Recipe Sifter

Wild mushroom beef stew, a hands-off slow cooker braise of flour-dredged beef chuck, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes in a savory paprika-spiked broth. Hearty, rich, and tender after a long, slow cook.

Microwave ginger squash soup with butternut, fresh ginger, orange juice and zest, finished with nutmeg. An elegant fall starter ready in 30 minutes, no stovetop required.

Impanadas are Italian baked half-moon pies filled with pork braised in red wine and vinegar with fennel and mint, wrapped in a butter semolina crust. Baked until golden.

Beef Brisket in Beer: a 4-pound brisket oven-braised in beer, chili sauce, brown sugar, and onions. Three hours to fork-tender, finished with a thick pan gravy. Serves 11.

Veal scaloppine with tomatoes and olives: thin-pounded veal cutlets seared quick, then topped with a bright pan sauce of bell peppers, pimento olives, and red wine vinegar.

Slow-simmered chili con carne with ground beef, kidney beans, and black olives. Bacon fat builds the base, and a splash of vinegar and brown sugar balance the heat.

Low-fat creamed spinach: fresh spinach wilted with shallot and garlic, then folded into a light milk-based bechamel with nutmeg and Parmesan. All the creamy comfort with far less fat.

Bread machine focaccia with sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, garlic oil, and a cornmeal-laced crumb. Set it, walk away, and add the mix-ins at the beep for fragrant Italian bread without the manual knead.

Pan-seared pork tenderloin medallions in a Riesling wine sauce with green peppercorns, raisins, balsamic vinegar, and toasted pine nuts. Restaurant-quality in 40 minutes.

Chunky Southwestern chicken stew with kielbasa, potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, and corn in a cumin-tomato broth. A Dutch oven crowd-feeder that serves 8.

Bacony creamed spinach folds finely chopped spinach into a half-and-half béchamel built on bacon-fat sautéed onion, garlic, and a flick of cayenne. Crispy bacon crumbles stirred in at the end. Steakhouse-style side at home.

Fettuccine Alfredo lightened up with skim milk and cream cheese, finished with garlic-bloomed butter and a thick blanket of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Silky, garlicky, and surprisingly rich.

Pizza pomodoro with homemade garlic dough topped with overlapping Roma tomato slices, fresh basil, and Parmesan. A simple Italian flatbread pizza from scratch.

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.

Seafood bouillabaisse with white fish, shrimp, oysters, and crab in a saffron-spiked tomato-wine broth. Slow-simmered base, quick-added seafood, finished in under two hours.

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.