Recipe Sifter

Ice-water pickles: quartered cucumbers chilled in ice water, packed over onions, and covered with a boiling apple cider vinegar and mustard seed brine. Sweet, crisp, classic refrigerator pickles.

Colorful ham kabobs with pineapple and bell peppers, basted in a tangy cranberry glaze spiked with mustard and cloves. A smart way to use leftover holiday ham in just 30 minutes.

Rustic Italian bread shaped into a baguette with a crispy egg-white crust and cornmeal-dusted bottom. Uses a bread machine for the dough, then hand-shaped and oven-baked.

Sweet fruit salsa with kiwi, strawberries, raspberries and cinnamon sugar baked tortilla chips. Fun party appetizer that works as dessert too.

A slow cooker whole chicken braised with sliced apples, beer, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and orange peel. Set it in the morning and dinner's ready by evening.

Jeweled relish made from sauerkraut, chopped pimento-stuffed green olives, celery, and honey, blended overnight and served cold. A tangy-sweet no-cook condiment with bright colors and unusual flavor.

Vegetable-loaded summer chili with zucchini, squash, mushrooms, kidney beans, and bell peppers in a cumin-chili tomato broth. Hearty, meatless, and full of garden produce.

Hot sweet mustard blends prepared mustard with horseradish, Dijon, hot sauce, brown sugar, and cayenne. The bratwurst-and-pretzel condiment that bites back.

Loska is a two-ingredient Eastern European potato flatbread made from mashed potatoes and flour, baked thin and brushed with butter. Served with soup.

Classic Boston baked beans slow-cooked for 8 hours with molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, and a kick of cayenne. Crusty on top, creamy underneath. The real deal.

Party lemon bisque is a vintage no-bake chilled dessert: lemon gelatin and partially-frozen sweetened condensed milk whipped into a cloud-light mousse over graham cracker crumbs. Tangy, sweet, and built for a crowd.

Beer-marinated flank steak with soy, lime, and brown sugar bathing overnight, then hitting hot grates for a caramelized crust. Sliced thin across the grain for tender, beer-smoky strips that beat any expensive cut.

Pickling cucumbers are cucumbers that are not less than 3-inches long and not more than 4-inches long.

Browned SPAM cubes with carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and celery in a thyme-seasoned sauce, topped with sliced potatoes broiled golden. This hearty one-skillet casserole is a complete meal in about an hour.

Light-as-air meringue cookies studded with mini chocolate chips. Just five ingredients, virtually fat-free, and they melt on your tongue. Makes 36 cookies.

Crisp whole wheat oatmeal cookies spiced with ginger and allspice, made with bran and brown sugar. Egg-free and simple to roll and cut, these British-style biscuits are wholesome comfort in every bite.