Recipe Sifter

Homemade turkey gravy built from simmered giblets and neck, pan drippings, half and half, and a finishing splash of brandy. Rich, properly thickened, and worth the extra step on Thanksgiving day.

Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, lemon zest, chives, and chopped almonds, then drizzled with a bright lemon-Dijon vinaigrette. Served cold or at room temperature.

A milk-based sourdough starter jump-started with yeast: flour, water and yeast left to ferment, then enriched with milk, sugar and flour. Keep it in the fridge and feed it after each use for ongoing baking.

Cayenne pepper wafers with Gruyere cheese, butter, and chopped walnuts. A savory, spicy slice-and-bake cracker for cocktail parties and cheese boards.

Spooky Halloween eyeball gelatin dessert with whipped cream eyeballs floating in blood-red Jell-O. Easy, kid-friendly, and gleefully gruesome.

Puff pancake (Dutch baby) bakes a simple flour, milk, and egg batter into a dramatic golden puff. Topped with warm blueberry pie filling and fresh nectarine slices.

Marinated olives steeped with lemon, fresh thyme, rosemary and slivered garlic in good olive oil. A no-cook, make-ahead appetizer that gets better as it sits. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Spaghetti with garlic and oil (aglio e olio) made richer with butter and white wine. Three tablespoons of garlic sauteed low and slow for maximum flavor in 20 minutes.

Homemade fruit sweeteners made by reducing frozen juice concentrates into thick, syrupy natural sugar substitutes for baking and cooking without refined sugar.

Fresh clams steamed open with eight cloves of garlic, olive oil, white wine, chile pepper, and bread crumbs that thicken the broth into a scoopable sauce. Simple, rustic, and loaded with garlic.

Low-calorie marbled chocolate cheesecake made with cottage cheese, gelatin, cocoa, and whipped egg whites on a cocoa-vanilla wafer crust. No baking required.

Plukfisk is a traditional Danish dish of flaked boiled codfish folded into a creamy white sauce with potatoes and mustard. Cozy Scandinavian comfort food in 30 minutes.

Carne asada y naranjas features skirt steak soaked in fresh orange juice, then grilled over charcoal alongside caramelized orange slices. Citrusy, smoky, and impossibly simple for a Mexican-inspired cookout.

German herring salad layered with tart apples and onions in a tangy sour cream and yogurt sauce, marinated 5 hours and topped with fresh dill. A classic Northern European cold fish salad.

For that definitive French touch, an enriched Bechamel sauce.

Spicy jalapeno pesto with fresh basil, parsley, pine nuts, and garlic. A no-cook, no-cheese pesto with a kick of green heat that's ready in 5 minutes flat.