Recipe Sifter

Baked Brie with toasted slivered almonds, served warm with sesame crackers. A 3-ingredient appetizer that looks impressive and takes 20 minutes start to finish.

Potted herrings in Guinness bake rolled herring fillets in a stout-and-vinegar bath with onion, bay, cloves, and peppercorns. Classic Irish preserved fish, served cold.

Crockpot beef stock made hands-off with beef soup bones, onion, celery, and peppercorns simmered all day. The set-it-and-forget-it foundation for soups, stews, and sauces.

Fresh fruit salad with cantaloupe, blueberries, and strawberries tossed in orange juice, honey, and strips of fresh mint. A light, refreshing side ready in 10 minutes.

Jackstraw salad with matchstick-cut apple, shredded cabbage, celery, green pepper, and onion rings tossed in poppy seed dressing. A crunchy, colorful slaw-style side salad that's diabetic-friendly.

Chicken tenders stir-fried with a teriyaki vegetable kit and topped with crispy French fried onions. Three ingredients and 40 minutes for a semi-homemade weeknight win.

Chinese steamed pears in a cinnamon sugar syrup, gently cooked until tender then drizzled with reduced syrup. Four ingredients, elegant, and served warm or chilled.

Southern Sunshine is a citrusy cocktail punch made with Southern Comfort, fresh orange juice, lemon juice, and bubbly lemon-lime soda. Bright, boozy, and built for a crowd.

Don't know where I heard about this sauce, but it's a great drizzle for vegetables.

Hearty lima bean and leek soup with lentils, wild rice, and a meaty broth built from disintegrated lentils. Easily made vegan and packed with plant protein.

Mom's peppered ham: poached ham shank coated in cracked black peppercorns and dried in a low oven for paper-thin deli-style slices. Old-school deli cooking at home.

A low-sugar blueberry spread set with gelatin instead of pectin, brightened with ginger and lemon zest. No canning required. Keeps a month in the fridge or a year in the freezer.

Phyllo fruit nests are an oil-free, low-fat dessert: torn phyllo sheets baked into crisp golden cups, then filled with poached pears or apples and a drizzle of fragrant syrup.

Hand print sugar cookies traced from paper cutouts of each family member's hand. Refrigerated dough shortcut, decorated with icings and candies. Memory-keeper recipe.

Five spice plum sorbet purees canned plums with dry sherry and Chinese five spice powder, then churns into a fragrant Asian-inspired summer sorbet. Five ingredients, no added sugar.

Peppered pork roast with sour cherry salsa: coarsely pepper-crusted pork loin roasted simple, served with a sweet-hot relish of cherries, green chiles, peppers, and cilantro. Holiday-worthy and easy.