Recipe Sifter

Creamy Southern-style butter pecan cheesecake on a pecan-studded graham cracker crust. Loaded with toasted pecans and sour cream for a rich, velvety texture. From Southern Living.

Simply delicious salad that can be served with any main course.

An air-dried roast duck glazed with Scotch, soy, honey, ginger, and brown sugar marinade until the skin turns deep mahogany. A Peking-duck-inspired showstopper for a special-occasion dinner.

Fresh nectarine smoothie blended with orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, and ice. A five-ingredient fruit drink ready in 10 minutes with no dairy and no added fat.

Honey glazed carrots and parsnips with curry powder, lemon juice, and butter, finished in the oven for a caramelized coating. Make-ahead friendly for holiday meals.

Italian rabbit saddles boned, rolled around a garlic-olive-rosemary stuffing, then seared and braised in fresh tomato sauce. Rustic Tuscan cooking at its most honest.

Spicy black-eyed peas simmered with cumin, chili powder, dry mustard, canned tomatoes, and Tabasco. A quick Southern side dish served over rice or with grits.

Amaretto butter and amaretto maple syrup, two quick toppings for pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Almond-flavored brunch condiments with just 2-3 ingredients each.

Applique cookies stack contrasting chocolate-pepper and sugar cookie doughs, cut in different shapes and glued with egg white before baking, then drizzled with chocolate. A striking two-tone decorating technique.

Low-fat ricotta cheesecake with ginger and nutmeg on a Grape Nuts crust, set with agar instead of eggs. A no-bake, lighter cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries.

Baked apples filled with brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg, served with a simple maple yogurt sauce. Use firm tart varieties like Ida Red or Northern Spy for the best results.

Hot Southwestern roll-ups stuffed with roast beef, cheddar, salsa, and mayo, then microwaved into warm handheld lunches in one minute. School-lunch lifesaver.

Grandma Hilda's apple pie: an old-world sheet-pan apple pie with a tender egg-rich dough, piled with grated apples, brown sugar, and a cinnamon-sugar crust on top.

Blanched asparagus shocked in ice water to lock in bright green color, then drizzled with peanut oil and finished with minced shallots and parsley. A 15-minute healthy vegetarian side dish.

Cold soups make for excellent summer fare. The best vichyssoise I ever had in my life was at a French restaurant during a Montreal summer. Humor me. Try the soup in the traditional manner but then, if you must heat it up, (sigh), go ahead.

Frozen graham custard is a retro no-churn freezer dessert with whipped evaporated milk, lemon, and vanilla custard layered between buttery graham cracker crumbs. Six ingredients, no ice cream maker, pure midcentury nostalgia.