21 stain recipes

Magic window cookies are sugar cookies with stained glass centers made from crushed hard candy that melts during baking. A holiday favorite for tree ornaments and gifts.

No-bake church window candy made with melted chocolate, colored marshmallows, and chopped nuts, rolled into logs and sliced. The colorful marshmallows glow like stained glass.

Grilled chicken adobo marinated in Yucatecan achiote paste, orange juice, cinnamon, and basil. Stains the chicken deep red-orange and delivers smoky, citrusy flavor straight from the Mexican Caribbean coast.

Pink peppermint stick pie set into a chocolate wafer crust, with a no-bake marshmallow-and-cream filling stained candy-cane red. Topped with crushed peppermint sticks for crunch.

Easy cream of tomato soup made from scratch with just four ingredients: tomato juice, milk, butter, and flour. A homemade alternative to the canned version, ready in 25 minutes.

Lemon tagliatelle, a simple Italian pasta tossed with Greek yogurt, lemon zest, nutmeg, and olive oil. A fresh, summery vegetarian pasta in under 20 minutes.

Juicy chicken breasts meet silky pear puree and tart cranberries, topped with tangy feta cheese for a sweet-savory dinner that's ready in 40 minutes. Perfect over nutty brown rice.

Pan-fried fish fillets in a Latin-style island sauce with tomatoes, olives, green pepper, vinegar, and bay leaf. A Veracruz-inspired one-pan dinner.

Old-fashioned raspberry fruit jellies, homemade candy made from fresh fruit juice boiled with sugar, set with gelatine and rolled in fine sugar. Soft, jewel-bright squares with a real fruit tang.

Chunky salmon and avocado dip with fresh lime, tomatoes, curd cheese, and Greek yogurt. No cooking required, just 10 minutes of prep for a crowd-pleasing appetizer.

Copycat White Castle sliders made with beef broth-spiked patties, steamed onions, pickles, and mustard on trimmed hot dog buns. Tastes just like the real thing.

Poached fish gently cooks salmon, bass, or snapper fillets in seasoned court bouillon for moist, tender results in under 15 minutes. A French classic technique for delicate fish.

Avocado stuffed with smoked fish is a West African appetizer of flaked smoked whitefish bound in a creamy sieved-yolk dressing, mounded into ripe avocado halves, and crowned with red pepper strips. Striking, elegant, no cooking.

This is a tangy marinade, containing equal amounts of lemon juice and oil, and is good for rich meats like chicken thighs. It can be used for chicken breasts too, but their skin should be on for additional protection during grilling or broiling. Thyme gives this marinade a flavor loved in France, but you can substitute oregano for an Italian or Greek accent, or mint or cilantro for a Lebanese touch.

Light salmon mousse made with canned and smoked salmon, Greek yogurt, ginger, and whipped egg whites, served with a grapefruit-walnut oil salad. An elegant British-style starter.

Whole rainbow trout baked in a creamy yogurt and herb sauce with parsley, chives, fennel, thyme, oregano, and tarragon. An elegant British-style fish supper ready in under an hour.