onions, eggs, Parmesan, and bread crumbs baked into a savory vegetarian custard. A low-fat, 5-ingredient onion tart with no pastry shell.