Recipe Sifter

Summer fruit salad bowl of nectarines, raspberries, and grapes over crisp iceberg, dressed with a cream cheese sauce thickened with macerated ginger-nectarine juices.

Old-fashioned raspberry cream custard with orange flower water and mace, cooked gently in a double boiler. A silky British dessert that tastes like something from a Georgian-era kitchen.

Four-bean salad marinated for two days in a sweet wine vinegar and cider vinegar dressing with tarragon and basil. Green beans, wax beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas layered with sliced onion rings.

Chocolate pinon cookies with grated semi-sweet chocolate and toasted pine nuts in a buttery shortbread dough, dusted with powdered sugar. A Southwestern-inspired holiday cookie.

Great cake is an old-fashioned colonial American pound cake loaded with currants, candied citron, and rosewater. A Martha Washington-era recipe that's dense, buttery, and built for special occasions.

Hazelnut amaretto loaf baked in the bread machine: a tender white loaf studded with toasted hazelnuts and perfumed with amaretto liqueur. A sweet, nutty bread for breakfast or dessert.

Whole wheat oatmeal apple muffins with raisins, made with no added sugar, egg substitute, and skim milk. Hearty, naturally sweet, and low-fat.

A hearty Dutch oven beef stew with seared chuck, red wine, tomatoes, new potatoes, green beans, peas, and carrots simmered low and slow for two hours. No shortcuts, just real stew.

Spaghettini with red clam sauce tosses thin pasta in a garlicky tomato and clam-juice sauce, with fresh spinach wilted in and a shower of parmesan. A quick, brothy weeknight seafood pasta.

Grilled pizza cooked right on the charcoal grates for a smoky, blistered, chewy-crisp crust, topped lightly with fontina, romano, fresh tomato, and basil. The bold technique that beats any oven pie.

Chocolate nut torte: a four-layer sponge cake filled with silky cooked chocolate-buttercream frosting and topped with chopped nuts. An old-world holiday torte for special occasions.

Loaded black bean soup pureed silky-smooth with smoky ham hock, sherry, lemon, and a finish of sour cream and fresh dill. Steakhouse-style classic that elevates the humble bean.

Chicken and cherries jubilee braises whole chickens in cherry juice and chili sauce for 6 to 8 hours, finished with a sherry-brandy flambé cherry sauce. Retro slow-cooker showstopper.

Indian-spiced carrots and spinach with turmeric, ginger, fresh coconut, and coriander. Vibrant vegetarian side dish ready in 30 minutes for healthy weeknight meals.

Gingered tofu peanut spread with fresh ginger, garlic, tamari, and natural peanut butter pureed into a creamy vegan sandwich spread. No cooking required, ready in 10 minutes.

Wild game braised bear steak marinated overnight, seared golden, then slow-simmered in tomato soup with chili powder and onions until fork-tender. A hearty backcountry main dish.