Recipe Sifter

Braised pork chops with dried figs, apple slices, orange juice, Gewurztraminer, and warm spices served over saffron cinnamon couscous with toasted almonds and pine nuts.

A frozen chocolate mousse loaf made with melted Milky Way candy bars, semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate, Italian meringue, and whipped cream. A make-ahead dessert that slices like ice cream cake.

Thanksgiving sweet potato pie with egg-white-only spiced filling in a flaky phyllo crust topped with chopped chestnuts. The lighter holiday pie that swaps butter pastry for crackly phyllo layers.

Mandarin orange cheesecake wrapped in crackling phyllo pastry, filled with cream cheese and ricotta, then soaked in orange blossom syrup for a Middle Eastern twist on a classic.

Microwave-braised tuna steaks studded with garlic slivers, simmered with pearl onions in red wine, and served on wilted spinach with a tomato-thyme sauce.

Chocolate chip pumpkin cheesecake: silky pumpkin-spice cream cheese filling studded with mini chocolate chips over a chocolate cookie crust, garnished with real chocolate leaves. A showstopping fall dessert.

Italian giardiniera pickled vegetables with red peppers, cauliflower, wax beans, squash, radish, carrots, and onion in a basil-garlic brine. Water-bath canned for long pantry storage.

Crunchy ramen chicken salad with shredded cabbage, toasted almonds, sesame seeds, and a tangy soy-vinegar dressing made from the ramen seasoning packets.

Banana ginger cake with 2 teaspoons of ground ginger baked in a 9-inch square pan, topped with spiced whipped cream. A lighter snack cake using margarine and skim milk.

Crustless quiche with ham, cheese, green chilies, and black olives. Bisquick batter blended with eggs and evaporated milk forms its own light base.

Autumn fruit salad with dried California figs, orange slices, and apple over lettuce, drizzled with a cardamom-honey yogurt dressing and toasted coconut.

Mock ravioli casserole: layers of butterfly pasta, a meaty tomato sauce, and a herby spinach-egg-parmesan filling. All the flavor of ravioli without rolling a single sheet of dough.

Turkey noodle soup made from scratch with homemade bone broth, zucchini, carrots, and herbs. A from-the-carcass soup that turns leftover turkey bones into a rich, clear broth.

Yeasted coffee cake with a sour cream dough, sweet cream cheese filling rolled jelly-roll style, and vanilla glaze with sliced almonds. An overnight rise makes it brunch-ready.

Three mini cream puff fillings: smoked salmon mousse, curried caramelized onions, and a crab-cream cheese spread with red peppers. Ready to pipe into pate a choux for elegant hors d'oeuvres.

Chewy peanut butter bars stacked in three layers: a buttery cookie base, a gooey marshmallow middle, and a crunchy peanut butter, rice cereal, and peanut topping. A potluck and bake-sale crowd-pleaser.