Recipe Sifter

Tangy bleu cheese spread blended with cream cheese, white wine, and Worcestershire. Served with sliced California dried figs and crackers for an elegant cheese plate appetizer.

Deep-fried eggplant fritters made from boiled eggplant mashed with egg, butter, and just enough flour to hold together. Crispy outside, creamy inside.

Homemade mild Italian sausage, bulk sausage is easy to make at home and just a bit more work to stuff.

How to grill eggplant: slice lengthwise, marinate in olive oil, balsamic, garlic, and herbs, then grill until soft and charred. Easy summer side that pairs with zucchini and yellow squash.

No-bake mud pie with coffee ice cream in a chocolate wafer cookie crust, drizzled with fudge sauce and topped with whipped cream and toasted almonds. Frozen and foolproof.

Fragrant Thai-inspired curry sauce with coconut milk, fresh ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime, and red curry paste finished with basil. Ready in 30 minutes and endlessly versatile over rice, noodles, or grilled proteins.

Easy steamed dumplings made with a shortcut filling of vegetarian sausage, fresh ginger, and soy, wrapped in wonton wrappers and steamed in minutes. A beginner-friendly way to make dumplings at home.

Grilled lamb burgers with bulgur wheat, fresh mint, allspice, and red wine. Mediterranean-style patties served in pita bread with cucumber and yogurt.

Yankee maple sugar apple pie sweetens tart apples with a full cup of soft maple sugar instead of granulated. Just cinnamon, a hint of flour, and dotted butter under a cream-washed top crust deliver heritage New England flavor.

Broiled chicken seasoned with cumin and oregano, topped with seasoned black beans, jalapeño, green onions, and melted Monterey Jack cheese. Tex-Mex made easy.

Brown sugar ginger snaps cream butter with brown sugar, an egg yolk, and ground ginger into a roll-and-cut dough. Crisp edges, tender centers, no molasses needed.

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.

Crispy deep-fried tofu triangles stuffed with curried tofu, mushrooms, and ginger in wonton wrappers. A fusion appetizer that's part samosa, part wonton, and totally addictive. Makes 30.

Shrimp Arnaud, a classic New Orleans appetizer of chilled shrimp marinated in a tangy vinaigrette with hot mustard, chili sauce, garlic, and chives. Dusted with paprika.

Homemade curry powder toasted in the oven with fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, cloves, and cinnamon, then ground with turmeric, mace, and cayenne.

Littleneck clams steamed open in a quick garlic, crushed tomato, and fish stock sauce with oregano and fresh parsley. A Neapolitan classic that takes just 25 minutes from stovetop to table.