Recipe Sifter

Skirt steak with radishes in mustard sauce braises whole radishes and their peppery greens in a quick pan sauce, topped with broiled steak, tarragon, and whole-grain mustard.

Sliced tomatoes with raw salsa: ripe tomato slices over a bed of alfalfa sprouts, topped with a chilled fresh salsa of green pepper, scallions, cilantro, cumin, and apple cider vinegar.

A composed salad of flaked smoked mackerel, halved grapes, and toasted hazelnuts with a lemon-mint brown rice ring and chilled yoghurt. An elegant, refreshing centrepiece.

Buttermilk snack cake with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips folded into the batter, topped with a brown sugar walnut crumble. A one-pan crowd-pleaser.

Soft gingerbread cake with molasses, sour milk, and four warm spices in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. Dense, moist, and deeply spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Soft gingerbread cake with lard and butter for tender crumb, spiced with ginger and cinnamon, baked until edges pull away from the pan.

Soft shell crabs simmered in a white wine tomato sauce with scallions, fresh mint, garlic, and red pepper flakes. An Italian-style seafood dish for two, ready in an hour.

Crispy flour-dredged soft-shell crabs served on a pool of creamy tomato sauce with creme fraiche, cumin seeds, celery seeds, garlic, and shallots. A restaurant-worthy crab dish with a make-ahead sauce.

Sole fillets folded around savory bulgur stuffing into elegant turban shapes, then poached in a Provencal sauce of tomatoes, white wine, mushrooms, and garlic.

A yeasted chocolate cake with an overnight rise, three layers, and a cooked white icing drizzled with melted chocolate and toasted coconut. Truly unlike any chocolate cake you've tried.

Sopa seca turns crumbled vermicelli into a dry Mexican noodle dish with onion, garlic, green chiles, and tomato. Vegetarian and oil-free, the broth cooks down so every strand soaks up flavor.

Classic French onion soup slow-caramelizes pounds of sliced onions in butter, then simmers them with beef stock, Cognac, and dry vermouth. Top with toasted bread and Swiss for the gratiné finish.

Hot dog potato soup with sliced frankfurters, corn, carrots, and evaporated milk in a creamy thyme-seasoned broth. A hearty, kid-friendly one-pot soup ready in 40 minutes.

Smooth pureed celery soup with potatoes, onion, and herbs, finished with milk and topped with fresh grated carrot and celery for crunch. A light, nourishing bowl ready in about an hour.

Make-ahead sourdough biscuit batter with buttermilk, self-rising flour, and yeast. Mix once, refrigerate, and bake fresh biscuits anytime you want them.

Wild yeast sourdough starter made with just milk and unbleached flour. A 2-ingredient no-yeast method that captures natural bacteria over several days for homemade sourdough bread.