Recipe Sifter

Great northern bean soup simmers white beans with smoked sausage, onions, and garlic for two hours, then mashes to a creamy, hearty bowl. Old-school Southern soup that pairs beautifully with warm cornbread.

Irish soda bread made with sour cream, raisins, and currants. A tender, cake-like loaf baked in a casserole dish with no yeast and no kneading required.

Savory potato quiche with butter-sauteed potato slices dusted in Parmesan, set in a half-and-half custard with savory, dry mustard, and cayenne. A hearty, golden potato-and-egg pie.

Sweet red bell peppers stuffed with fresh corn, tomatoes, celery, onion, and bread crumbs, topped with melted Swiss cheese. A meatless stuffed pepper that celebrates summer produce.

Plump shrimp steamed over beer with crab boil seasoning, then tossed with a fresh tomato salsa loaded with jalapeño, red onion, lime, and garlic. Serve hot, cold, or anywhere in between.

Nutty rice loaf: a vegetarian baked loaf of brown rice, zucchini, walnuts, cheddar, and herbs. A meatloaf-style supper that's hearty, sliceable, and adapts to whatever's in the fridge.

Pumpkin walnut cheesecake layers a buttery crumb crust with a spiced pumpkin cream cheese filling and a brown sugar walnut streusel topping. Thanksgiving's two best desserts in one tall, fork-tender slice.

Here's a recipe that I make whenever I'm recruited to make dessert for a dinner party. It's perfect for Passover since it contains no flour, but I bake it 12 months of the year.

French onion soup gratinee slow-cooks sliced onions in butter, simmers in beef stock and white wine, then crowns each bowl with toasted French bread and Gruyere bubbled to golden under the broiler.

A rustic open-faced apple pie piled high with chunky apples, blanketed in buttery sugar-flour crumbs, and soaked with an egg-milk custard before baking. Part crumble, part pie, all comfort.

No-bake holiday chocolate cake layered with orange juice-soaked macaroons, bittersweet ganache, chopped prunes, and toasted almonds. Dusted with cocoa and chilled overnight for deep, complex flavor.

Pheasant Amerind with poached then roasted pheasant halves in a mushroom pan gravy with thyme, rosemary, and chopped black walnuts.

Texan fried pies stuffed with spiced dried apricot filling in a flaky, vinegar-laced pastry. Hand-held, golden-fried, and dusted with sugar. A classic Southern dessert from scratch.

Vegan eggplant bake layered with a savory nutritional yeast and tahini sauce. Sliced eggplant and sauteed onions in a creamy, dairy-free, cheese-like sauce with tamari and basil.

Shereen Polo is a Persian jeweled rice pilau with saffron, julienned carrots, orange peel, almonds, pistachios, and rose water in sugar syrup. Served with crispy tahdig and a side of chicken stew.

Baked mostaccioli and ground turkey casserole layered with tomato sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a light bechamel topped with mozzarella. Greek pastitsio meets weeknight dinner.