Recipe Sifter

Pasta with chicken in a creamy tomato sauce blended with four Italian cheeses: Bel Paese, ricotta, Romano, and Gorgonzola. A rich, indulgent pasta dinner with plum tomatoes, heavy cream, and butter.

Velvety leek and potato soup with crumbled Stilton cheese melted in and a splash of tawny port for warmth. A rich, quintessentially English starter ready in 45 minutes.

Seared filet mignon with a red wine and shallot pan sauce reduced with beef stock and thyme. A classic French bistro steak dinner ready in 30 minutes.

Seared sea scallops and sliced pears over fettuccine in a garlic cream sauce with white wine, lemon verbena, and fresh ginger juice. An elegant, unexpected pairing.

Creamy sweet potato soup pureed silky smooth, topped with butter-toasted pecans and creme fraiche. Made with leeks, carrots, white wine, and a russet potato for extra body.

Buttery rolled sugar cookies with a hint of sour cream and fresh lemon zest, cut into any shape you like and sprinkled with crunchy granulated sugar. A chilled dough that rolls out beautifully every time.

Mexican cheese squares are a baked cheddar, egg, sour cream, and green chile appetizer cut into squares. A make-ahead party snack that also freezes and reheats beautifully.

Velvety pureed leek and potato soup enriched with heavy cream and freshly grated nutmeg, topped with crumbled blue cheese and a shot of white wine on the side.

Banana Meringue Pie with buttery homemade shortcrust, sliced bananas layered over a mashed-banana cream filling, and golden meringue. Made from scratch with 6 bananas for genuine fruit depth.

Narsai's chocolate decadence cake: a flourless-style cake with just a tablespoon of flour, butter, eggs, and a pound of dark chocolate. Dense, fudgy, and legendary for a reason.

Buttery spice cookies with crystallized ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Pressed thin and baked until light golden, these make-ahead cookies keep for a week or freeze for a month.

Hot and spicy roasted almonds tossed in butter, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, cayenne, and garlic powder, then finished with coarse salt. An addictive bar snack ready in 30 minutes.

Pan-seared pork tenderloin medallions in a Riesling wine sauce with green peppercorns, raisins, balsamic vinegar, and toasted pine nuts. Restaurant-quality in 40 minutes.

Salmon pate made with poached fresh salmon and smoked salmon, blended with butter, dill, and sour cream. Sealed with clarified butter for an elegant make-ahead appetizer.

Mussel and corn chowder with a silky milled corn base, steamed mussels, and sweet red pepper. A coastal New England twist on classic corn chowder, ready in about 40 minutes.

Meringue madeleines made with whipped egg whites, cake flour, and melted butter. Light as air with crisp edges, best eaten warm straight from the oven.