Recipe Sifter

Flourless chocolate cake with a full pound of butter, 20 ounces of dark chocolate, 10 eggs, and Grand Marnier. Baked low and slow for 3 hours into pure fudge.

Rich yet delicate, and creamy scallop mousse served in phyllo pastry shells as a canapé.

Velvety chocolate mousse laced with Kahlua, lightened with beaten egg whites and whipped cream. Just 6 ingredients and a few hours in the fridge for a stunning French-style dessert.

Three-layer Southern coconut cake with a tangy crushed-pineapple filling and billowy seven-minute frosting. An almond-scented butter cake stacked with grated coconut between every layer.

Soft banana cookies with brown butter penuche frosting: mashed ripe bananas in a cake-like dough, topped with a boiled brown sugar icing that hardens into a shiny, fudgy shell.

Pink maraschino cherry layer cake with cherry juice in the batter, chopped nuts, and fluffy 7-minute icing. A retro party cake with a pretty blush color and sweet cherry flavor throughout.

Pasta stuffed pizza-style, jumbo pasta shells filled with shredded zucchini, torn pepperoni and Italian bread crumbs, baked under tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. A pizza-night mashup in shell form.

Individual mushroom souffles built on a Parmesan bechamel with sauteed mushrooms, shallots, and a hint of mace. Baked in ramekins and served straight from the oven.

Dark chocolate marshmallow cake with sour cream for moisture, topped with a fluffy cooked marshmallow frosting. Two layers of rich, fudgy cake under a cloud-like finish.

Homemade chicken and veal sausage with bacon, brandy-flamed spices, coriander, and cloves. Stuff into casings, form patties, or shape in plastic wrap and poach before grilling.

Hamantaschen, the triangular Purim cookies, here filled with a rich honey-nut mixture brightened with lemon. A rum-scented dough folded into the traditional three-cornered shape and baked to a golden glaze.

Napoleon's Hat cookies are Scandinavian butter cookies shaped like tricorn hats with a ground almond meringue filling peeking from the top. A traditional Swedish holiday cookie.

Kung Pao chicken: authentic Sichuan stir fry with velveted chicken cubes, blackened dried red chiles, scallions, and roasted peanuts in a glossy sweet-sour sauce. The real deal, not the sweet American version.

Crusty seeded multigrain boule baked in a Dutch oven with whole wheat, oats, rice flour, flax, poppy, sesame, and sunflower seeds. No-knead, high-fiber artisan bread at home.

Simple and colorful, which makes it perfect for the holidays!

Homemade cannoli from scratch with Marsala wine shells and sweet ricotta filling studded with chocolate chips and candied citron. Crispy, creamy, and worth every minute of effort.