Recipe Sifter

Buttery slice-and-bake cookies studded with chopped almonds or hazelnuts, then dipped in melted chocolate. Crisp, nutty, and elegant enough for a holiday cookie box.

Velvety cold curried carrot soup with coconut milk, ginger, and lime, topped with crisp shrimp. A showstopping chilled soup starter that's worth every minute of chill time.

Silky pureed corn chowder loaded with lump crab, roasted poblano peppers, and smoky chipotle. Rich, creamy, and layered with Southwestern heat that builds with every spoonful.

Silky cauliflower soup enriched with curry spices, saffron, and sweet apples, then blended until cloud-smooth. Golden Delicious apples add natural sweetness that balances the warm curry in every spoonful.

Velvety curried cream of chicken soup made from scratch with a whole chicken, rice, carrots, and sweet peas blended into a silky, spice-kissed broth finished with half-and-half. Pure comfort in a bowl.

Devil's food cake bakes a deep cocoa layer cake with a separated-egg method for extra lift, then tops it with classic boiled chocolate fudge frosting. A tall, old-fashioned chocolate showstopper.

Fettuccine Alfredo with ham: hot pasta tossed with a rich sauce of butter, cream, and parmesan, studded with sauteed ham. A fast, decadent classic that comes together off the heat in minutes.

Fudge satin pie layers a toasted almond graham crust under a no-bake chocolate filling enriched with Kahlua and finished with coffee whipped cream rosettes. A silky French silk style dessert.

Cream of mushroom soup with nearly two pounds of fresh mushrooms, dry sherry, thyme, milk, and heavy cream. Rich, chunky, and homemade in 40 minutes.

Pasta Fontina is a five-ingredient Italian linguine dish tossed with grated Fontina and Asiago, browned butter, and fresh parsley. Nutty, rich, and on the table in under half an hour.

Peach and sour cream tart with fresh-poached peaches arranged in a sweet pastry shell, filled with a sour cream custard, and topped with sliced almonds. A classic French-style summer fruit tart.

Serve with vanilla icecream or a dollop of best available double cream

Pecan-Chocolate Chip Pie with Cream Cheese Crust recipe

Braised cabbage with apple, onion, caraway, and champagne, finished with cream. A holiday-elegant side dish meant to accompany pheasant or other roast game birds.

Rhubarb-apple crunch layers tart rhubarb and sliced apples under a brown sugar oat crumble, baked until bubbling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for a spring dessert.

Rich devil's food layer cake: a deeply dark, old-fashioned two-layer chocolate cake made with melted unsweetened chocolate, brown sugar, and buttermilk-style milk. The birthday cake blueprint.