Recipe Sifter

Broccoli amandine over baked potatoes with a soy-garlic sauce, toasted almonds, and pimiento. Crisp-tender broccoli in a glossy Asian-inspired glaze spooned over split baked potatoes.

A lighter take on English trifle with sponge cake, strawberries, banana, orange juice, and Greek yogurt topped with flaked almonds. No cooking, no custard, ready in 40 minutes.

Frozen bananas rolled in honey, lemon juice, and almond slivers. A four-ingredient summer snack with the chew of frozen banana and the crunch of toasted nuts. No churning, no sugar added beyond honey.

Kesari bhaat (sweet saffron rice): Indian basmati rice perfumed with saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove, sweetened with jaggery, and finished with almonds and currants. Traditional festival dessert.

Passover dark chocolate nut cake uses no flour at all. Twelve whipped eggs carry a rich batter of melted chocolate and chopped almonds, baked in a tube pan for a deep, fudgy Seder-friendly dessert.

Fudgy brownies lightened with prune puree instead of butter, topped with a chewy coconut macaroon layer and a chocolate drizzle. A two-in-one treat that's richer and more wholesome than it looks.

Almond-raisin biscotti, twice-baked until crisp, with toasted almonds, plump raisins and bright orange in two forms. A coffee-dunking Italian cookie made airy by folding in whipped egg whites.

Biscotti di Prato (cantucci) with whole roasted almonds and ground almond flour for that authentic Tuscan crunch. The classic twice-baked Italian cookie meant for dunking in vin santo or coffee.

Hearty kabocha squash chowder with smoky bacon, sweet bell pepper, and fresh thyme. Chunks of golden squash thicken the broth as they soften. Topped with smoked almonds for crunch.

Yes from the year 1475. Platina mentions several odd fishes not usually used today as food, such as cuttlefish, scorpions, lampreys and sea-lion. But most of his fish are still favorites-eels, lobsters, crabs, oysters, sturgeon and sturgeon eggs (which he calls caviar), salmon, sole, etc., and he gives a recipe for a Squid Dish for Days of Abstinence. Although squid is eaten today in the South of France and Greece, and can be found in special fish shops here, I would prefer salmon or halibut. But if you hanker for squid, just go ahead with it if you can find some, and be sure to have the fish man prepare it for you by removing the black liquid from the backbone.

Almond Butter Disks: piped European-style almond cookies flavored with dark rum and lemon zest, sandwiched with raspberry-kirsch glaze. Patisserie elegance, makes 18 sandwiches.

Buttery shortbread base topped with raspberry jam and broiled almond meringue. Two-stage baking creates layers of tender cake, fruity jam, and golden meringue.

Quick sticky rolls made with crescent dough, nutmeg-sugar filling, and almond-lemon topping. Ready in 25 minutes with sweet almond glaze drizzled over warm rolls.

Middle Eastern fried pastries filled with spiced almond-cinnamon filling and dipped in sugar syrup. Crispy finger-shaped cookies that freeze beautifully.

Almond poppy seed muffins with a light, tender crumb. Simple pantry ingredients, mixed by hand in one bowl, and ready in 35 minutes. Nutty, lightly sweet, and studded with crunchy poppy seeds.

Buttery shortbread bars layered with tart raspberry jam, crowned with glossy meringue studded with toasted almonds and coconut shreds.