Recipes with salt and black pepper

Mango pork loin roasted with curried pineapple, basted with a reduced pineapple-broth sauce, and glazed with mango chutney. Served with a fresh mango-ginger garnish.

Braised pork chops with dried figs, apple slices, orange juice, Gewurztraminer, and warm spices served over saffron cinnamon couscous with toasted almonds and pine nuts.

Stuffed boned lamb shoulder roast: boned and rolled shoulder stuffed with a mushroom-bread crumb-herb filling, dusted with flour, and roasted slow with rosemary and garlic. Classic British Sunday lunch.

Stuffed boned lamb shoulder roast: boned and rolled shoulder stuffed with a mushroom-bread crumb-herb filling, dusted with flour, and roasted slow with rosemary and garlic. Classic British Sunday lunch.

Turnip and apple bake with mashed buttered turnip layered with cinnamon-spiced apples and topped with a brown sugar bread crumb crust. A cozy fall side dish.

Creamy chicken noodle soup with dried porcini mushrooms, leeks, and sour cream in a white wine broth. Rich, earthy comfort food for cold, dreary days.

Smoked trout and grilled apple strudel wraps flaky phyllo around a savory filling of smoked trout, fire-charred Granny Smith apples, shallots and cream cheese. Restaurant-style appetizer.

Slightly crusty roasted potatoes, bacon and a tangy sweet and sour vinaigrette. A classic improved just in time for Oktoberfest!

Italian lentils with sausage simmers fresh sausage in broth while earthy lentils cook with sage, soffritto, and tomato paste. A rustic Umbrian-style main or New Year lucky dish.

Egg ribbon soup with shrimp and spinach: silky egg drop soup with tender shrimp and baby spinach in a sesame-chili finish. One pot, 40 minutes, 8 grams of carbs.

Senate navy bean soup with dried beans, chicken broth, and a bright lemon juice finish. A simple, classic American bean soup inspired by the U.S. Capitol's famous recipe.

Light garlic pesto sauce made with fresh basil, Parmesan, chicken broth, and just one tablespoon of olive oil. A lower-fat pesto with bright, garlicky flavor.

Bay scallops with pasta shells in a fresh tomato cream sauce made with white wine, shallots, basil, and reduced heavy cream. An elegant 45-minute seafood pasta dinner.

Instead of using a rich egg or cream batter, the chicken in this recipe is dipped in whole wheat flour, buttermilk-egg batter, and then unsweetened cereal crumbs to make a wonderfully crispy hot baked chicken, or cold picnic chicken.

I guess I will have to ditch the craft dinner, because this mac and cheese was actually so easy to make, and it was so much better than those boxed stuff. No comparison.

Penne with bacon, peas, and ricotta is a creamy 5-ingredient pasta ready in 20 minutes. Smoky bacon fat coats the penne while ricotta melts into a silky sauce.