Recipe Sifter

Easy Swiss steak: pounded round steak braised low and slow with tomatoes, onion, and green pepper into a fork-tender American supper-club classic.

Green tomato pie with sliced unripe tomatoes layered with sugar, lemon, and allspice under a lattice crust. The Southern end-of-summer dessert that transforms unripe tomatoes from the garden.

Abadoo's Banana Bread: a simple, no-frills banana bread with three eggs for a tender, almost cake-like crumb. No nuts, no spices, just pure ripe banana flavor in every slice.

Boston cream pie with two split sponge layers, thick vanilla pastry custard, and a warm chocolate glaze that drips down the sides. The Massachusetts state dessert built from scratch.

Sweet potato casserole with double ginger, orange zest, and a crispy brown sugar walnut crust. Baked until puffed and golden for a holiday side that steals the show.

Peach pie with almond crumble topping layers fresh blanched-peeled peaches with almond extract under a buttery sliced-almond streusel. Two-temperature bake locks in juice and crisps the crumble.

Pear and anise skillet tart with caramelized sugar, fresh pears arranged spoke-fashion, and a lemon-anise pastry crust baked on top then flipped. A tarte tatin-style dessert with warm licorice notes.

Roast pork loin rubbed with caraway, mustard, and sage, finished under a brown sugar applesauce glaze. The bone-deep Sunday dinner roast that fills the house with autumn smells.

Sour cream brunch cake with a cinnamon-pecan-brown sugar swirl baked in a tube pan. A tender, rich coffee cake with two layers of crumbly, spiced filling throughout.

Hot fig pudding with molasses, buttermilk, dried figs, and ginger baked in a tube pan, served with a warm sherry-butter sauce with nutmeg and lemon. A British-style steamed pudding baked in the oven.

Indiana persimmon pudding cake with ground almonds and buttermilk baked in a tube pan. Dense, moist, and warmly spiced with native persimmon pulp.

Ham and cheese calzones fry yeasted dough pockets stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and chopped ham until puffed and golden. A handheld Italian-American classic, crispy outside and molten in the middle.

Mary's Milky Way cake melts whole candy bars right into a buttermilk bundt batter, baking up dense, moist and rich with caramel, chocolate and toasted pecans. A Southern potluck favorite that needs no frosting.

Old-fashioned potato sourdough starter built on potato water, flour, sugar, and a pinch of yeast. The starches feed wild and added yeasts together for a tangy, vigorous base for breads, pancakes, and biscuits.

Melanzane in carrozza: breaded Italian eggplant sandwiches stuffed with mozzarella, anchovy, and basil, then fried golden. A Southern Italian antipasto, crisp outside, molten in the middle.

New Mexico green chile pork stew: cubed pork browned in bacon drippings, simmered with two dozen roasted green chiles and fresh tomatoes. Stovetop or slow cooker, classic Southwest comfort.