Recipe Sifter

Slow-cooker chicken pie that hands off the work to the Crock-Pot, then crowns vegetables and shredded chicken with a flaky pie crust baked separately. Leftover poultry rescue.

Chicken in silky almond sauce with yogurt, cardamom, coriander, and slivered almonds pureed into a rich Mughlai-style gravy. A fragrant Indian chicken korma that improves overnight.

Flourless chocolate cake studded with dried mission figs simmered in dark rum. Dense, fudgy, and boozy with deep cocoa flavor. Serve chilled with soft whipped cream for a dinner party dessert that feels effortlessly sophisticated.

A rich cocoa bundt cake with a sweet coconut macaroon filling swirled through every slice and finished with chocolate glaze. Two classics, one spectacular cake.

Slice-and-bake chocolate icebox cookies rolled in chopped pecans and topped with melted milk chocolate. Make the dough ahead, chill overnight, and bake 8 dozen in minutes.

The mingling of chocolate and coffee . . . now and then a ladyfinger! This dessert's a mark of gracious hospitality.

Chocolate cinnamon cake roll filled with Kahlua-spiked cinnamon whipped cream. A light cocoa sponge rolled around a spiced, boozy filling for an elegant dessert.

A moist Christmas quick bread with orange juice, mashed banana, prune puree, candied fruit, raisins, and nuts, topped with a thin powdered sugar icing and glacé cherries. Freezes beautifully for gifting.

Chunky beef chili: cubed beef chuck simmered low with tomatoes, green pepper, onion, garlic, and chili powder until tender. Texas-style no-bean chili built for piling toppings on top.

No one who loves to eat can visit Cincinnati without falling in love withthe most eccentric and delicious noodle dish of all--5-Way Chili. Invented by Greek immigrants in the 1920s, it is unique to southern Ohio, and served only in chili parlors, most of which are fluorescent-lighted luncheonettes that haven't changed much since 1950. Nobody in Cincinnati gives out their recipe. It is a dish of startling complexity, so dizzingly spicy....

Authentic Yucatán cochinita pibil with achiote-marinated pork, banana leaf wrap and habanero orange salsa. Traditional Mayan pit-style slow-roasted pork for tacos.

Double-thick pork chops stuffed with fresh corn, cilantro, orange zest, sage, and bread crumbs, seared and braised in a covered skillet until juicy and tender.

Old-fashioned navy bean soup simmered low and slow with a meaty ham bone, onions, and bay leaf. Just 7 ingredients, feeds a crowd of 15, and freezes like a dream.

Cranberry orange Bundt coffee cake with sour cream batter, three swirled layers of whole-berry cranberry sauce, and a tangy orange glaze. Holiday-ready bake.

Cranberry torte bundt cake loaded with dates, pecans, and fresh cranberries, soaked in a warm orange juice glaze. A dense, fruity holiday cake that improves overnight in the fridge.

Crayfish etouffee built on a deep buttery base of onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic, simmered with tomato paste, white wine, and tender crayfish tails. The Cajun classic, served over rice. Best made a day ahead.