Recipe Sifter

Classic two-layer butter cake with separated eggs and folded whites for height. Topped with a tangy lemon-buttercream frosting (or chocolate variation). The American birthday cake.

Slow cooker beef stew with carrots, celery, new potatoes, mushrooms, and red wine. Set it before work, come home to a deeply flavored, fork-tender stew thickened with a flour slurry. Feeds 16, freezes beautifully.

A rustic apple tart where pieces of buttery shortcrust are patched together top and bottom, layered with apricot jam and clove-spiced apples. A forgiving, no-fuss bake for anyone shy of rolling perfect pastry.

Three-ingredient foil-wrapped pot roast with onion soup mix and mushrooms, baked low and slow until fork-tender. A hands-off beef chuck roast that makes its own gravy in the packet.

Marinated sirloin steak grilled and sliced into pita bread with shredded lettuce and a cool cucumber yogurt sauce. A freezer-friendly meal prep recipe for easy weeknight grilling.

Onion broth made with five pounds of slow-caramelized onions, soup bones, garlic, and mace. A deeply flavored, bone-enriched broth with silky body.

Eight-spice crispy skinned snapper with Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, coriander, white pepper, and ginger. Pan-seared then oven-roasted for shatteringly crisp skin.

Mexican-style chili with ground chuck, kidney beans, three cans of tomatoes, and green chili salsa simmered low for three hours. A big-batch chili built to feed a crowd, freeze well, and taste better on day two.

Smoked salmon and dill pinwheels rolled with horseradish cream cheese, watercress, and dark bread. A make-ahead party appetizer with peppery bite and silky smoked fish.

The colors the fruits used in the cookies suggest those of the robes worn by the four ordres mendiants, monastic orders that originally lived on charity -- the Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans.

Frozen chocolate-covered banana pops dipped in melted semisweet chocolate and rolled in sprinkles, coconut, or nuts. A fun no-bake frozen treat kids love to make and eat.

Beef bourguignonne baked in the oven with red wine, carrots, mushrooms, and tomatoes, served over buttered egg noodles. The classic French braise made hands-off with no stovetop searing required.

Summer peach and berry lattice pie with fresh orange juice, nutmeg, and a golden egg-washed crust. Use any mix of strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries.

German Hackbraten (Falscher Hase) meatloaf recipe made with ground beef and pork, roasted with onions, garlic and yellow turnip until the crust turns deeply golden. A traditional oven-roasted meatloaf sliced and served with its own pan juices over potato salad.

Marinated flank steak (London broil) in red wine, soy sauce, oregano, and marjoram, broiled hot and sliced thin against the grain. Tender, flavorful weeknight steak from an affordable cut.

Let the aroma of this tantalizing dish fill your kitchen by using this easy to follow crockpot recipe.