Recipe Sifter

Traditional English plum pudding, a steamed Christmas classic packed with raisins, currants, apples, walnuts, and beef suet. Spiced, dense, and deeply boozy-optional.

Very nice dessert, I make these biscuits very often, all my kids love them, my husabnd even love them too.

Drunken crawfish pie tucks two pounds of crawfish tails into a buttery brandy-spiked cream sauce with the Cajun holy trinity, sealed inside a double crust and baked golden. A Louisiana classic that turns brunch or supper into an event.

Judith Olney's chocolate buttermilk cake is a tender triple-layer cake built on tangy buttermilk, a generous hit of cocoa, a whisper of cinnamon, and a splash of coffee that sharpens the chocolate into something deep and grown-up.

Vegan Indian potato cakes with curry powder, garlic, and onions, pan-fried in a nonstick pan with no oil. Crispy outside, fluffy inside, and served with mango or coriander chutney.

No-starter friendship Bundt cake with brandied fruit, coconut, dates, and a hit of orange and walnut extracts. The classic friendship cake without the 30-day countdown.

Traditional Canadian sweet pickled beaver brined overnight, simmered with pickling spices, then roasted under a sticky glaze of brown sugar, dry mustard, cinnamon, white wine, and pineapple juice. Wild game cooking at its finest.

Authentic Oaxacan mole coloradito with toasted ancho and guajillo chilies, Mexican chocolate, fried plantain, almonds, and sesame seeds. A rich, layered sauce for chicken.

Soft banana spice cookies with cinnamon, cloves, walnuts, and raisins. Made with mashed bananas and packed brown sugar for a chewy, cake-like drop cookie. A great way to use overripe bananas.

Soft, cakey cranberry drop cookies loaded with whole fresh cranberries, walnuts, and a touch of lemon juice. Makes 3 dozen festive holiday cookies with a tender crumb.

Chocolate almond cut-out cookies made with sweetened condensed milk for a soft, fudgy texture. Studded with finely chopped almonds, rolled thin, and optionally drizzled with chocolate glaze. Makes 6 dozen.

Jumbo pasta shells packed with ricotta, mozzarella, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, and fresh basil, baked in chunky spaghetti sauce until bubbly. Vegetarian comfort food.

Overnight oat bran muesli soaked in low-fat yogurt with rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, and fresh fruit. No cooking needed. Mix, refrigerate, and wake up to a high-fiber breakfast.

Lawry's black beans with bacon, tri-color bell peppers, cumin, and cayenne, simmered in chicken stock and finished with Italian dressing. A smoky, tangy cold bean side dish.

Saucy Caribbean black beans simmered with fresh ginger, allspice, thyme, and orange juice. Vegan, high-fiber, and full of island flavor in about 40 minutes.

Buttermilk chocolate cake split and filled with coconut-pecan cream, then blanketed in sour cream chocolate frosting. A Southern showpiece worth every step.