Recipe Sifter

Southern chicken and okra gumbo with salt pork, fresh tomatoes, and hot pepper, served over fluffy white rice. A slow-simmered Plains-style gumbo with deep, smoky flavor.

Rich chocolate cheesecake with melted semi-sweet chocolate, sour cream, and butter on a chocolate-flecked graham cracker crust. Baked low and slow for a dense, fudgy center.

Sourdough onion rye bread made in a bread machine with rye flour, whole wheat, diced onions, and honey. Includes small, medium, and large loaf sizes with optional anise or caraway.

Currant syrup made from mashed currants, raspberries, and sour cherries strained and dissolved with sugar into a concentrated fruit syrup. A three-berry preserve for drinks and desserts.

Party chicken and crab casserole layered with stuffing, crabmeat, chicken breasts, and cream of mushroom soup. An elegant retro casserole for entertaining that bakes hands-off for 90 minutes.

No-bake chocolate almond pie with a crunchy chocolate-almond shell, marshmallow mousse filling, and whipped cream. Chills overnight for a silky, fudgy slice.

Lamb and potato ragu braised in tomato with butter-browned onion and carrot. A rustic Italian one-pot stew where the potatoes absorb all the rich, meaty juices.

Sparkling pineapple punch with cinnamon-infused simple syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice, and sparkling white wine. A fizzy, crowd-sized party punch served from a punch bowl.

Sweet avocado mousse blends ripe avocado with lemon yogurt and coconut rum, then folds in whipped egg whites for a pale green, silky chilled dessert topped with chopped pistachios.

Whole green apples cored and stuffed with sauteed sausage, garlic, and onion, topped with brown sugar and bacon, then baked until the apples are soft. A savory-sweet brunch dish or hearty fall dinner.

Twice cooked herbed duck quarters slow-roasted to render the fat, then grilled over charcoal for crisp, smoky skin. Herb-rubbed, crackling, and impossibly juicy.

Mint chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate wafer crust crowned with a billowy marshmallow meringue toasted golden. Three layers of texture in every fork-full.

Red, white, and blue striped slice-and-bake cookies for the Fourth of July. Simple sugar cookie dough tinted with food coloring, stacked, chilled, and sliced into patriotic treats.

Oven-baked chicken pieces coated in seasoned flour, sprinkled with sesame seeds and lemon juice, then finished with white wine. Simple one-pan dinner with elegant results.

Triple-layer cheesecake on a chocolate wafer crust with a chocolate-sour cream base, brown sugar-pecan middle, and almond-vanilla top, all finished with a glossy chocolate glaze.

Santa Fe chicken pounds chicken breasts thin, rolls them around green chiles and Mexican cheese, then pan-sears golden. Served with a fresh corn-tomato-cilantro salsa for a Southwest dinner.