Recipe Sifter

Old-fashioned currant jelly uses just two ingredients: fresh currants and sugar. Traditional cook-and-strain method without commercial pectin. Bright tart-sweet jelly for toast, lamb, or thumbprint cookies.

Steamed corn pones are simple masa dough logs wrapped in softened corn husks and steamed until tender. A rustic Mexican-Southern US sidekick to beans, chili, or stews.

Romesco-style roasted pepper dip made with broiled red and yellow bell peppers, roasted garlic, almonds, and sherry vinegar. A low-fat vegetarian appetizer with a striking two-tone presentation.

Classic four-ingredient shortbread cookies made with butter, sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt. Rubbed by hand into a crumbly dough, rolled thin, and baked golden in just 10 minutes.

Try this variation of a French sauce as a topping on pancakes.

Oil-free curried vegetables cooked in a non-stick pot with apple juice, curry powder, onions, and garlic. A quick vegan weeknight side dish ready in 20 minutes.

Rosemary kissed lamb and shallot skewers for the barbecue.

Calvert's pecan flounder bakes flounder fillets in foil packets with pecan vinaigrette, lemon slices, white wine, and toasted pecan halves. An elegant Southern-inspired dinner for four.

Cranberry-cherry cooler: a blender-quick punch of tart cranberry juice, bright orange juice, and cherry drink mix served over ice. Ten minutes, four ingredients, party-ready pitcher drink.

Raspberry and fig gratin with sour cream and broiled brown sugar crust. Four ingredients, 15 minutes, and the caramelized sugar cracks like creme brulee over warm fruit.

Spicy fruit compote simmers dried fruit in port wine with cinnamon, cloves, and lemon, finished with fresh banana. A warming dessert or breakfast topping for yogurt, ice cream, or pancakes.

Silky homemade apricot honey butter with fresh lemon, lemon zest, and crystallized ginger. No added sugar, no pectin, and keeps frozen for up to 6 months.

Crispy puff pastry sticks glazed with orange sugar and drizzled with melted chocolate. Makes 60 elegant little matchsticks with just 6 ingredients.

Graham wafer delights with a cooked date and brown sugar filling sandwiched between graham crackers. A no-bake layered dessert bar topped with chocolate icing.

Two-ingredient cranberry relish made with fresh cranberries and sugar. The simplest stovetop cranberry sauce that beats canned every time, ready in under 15 minutes for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Viennese baked apples are stovetop-simmered apples stuffed with raspberry jam, walnuts, and orange zest, then broiler-glazed with sugar. A classic Austrian cafe dessert.