Recipe Sifter

Redfish with Mousquetaire Sauce flavored with mustard and lemon juice, once popular in New Orleans.

Halloween veggie platter with a deliberately lumpy, yellowish cottage cheese dip that looks horrifying but tastes like a savory onion dip. Gross-out party food that's secretly healthy.

Open-faced sub sandwiches on toasted English muffins with salami, lettuce, tomato, onion rings, basil, and melted American cheese. Broiled 5 minutes for a quick hot lunch.

Southern seafood cakes with crab, shrimp, scallops, and flounder in a cornbread crumb coating, pan-fried in clarified butter. Four kinds of seafood in one golden, crispy cake.

Italian chicken pastry bites with crescent roll dough wrapped around garlic chicken, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella. Golden, flaky, and ready in 40 minutes.

Grilled chicken breast brushed with a three-ingredient picante sauce, Dijon mustard, and brown sugar glaze. Pounded thin for fast, even cooking on the grill.

Creamy Welsh fondue made with tender leeks, tangy Caerphilly cheese, and lager beer. A 30-minute Welsh cheese dip with crusty bread for easy entertaining.

Iowa deer steak strips simmer tender venison in a savory chili-sauce gravy with mushrooms, onion, and green beans, all spooned over buttered egg noodles. A hearty wild-game skillet supper.

Beefy Salisbury steak patties season ground chuck with yellow and green onion, garlic, paprika, and parsley, then grill over wood or charcoal. Simple, juicy, no breadcrumbs.

Homemade oatmeal wheat germ dog biscuits with whole wheat flour, molasses, and evaporated milk. Baked low and slow until crunchy. No preservatives, just real ingredients.

Homemade caramel turtle candies with pecan halves, melted caramels thinned with whipped topping, and a semi-sweet chocolate shell. Three ingredients, no thermometer.

Sauerkraut balls with corned beef, ham, and tangy kraut bound in a thick roux, breaded and fried golden. The Ohio bar-snack classic with crackly crust and a savory, slightly sour center.

Seafood wrapped 'n rolled: grilled shrimp and lobster tossed with sesame oil, crisp bok choy, and bean sprouts, rolled up in soft flour tortillas. A fresh, fast Asian-fusion seafood wrap.

Nero Wolfe's bread triangles spread with anchovy paste and pan-fried in butter until golden and crispy. A salty, savory literary appetizer inspired by Rex Stout's famous fictional detective.

Bold brisket marinade paste with Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, paprika, lemongrass oil, dry mustard, and red wine. Score the meat, rub it in, and marinate for several days for deep flavor penetration.

Scalloped oysters and chicken: browned chicken breast layered with plump oysters, buttery cracker crumbs, white wine cream sauce, and a splash of bitters. A retro holiday-worthy casserole.