Recipe Sifter

Drunken pioneers pasta: wagon wheels topped with sauteed peppers and onions in a quick red wine and beef-stock sauce with basil and rosemary. Pantry weeknight pasta in 25 minutes.

Chili brunch egg bake mixes a dozen eggs with cheddar, cottage cheese, diced green chiles, and melted butter. Assemble the night before and bake in the morning. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Porterhouse lamb chops grilled over pecan wood, served with a Southern-style corn and tri-color pepper chow chow in a tangy vinegar-mustard-rosemary sauce. A refined grill-and-relish pairing.

Lemony ham and rice soup made in the microwave in just 20 minutes. A quick one-dish meal using canned chicken rice soup, chopped ham, lemon juice, and nutmeg.

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Danish leveropostej: a classic pork liver pate with anchovies, onion, allspice, and clove, wrapped in pork fat and baked in a water bath. Served sliced on smorrebrod or as a first course.

Mushrooms and queen scallops in a silky cream sauce finished with tarragon vinegar and anchovy essence. A refined British appetizer served in scallop shells or a gratin dish.

Rotisserie barbecued leg of pork spins a whole leg over coals, basted with a brown sugar, mustard and clove glaze for a sticky-sweet crust over hours of slow rotation.

Butter toffee pecan bars with a shortbread base, boiled butter-sugar topping, and swirled milk chocolate on top. A three-layer cookie bar that yields 36 pieces.

Fudgy chocolate chip cookies with melted chocolate in the dough plus extra chips and walnuts throughout. A quick-soured milk trick adds tang and tenderness to a dense, brownie-like cookie.

Giant cookie studded with dates, almonds, and orange zest, baked on a pizza pan and sliced into wedges. Fun 30-minute dessert.

Classic oatmeal cookies with brown sugar, shortening, and three cups of rolled oats. Crispy edges, chewy centers, and endlessly customizable with mix-ins.

Russian pastries (pirozhki) with a tender cream cheese dough wrapped around savory ground beef, sour cream, dill, and chopped egg. Make-ahead friendly and freezer-stable for up to a month.

Hidden Kisses cookies with chocolate kisses wrapped in buttery pecan shortbread and rolled in powdered sugar. A snowball cookie with a melted chocolate surprise inside.

Veal paprika simmered in white wine with mushrooms, onion, and sour cream over buttered noodles. A Hungarian-inspired comfort dish with a rich, velvety sauce.

Rabbit cake is an old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch comfort bake: tender deboned rabbit layered with creamy potato filling and a simple stock gravy, then baked until golden and bubbling. Frugal, deeply savory.