Recipe Sifter

Bring out the wok and try this savory dish that will have you throwing out take-out coupons!

Baked chicken Excelsior bastes chicken breasts in lemon-paprika butter, then bathes them in a creamy sour cream, sherry, and mushroom sauce for the last stretch in the oven. A retro, dinner-party-worthy chicken with a silky finish.

Grilled Salisbury steak patties with grated onion, chives, and garlic, broiled to order and finished with a buttery Belmont sauce of ketchup, mustard, lemon, and sherry. Supper-club classic.

Beef Bourguignon with cubed round steak braised in burgundy wine with crispy bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms, plus a splash of sherry and tomato paste. The classic French bistro stew made at home.

Pork potstickers with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil in wonton wrappers. Pan-fried then steamed in chicken broth with a soy-ginger dipping sauce.

Homemade deviled ham spread with warm spices, hot mustard, anchovy paste, and a whisper of sherry. Skip the canned stuff and make a version that actually tastes like something.

Chinese barbecue pork tenderloin marinated in hoisin, soy sauce, black bean sauce, sherry, and five-spice powder. Oven-roasted with three flavor variations included.

Roasted Fillet of Beef with Rosemary Au Jus recipe

Diced lobster simmered in a sherry cream sauce with mushrooms, peppers, and pimentos, then spooned back into the shell and broiled with Parmesan. Southern fine dining at home.

Pounded chicken breast stuffed with ham, guava paste, and cilantro, then wrapped in crescent dough and baked golden. Topped with a sweet guava-sherry sauce for a Latin-inspired showpiece.

Flour-dusted trout fillets pan-seared in fragrant walnut oil, finished with toasted walnuts and a splash of sherry vinegar. Elegant enough for company, easy enough for Tuesday.

Kung Pao chicken stir-fries marinated chicken with dried red chilies, bamboo shoots, and peanuts in a sweet, savory, slightly tangy sauce. Authentic Sichuan technique in 40 minutes.

Easy sweet and sour chicken velvets chunks of chicken with egg white, stir-fries them with bell pepper, carrot, and pineapple, then glazes with a light sherry-pineapple sauce.

Whole trout stuffed with spinach, pine nuts, and sherry, then baked in parchment with white wine and butter. A 30-minute elegant fish dinner with Florentine filling.

Diced leftover turkey in a creamy mushroom sauce with green peppers and pimiento, served over rice or in patty shells. The best way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers in 35 minutes.

Homemade Chinese shrimp and pork wontons with ginger, sesame oil, water chestnuts, and green onions. Freeze-friendly dumplings that are worth every minute of the folding. Boil or add to soup.