Recipe Sifter

Horn and Hardart's classic baked macaroni and cheese with a from-scratch cheddar bechamel, a touch of tomato, and a hint of cayenne. The iconic automat recipe recreated at home.

Ham and mustard biscuit rolls with a sharp cheddar cheese sauce. Ground ham, butter, and mustard rolled into biscuit dough, sliced into pinwheels, and baked golden brown.

One-skillet braised chicken breasts with sweet leeks and mushrooms in a white wine pan sauce, finished bright with kalamata olives, capers, and a squeeze of lemon. A simple Mediterranean dinner from a single pan.

Sour cream raisin pie is an old-fashioned Midwestern custard pie with plump raisins suspended in tangy sour cream filling, scented with nutmeg and vanilla. Simple flaky crust, no meringue required.

Pork schnitzel pounded thin, breaded with paprika-spiked crumbs, and pan-fried golden, then served with a creamy sour cream and dill pan sauce. A weeknight take on the German tavern classic with an Eastern European twist.

Peanut butter bars for a crowd yields 8 dozen from three sheet pans. A big-batch recipe with a chewy, dense peanut butter cookie base dusted with powdered sugar.

Crushed graham crackers, chopped almonds, and walnuts create a nutty, buttery cake with old-fashioned charm. Serve warm in squares dusted with powdered sugar or topped with whipped cream.

Mini pecan pies bake in individual flan tins with a press-in shortbread crust and a golden syrup, brown sugar, and pecan filling. British-style hand-held tarts perfect for parties.

Cream cheese peach pie layers vanilla pudding cake with sliced peaches and a tangy cream cheese topping. Cinnamon and nutmeg sugar finishes the pie with a fragrant golden crust.

Traditional Italian anise pizzelle cookies pressed on a pizzelle iron with orange and lemon zest. A huge batch recipe that makes up to 20 dozen crisp, lacy waffle cookies.

Applesauce tea bread is an eight-ingredient quickbread sweetened with applesauce instead of butter. A heavy hand of cinnamon and skim milk keep this loaf low-fat and pantry-simple.

Crispy deep-fried calamari rings coated in seasoned flour, egg wash, and Italian breadcrumbs. Golden brown in 45 seconds and served with cocktail or tartar sauce.

Lemon chicken with Angostura bitters, brown sugar, and paprika. Flour-coated chicken thighs browned in a skillet then baked with lemon slices in a sweet-bitter pan sauce.

Creamy chicken spinach linguine in a Parmesan cream sauce with sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, and fresh basil. Golden floured chicken and wilted spinach make this a restaurant-style, Tuscan-inspired pasta dinner.

Apple cake with a cinnamon-nut streusel topping, chopped apples folded into a brown sugar batter with sour milk. A tender, spiced sheet cake for fall baking.

Fig chess tarts with a buttery lemon-scented shortbread shell, filled with brown sugar custard studded with chopped dried figs and walnuts. A Southern chess pie translated into bite-sized tart form.