Recipe Sifter

Penne with pumpkin cream sauce, red bell pepper, and fresh nutmeg finished with Parmesan. A cozy fall pasta for two that uses canned pumpkin puree for a silky, savory sauce in under 35 minutes.

Vanilla bean creme brulee tartlets, silky custard set in a crisp buttery pastry shell and finished with a torched, crackly caramel top. Crowned with whipped cream and fresh berries for an elegant dessert.

Grilled steak and peppers vinaigrette stacks sirloin over butter-braised leeks and tops it with charred Cuban peppers in a Dijon-red wine dressing. A bistro-style three-layer plate.

Golden onion quiche built on a full pound of slow-caramelized onions and sharp Gruyere, suspended in a heavy-cream custard. French bistro flavor, deeply savory, and worth every minute of stirring.

White chocolate macadamia nut brownies: buttery, chewy Hawaiian-inspired bars studded with toasted macadamias and pools of melty white chocolate. A bakery-case favorite at home.

County fair banana pie with a chocolate chip layer on the bottom, rum-spiked banana cream filling, and whipped cream with chopped pecans. A blue-ribbon worthy layered banana cream pie.

Creamy cauliflower leek soup gets its silky body from pureed cauliflower, not heavy cream, with slowly cooked sweet leeks, a touch of Dijon, and lemon thyme. A velvety, light soup finished with chives and crisp garlic croutons.

Pineapple upside-down cake with a cornmeal batter, fresh pineapple caramelized in Madeira wine and brown sugar, baked in a cast iron skillet. Extra-rich with whole eggs plus extra yolks and a hint of nutmeg.

Grilled chicken breasts stuffed under the skin with blanched garlic and parsley, finished with a quick lemon-butter pan sauce. Bistro-style chicken from a handful of ingredients.

Poached salmon cutlets in white wine with a vibrant pureed basil sauce finished with lemon and butter. An elegant one-dish fish dinner where the poaching liquid becomes the sauce.

Indian sago and vermicelli kheer with golden raisins and cardamom simmered in milk. A creamy, fragrant pudding dessert served hot or chilled.

Sour cream coffee cake swirled with cherry preserves and brightened with lemon zest. A dense, moist breakfast cake with no yeast required, ready in under an hour.

Chicken scaloppine with oregano is a fast Italian classic: thin pounded chicken breasts dredged in flour, pan-seared golden in butter and oil, and finished with oregano and a quick white wine pan sauce.

Jerked pork tenderloin seared then stacked on rice with sautéed portabello mushrooms, all drenched in a spiced cream sauce with allspice, coriander, and Worcestershire. Caribbean heat meets French technique on one plate.

Pan-seared salmon finished in the oven with red wine, fish stock, and dried apricots, glazed with a butter-enriched pan sauce. An elegant French-inspired dish with sweet-savory depth.

Porcini mushroom crostini with shiitake, cream, garlic, and Asiago cheese broiled on Italian toast. A rich, earthy Italian appetizer with deep mushroom flavor from dried and fresh fungi.