Recipe Sifter

The secret to tender baked beans is to leave the salt out until they are finished cooking. For some reason, salt toughens them. To pamper your tummy, rinse off the beans when they are finished soaking in several changes of cold water. This recipe is easy to prepare ahead and cooks in only two hours.

Fresh apples and raisins are mixed together with a dressing of sour cream, yogurt and balsamic vinegar. It's creamy, refreshing and delicious.

Autumn fruit salad with dried California figs, orange slices, and apple over lettuce, drizzled with a cardamom-honey yogurt dressing and toasted coconut.

Spiced black beans, corn, and salsa baked under a golden cornmeal crust. This lightened-up Southwestern bean pie is hearty, oil-free, and full of smoky cumin flavor.

Butter ball cookies (Russian tea cakes) with ground walnuts, cake flour, butter, and vanilla rolled in powdered sugar twice. A melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie with just five ingredients.

A bread machine loaf spiked with creme de menthe and loaded with mint chocolate morsels. Dump, press start, and come back to a warm loaf that smells like a candy shop.

Vegetarian moo shu with bok choy, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and crumbled tofu stir-fried in sesame oil, rolled in Chinese pancakes with hoisin sauce.

Doctored white cake mix transformed by stirring melted white chocolate into the batter for a denser, richer crumb. A 4-ingredient shortcut cake that pairs beautifully with raspberry filling.

Pork chop onion rice bake layers browned chops over raw rice seasoned with onion soup mix and mushrooms, then bakes it all in one pan. The rice drinks up the savory broth for an easy, hands-off dinner.

Marak Perot Kar, an Israeli cold fruit soup with cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, and apples simmered and pureed with lemon and orange juice. A refreshing chilled summer starter.

Marinated venison loin seared hot then roasted under a thick Dijon mustard, garlic, and herb crust. A lean gamey cut treated with classic French hunter-cuisine technique.

Layered strawberry Jell-O salad with bananas, pineapple, pecans, and a hidden sour cream layer in the middle. A retro Southern potluck classic that sets up beautifully.

Gluten free gingersnaps: classic spiced molasses cookies made with soy flour, cornstarch, and potato starch instead of wheat. Crisp edges, chewy centers, ready in 20 minutes.

Pfeffernuesse German pepper cookies with molasses, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper, rolled in powdered sugar. Small, spicy, and deeply aromatic holiday cookies from the old country.

Homemade vinaigrette with extra-virgin olive oil, malt vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, tarragon, and dill. A tangy, herbaceous dressing made in five minutes.

Simple creamy polenta with Parmesan and olive oil, ready in 15 minutes. Includes both microwave and stovetop methods so you can pick your speed.