Recipe Sifter

Start a party with your shrimp with this delicious recipe that uses clam juice, beer and hot pepper sauce.

A great bread machine recipe that makes a very crusty bread that tastes great plain, or toasted.

A fragrant homemade Balti spice blend built from toasted coriander, cumin, cassia bark, fennel, black mustard seeds, cloves, and cardamom. Use it dry in curries or mix it into Balti masala paste for the real deal.

Classic escargot a la Bourguignonne baked in garlic-parsley-shallot butter with brandy. The iconic French appetizer, simple to make at home with canned snails.

Melt-away butter cookies with vanilla and almond extract, pressed with a cookie gun and optionally dipped in chocolate with chopped pecans. Yields 7 dozen.

Creole poached chicken breasts simmered in stewed tomatoes with the holy trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery, plus thyme and a kick of cayenne. A lean Weight Watchers-friendly main ready in 30 minutes.

Speedy pat-in pastry: oil-based pie crust mixed and pressed right in the pie plate. No rolling pin, no cold butter, no chilling. A reliable crust for bakers who fear pastry.

Spiced fig drop cookies with stewed figs, raisins, walnuts, allspice, and cinnamon. An old-fashioned fruit-filled cookie that stores beautifully in a tin for weeks.

Peanut butter snap cookies with brown sugar, butter, and vanilla, shaped into balls and baked until crisp. A big-batch recipe that yields 7 dozen crunchy peanut butter cookies.

Italian-style steamed mussels with garlic, white wine, tomato wedges, and green pepper. A quick 30-minute seafood dinner that creates its own brothy sauce for dipping crusty bread.

Venison backstrap sliced into strips, seasoned with garlic and pepper, rolled up, wrapped in bacon, and grilled rare over coals. Looks like filet mignon, eats even better.

No-bake fig and coconut candy balls with ground nuts and bright lemon zest. Naturally sweet, chewy, and rolled in finely chopped coconut for a vintage confection.

Crunchy no-bake chocolate butterscotch clusters with peanuts and chow mein noodles. Only 4 ingredients, 20 minutes, and zero oven time. A holiday cookie tray must-have.

By using both arugula and parsley brings double refreshing taste into the pesto, ricotta adds the extra moisture and creaminess without overwhelming the parmesan, and the toasted walnuts makes the pesto taste nutty and fragrant. Toss it with pasta, or use it as a base on the pizza!

The tomato sauce worked deliciously well with the shrimp, olives and feta cheese. Used spaghetti instead of fettuccine, green olives stuffed with pimento instead of black olives. It was a very delightful dish, indeed.

Quinoa is getting more and more popular because it's rich in protein and fiber, and it's versatile to cook. This recipe uses both whole wheat flour and quinoa flour to give the pancakes extra protein and fiber, they are delicious as well. Use fruit sauce, jam or fresh fruits as topping, an ideal breakfast to start the day.