Recipe Sifter

Madison Avenue potato salad: cooked potatoes marinated in vinaigrette, then tossed with ripe olives, hard-cooked eggs, dill pickles, pimientos, and a mustard-spiked mayo. A dressed-up deli-counter classic.

This simple recipe downsizes the cheesecake but enlarges your love for the decadent treat.

Matzo meal cookies with coconut and brown sugar, baked until rich brown and filled with jam centers. A Passover-friendly cookie with no flour, no eggs, no leavening.

Impossible breakfast pie with sausage, cheddar, eggs, and Bisquick that forms its own crust as it bakes. An overnight make-ahead brunch casserole with just 5 minutes of prep.

This simple and delicious crockpot dish where chicken breasts are topped off with a tasty sauce made with sour cream and mushrooms.

Roast fillet of beef: a whole tenderloin studded with garlic and marinated in soy, port, and thyme, then roasted and rested for a tender, rosy centerpiece. An elegant make-ahead roast for holidays.

Classic escargots bourguignonne baked in their shells with garlic-herb butter, shallots, parsley, and a splash of white wine. The iconic French appetizer done right.

Homemade summer sausage made from ground beef with liquid smoke, curing salt, mustard seed, and coarse black pepper. Mix, roll, chill overnight, and bake for smoky, savory sausage you slice and serve hot or cold.

Gooseberry curd made with fresh gooseberries, eggs, butter, and sugar cooked to a silky custard. A tart, floral fruit curd for filling tarts, tartlets, or spreading on scones.

Thin-pounded beef tenderloin steaks, pan-seared golden and draped in a flambéed brandy sauce with mushrooms, shallots, and Dijon. A classic bistro showstopper in just 25 minutes.

Maple nut biscuit ring made with refrigerated biscuit dough, brown sugar, pecans, and maple syrup. Five ingredients, one bundt pan, and golden pull-apart bread in under an hour.

Broiled chicken breasts baked in a tangy pineapple-Dijon sauce with Worcestershire, rosemary, and lemon slices. Sweet, savory, and on the table in one hour.

Pork chitterlings: soul food classic of pork intestines simmered with vinegar, onions, and hot peppers until fork tender, then served hot or battered and fried. A Southern holiday tradition.

Basic peanut-style dipping sauce (no actual peanuts) with cashew butter, tahini, coconut milk, lime, miso, and ginger. A richer, Thai-leaning satay sauce for grilled skewers, coconut shrimp, or crudités.

Quick cherry-almond drop cookies made with cake mix.

Crispy phyllo bundles filled with curried shrimp, coconut, chopped peanuts, yogurt, and chutney. Makes 24 golden bite-sized appetizers. Freezer-friendly, so you can bake them straight from frozen for easy entertaining.