Recipe Sifter

Plums in Port preserves whole plums in a cinnamon-orange syrup spiked with tawny port wine. A stunning canned fruit for cheese boards, desserts, and holiday gifts.

Old-fashioned oatmeal raisin cookies with walnuts, warm cinnamon and clove, and sour milk for tenderness. Crisp golden edges, soft chewy centers, and the kind of nostalgic flavor that beats any bakery version.

Low-fat apple oat crisp with applesauce in the filling and a whole wheat oat topping with just a tablespoon of margarine. Only 85 calories per serving.

DIY Mexican chorizo sausage made from ground pork, dried red chile, garlic, cinnamon, Mexican oregano, and a splash of tequila. Stuffed into casings or kept bulk, the homemade version beats the supermarket tube every time.

Jerk chicken: chicken parts marinated for 24 hours in a fiery Jamaican paste of scotch bonnets, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, and lime, then grilled over charcoal until the skin crackles. Island fire at its finest.

Steel Trolley Diner's Fresh Apple Crumb Pie recipe

Eggplant, lamb, and rice casserole layers roasted eggplant with browned ground lamb, cinnamon-spiced tomatoes, white rice, and crumbled feta. A Mediterranean one-dish dinner.

Apricot white chocolate muffins with cinnamon-poached apricots, nutmeg, and good quality white chocolate. The poaching liquid adds apricot flavor right into the batter.

Fresh apple spiced cake with cinnamon, allspice, and chopped nuts baked in a loaf or tube pan. A moist, oil-based cake where sugar-macerated apples provide natural sweetness and moisture.

Iceberg tomato pickles made from green tomatoes soaked in lime water, then preserved in a sweet spiced vinegar syrup with cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. A classic Southern canning recipe.

Overnight apple French toast assembled the night before and baked in the morning. Caramelized brown sugar and Granny Smith apples on the bottom, custard-soaked bread on top, served with a warm apple-cinnamon syrup.

Chocolate chip and currant pound cake with Cognac-soaked currants, semi-sweet chocolate, and a hint of cinnamon, baked in a Bundt pan and drizzled with a Cognac glaze.

Deep-dish apple pie with a single top crust hiding a heap of brown sugar and cinnamon-spiced apples. Old-fashioned simplicity served with cream or hard sauce, just the way grandmother made it.

Dense, moist German apple cake loaded with four cups of sliced Pippin apples, cinnamon, and chopped nuts, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. A fall baking favorite.

Pseftokeftedes are Santorini tomato fritters mixing chopped Roma tomatoes, scallions, garlic, mint, and oregano into a pancake-style batter, fried crisp in olive oil. Vegetarian Greek meze.

Grape leaves stuffed with ground lamb, rice, pine nuts, mint, parsley, cinnamon, and allspice, simmered in olive oil and lemon juice. A hearty meat-filled dolma served at room temperature.