Recipe Sifter

Molded mandarin cranberry relish with whole cranberry sauce, mandarin oranges, celery, and walnuts set in gelatin. A festive Thanksgiving side dish that holds its shape on the plate.

Classic split pea soup with smoked ham, carrots, celery, and onion. Dried peas simmer until they break down into a thick, hearty soup with chunks of smoky ham.

Shawrbat adas majroosha, a silky pureed lentil soup spiced with cumin, coriander, and saffron. A traditional Middle Eastern recipe finished with fresh lemon juice.

Chinese New Year almond cookies with a thumbprint dipped in red food coloring. Crisp, sandy shortening cookies meant to bring good luck to the lunar new year table.

Vegan sweet potato casserole bakes steamed sweet potatoes with dried apricots, cranberries, and raisins in a creamy rice flour and soy milk sauce. Dairy-free Thanksgiving side spiced with cinnamon and ginger.

I received this recipe from a friend who knows I love dates. It is an outstanding chocolate square, it is moist, keeps well and freezes nicely.

Orange molasses cookies, soft and puffy with cracked tops, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a hit of black pepper, then rolled in orange sugar. Whole wheat flour and oats make them a wholesome holiday bake.

Southwestern black beans simmered low with onion, garlic, green pepper, bay, and a whole orange tossed in for citrus brightness. The slow-cooked Tex-Mex side that doubles as a vegetarian main.

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Traditional Rio Grande Valley barbacoa de cabeza, beef head pit-cooked overnight in coals with onion, garlic, and cilantro. The Sunday-morning tortilla filling that defines South Texas cooking.

Canned salmon and grated potato pancakes fried crispy golden, served with applesauce or horseradish sour cream. An easy, budget-friendly dinner the whole family loves. Think latkes meet salmon cakes.

Spicy brown bread made with cornmeal, whole wheat pastry flour, carob, and molasses, spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. A quick vegetarian bread ready in 30 minutes.

Homemade capers from pickled nasturtium seeds brined in salt water, then preserved in sweet vinegar. A clever garden-to-jar substitute for real capers.

Polish baked apples in red wine, jablka na winie czerwonym, fills cored apples with jam and bakes them in spiced wine syrup. A classic Polish Christmas dessert served chilled.

If you're big on taste, you will love this savory soup made with kidney beans, bacon and a variety of spices.

Roasted and pickled hot peppers with banana, Hungarian, and bell varieties charred until blistered, peeled, then canned in vinegar brine. The roast adds smoky depth that raw pickled peppers can't match.