Recipe Sifter

Seared pork chops finished in the oven, served over a warm Granny Smith apple relish with curry, cinnamon, ginger, and toasted almonds. Sweet, tart, and warmly spiced for a grown-up fall dinner.

Turkey Bolognese with ground turkey slow-simmered in crushed tomatoes, red wine, and half-and-half over linguine. A lighter take on classic Bolognese.

Smoked chicken and potato hash with cooked potatoes, garlic, fresh cilantro, and a hot sauce kick. Uses leftover smoked chicken for a fast skillet dinner.

Classic spinach bacon salad with warm bacon vinaigrette, sliced mushrooms, and red onion. Dressing wilts the spinach just enough. Ready in 15 minutes.

Croatian poppy seed povitica with a yeasted sweet dough stretched paper-thin and rolled around a honey-sweetened poppy seed filling. Traditional Eastern European holiday bread.

Nasu karashi sumiso-ae: Japanese eggplant tossed in a white miso, soy sauce, and wasabi dressing. A simple, savory side dish served at room temperature with a gentle spicy kick.

Meat spagetti sauce that uses whisky. The best pasta sauce I have ever had. With a bushel of fresh in-season plum tomatoes I made enough for the winter. It was worth it! This is a reguler large size version.

Spiced cherry biscotti studded with candied cherries and almonds, warmed with nutmeg, and dusted with cinnamon-nutmeg sugar. A ruby-flecked holiday coffee cookie.

Nothing beats a tasty stew and savory dumplings that warm you up during the winter season.

Lemon icebox cookies with cornmeal and cardamom, sliced from a chilled log and baked golden, finished with tart lemon icing and chopped pistachios. Makes 6 dozen.

Matambre is the classic Argentine stuffed flank steak: butterflied beef rolled jellyroll-style around spinach, carrots, hard-cooked eggs, and onion, then braised until tender and sliced into striking pinwheels.

Classic French onion soup with caramelized onions, Dijon mustard, and cognac flambe. Topped with toasted bread and broiled Gruyere cheese.

Irish cream balls combine crushed vanilla wafers, toasted pecans, cocoa, and Irish cream liqueur into no-bake boozy bites rolled in powdered sugar. The grown-up holiday cookie tray staple.

Pirate's pie: a kid-friendly fish pie with canned salmon, leeks, red pepper, and corn in creamy sauce under a piped cheesy mashed potato crown. Budget-friendly family dinner.

Vegetable lasagne layered with ricotta, mozzarella, zucchini, mushrooms, and a garlicky tomato sauce. A meatless comfort classic that feeds a crowd and freezes beautifully.

Mix-in-the-pan chocolate fudge cake with no eggs, no milk, no butter. Poke three holes, pour, stir, and bake. The original depression-era wacky cake that still delivers.