Recipe Sifter

Pepper-chicken fettuccini toss: strips of chicken sautéed with red, yellow, and green bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, then tossed with fettuccine and parmesan. A one-skillet 30-minute weeknight dinner.

Homemade sambar powder (sambar podi) with toasted channa dal, coriander seeds, red chilies, fenugreek, and asafetida. An essential South Indian spice blend.

Rich hazelnut chocolate soup made with semisweet chocolate, half-and-half, egg yolks, and hazelnut liqueur. Serve hot or chilled with whipped cream and toasted hazelnuts for an elegant dessert.

Pickled onions brined overnight in salt water, then packed in a hot vinegar brine with mustard seeds, horseradish, bay leaf, and hot peppers. Crunchy and tangy.

Flattened chicken breasts rolled around melty mozzarella and fresh asparagus spears, then pan-seared until golden. Just 3 ingredients, 45 minutes, and a stunning dinner for two.

Nutty plum crumble with peanut butter rubbed into a whole wheat and oat topping over fresh sliced plums. A single-serving vegetarian dessert with a crunchy, protein-rich crumble.

Roast duckling glazed with orange marmalade and concentrated OJ, finished with a luscious cherry-red wine sauce. A sweet-savory showpiece that's surprisingly easy to pull off.

Marinated asparagus salad with red pepper, red onion, and tangy raspberry vinaigrette. A make-ahead cold side dish that gets better overnight. No oil, naturally light.

Berry banana smoothie blended thick and frosty from frozen banana, mixed berries, orange juice, and a spoonful of vanilla yogurt. A naturally sweet, no-milk breakfast or after-school drink kids love.

Nothing expresses the German love of edible art more succintly than marzipan candies, which are shaped into piglets, cats, poodles, flowers, fruit and all sorts of other objects. They are delicious to eat, too.

Let your bread machine make this hazelnut bread for you.

All-purpose Mediterranean meat and rice stuffing with fresh mint, parsley, and dill. Fills vine leaves, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers for dolma-style dishes.

Homemade pickled herring fillets simmered in a sweet-spiced vinegar brine with cinnamon sticks, allspice, mace, peppercorns, cloves, and onion. A traditional German preparation made for big batches.

Spicy apple raisin muffins made with raisin bran cereal, wheat germ, apple pie spice, and fresh chopped apples. A lighter bake using egg whites and apple juice.

Vegetarian stuffed grape leaves filled with rice, yellow split peas, mushrooms, and warming spices like turmeric and cayenne. Baked until tender, these make a hearty appetizer or meatless main.

Crispy deep-fried dessert wontons with three tropical fillings: coconut-lemon, macadamia-ginger, and banana-honey. Hand-rolled dough twisted like candy wrappers and dusted in powdered sugar.