Recipe Sifter

Russian honey bread loaded with dried apricots, dates, raisins, and walnuts, warmed with cinnamon and clove. A bread machine quick bread with the rich, spiced sweetness of an old-country tea cake.

Company ham roasted on a bed of onions and apples, rubbed with thyme, cinnamon and marjoram, basted with sherry and beef broth. A holiday-ready centerpiece without a sweet glaze.

Slow cooker black bean and potato soup with diced ham, jalapenos, cumin, oregano, thyme, and cloves in a beef broth base. Dump everything in the crockpot and let it cook all day.

Loved the idea of adding brewed coffee to the gingerbread batter, and it worked so well. The flavour was amazing.

Watermelon rind pickle is a Southern preserve made from the white inner rind, brined for three days then simmered in spiced sweet vinegar with cinnamon, cloves, and lemon. Crisp, sweet-tart, translucent.

Grandma's jam cake, a Southern Appalachian heirloom spice cake folded with fruit jam, raisins, nuts, and warm cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Old-time celebration cake for caramel icing.

Flaky phyllo spirals filled with walnuts, pistachios, candied orange peel, and orange blossom water, baked golden and soaked in lemon syrup. A baklava-style treat that makes about 42 pieces.

Saffron-scented rice loaded with chorizo, pork, squid, and clams, studded with almonds, pine nuts, and artichoke hearts. A Catalan spin on paella that feeds a hungry table of six.

Malai kofta are golden-fried potato and paneer-style balls stuffed with cashews and raisins, simmered in a cashew-cream sauce warmed with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne. A North Indian restaurant classic.

Classic pumpkin pie spiked with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, then crowned with shards of amber-caramel candied pecans. The Thanksgiving pie with a crunchy twist.

Homemade golden peach butter with cinnamon, cloves, and lemon zest. Slow-simmered from ripe peaches and water bath canned for pantry storage. A beautiful holiday gift or toast topper.

Cincinnati-style 5-way chili spiced with cinnamon, chocolate, cardamom, and allspice. Served over spaghetti and topped with kidney beans, raw onion, and melted cheddar.

Whole-wheat sourdough applesauce cake bakes up moist and tender in a tube pan, with cinnamon, allspice, and clove warming a tangy starter-and-applesauce batter. A bundt-shaped keeper for fall.

Mexican-style rabbit braised in a chili-infused, peanut-thickened sauce warmed with cumin, clove, and nutmeg. A rustic, mole-adjacent dish where peanut butter lends body and depth. Works with chicken too.

Tea-smoked chicken breasts use brown rice, brown sugar, cloves, and Earl Grey tea leaves smoldering in a Dutch oven. Chinese-inspired indoor smoking technique that flavors boneless chicken in 16 minutes.

Low-fat spiced bran muffins with molasses, honey, ginger, cloves, golden raisins, and walnuts. Made with egg whites and nonfat yogurt instead of butter and whole eggs.