Recipe Sifter

Chewy coconut cookies loaded with toasted almonds and sweet dates bake low and slow until golden-bottomed with crisp edges for 4 dozen treats.

Fresh nectarines or peaches halved and stuffed with a whipped lemon cream cheese filling flavored with lemon balm. An elegant no-bake summer dessert.

Buttered Belgian endive: sliced endive braised in butter, lemon juice, and water until tender-crisp. A classic French bistro side for roasted meats, fish, or eggs.

Old-fashioned whole bran muffins with just 8 ingredients. Milk-soaked bran keeps them moist and tender while a hot oven bakes them golden in 20 minutes. Simple and fiber-rich.

Simmered Italian vegetable stew with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and bell peppers seasoned with a seven-herb blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and more. Vegetarian comfort in one pot.

Serve this tangy lemon yogurt dill sauce with grilled chicken or salmon. It also goes well with steamed vegetables, such as green beans, carrots, or broccoli.

Elegant shortbread-style cookies with ground toasted pecans and a splash of dry sherry. Pressed with decorative designs and ripened overnight for the best texture. Makes 90 cookies.

Golden Wardens are whole pears poached slowly in honey, white grape juice, and lemon until the syrup turns burnished and the fruit collapses to butter-soft. An English heritage dessert built for the hardest, most stubborn pears.

Pickled pink eggs tinted with beet juice and brined in a vinegar-pickling-spice mix with garlic and bay leaf. Classic pub-snack or potluck appetizer that gets better the longer it sits. Just six ingredients.

Lemon pie with a crisp baked meringue crust, lemon curd filling, and sweetened whipped cream topping. A no-pastry dessert that's light, tangy, and completely gluten-free with a cloud-like meringue shell.

Pesto pasta with marinated artichoke hearts, black olives, and sauteed bell peppers tossed with bowtie or angel hair. A 40-minute vegetarian-friendly dinner.

Pheasant braised in spiced sour cream with Worcestershire, bay leaves, basil, and rosemary for several hours until fork-tender. A rich, creamy way to cook wild game bird.

Retro molded cucumber salad with lime gelatin, sour cream, chopped radishes, and lemon juice. A cool, creamy side dish that slices into neat squares for summer buffets.

Low-cal cheesecake made with cottage cheese, skim milk, whipped egg whites, and gelatin instead of cream cheese and butter. A light, no-bake cheesecake with graham cracker crumb topping.

Jimmy's chili builds a from-scratch chili paste from whole dried chili pods, blended with browned beef, tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, and red wine. Slow-simmered for 3 hours into deeply spiced Texas-style chili.

Classic asparagus almondine with a microwave-browned butter and almond sauce finished with tarragon vinegar. Ready in under 5 minutes, served hot or cold over cooked asparagus.