'Outrageous' mix lets you match Contessa

The Barefoot Contessa is a real honest-to-goodness cook whose books are delightful, whose TV show makes you want to go into the kitchen, whose smile shows that she enjoys herself, whose curvy figure tells you that this is a lady who eats heartily. Well, you can cook exactly like Ina Garten even if you spend the briefest time at your stove. Her line of pantry goods includes marinades, pancake and waffle mixes, and boxes of dessert mixes that will have you turning out chocolate chunk cookies, jam thumbprint cookies, and lemon angel food cake. Her ``outrageous" brownie mix ($10) emerges from the oven exactly as promised. The Contessa supplies the flour, chocolate, cocoa, and baking soda. You add butter and eggs. So what if her share of the goods comes to a few dollars and you still have to fork out the cost of the additional expensive ingredients? No one said being royal is cheap. But in this case, it's mighty delicious. Available at Valentine's, 756 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington, 781-862-3477, and 27 Water St., Newburyport, 978-463-0002 , or go to www.stonewallkitchen.com. -- SHERYL JULIAN

Brownie lovers get an Edge

The world of brownies is classically divided into cakey versus fudgy. But discerning eaters know there's another brownie dichotomy: chewy edges versus pliant middles. In our house, fervent edge lovers have nearly come to blows over the coveted corners. Enter the Baker's Edge, a pan that caters to edge fans: It's nothing but edges and has 10 (yes 10!) corners. The clever pan is the brainchild of Matthew Griffin, a 31-year-old Indianapolis edge man who set out to make a better pan as a way of escaping a job he hated. He and his pastry-chef wife spent eight years testing and tasting before finally perfecting the heavy cast-aluminum nonstick pan ($32.50 to $36.95). He insists it is also great for lasagna, meat loaf, bread pudding, and more. Along the way, says Griffin, he went from being "a guy that loved to eat food and didn't know how to make it" to a "bakeware expert guy." Alas, good as the pan is, Baker's Edge can't change human nature: Our edge lovers now argue over who gets the double-cornered brownies. Available from the Baker's Catalogue at shop.bakerscatalogue.com) or www.bakersedge.com. -- JANE DORNBUSCH

Dumping the junk, at school and at home

Christopher Kimball believes school lunches could use a healthy make over. The founder of Brookline-based America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated magazine has launched a group called Parents Against Junk Food, which is pushing for stricter nutrition standards for schools, where processed foods are often the norm. Kimball hopes that the effort, which is free to join, will encourage children and their families to reduce their consumption of junk food at school and at home. ``The real problem is the food kids get at home is by and large this food," says Kimball, who adds that childhood obesity could pose a problem for the healthcare system over the next generation. Members of Parents Against Junk Food receive a newsletter of kid-friendly recipes and information on legislative efforts aimed at child nutrition. Go to www.parentsagainstjunkfood.org. -- EMILY SHARTIN

Prime pasta in Somerville

For more than 20 years, Dave Jick of Dave's Fresh Pasta has sold handcut ravioli, lasagna sheets, and noodles. For the past seven, he's occupied a little shop in Somerville's Davis Square, which expanded in 2004, and is now only slightly bigger. But it's packed with interesting wines and olive oils, crackers and cheeses, frozen soups and sauces, and of course, pasta. Dave's keeps cheese, spinach, and mushroom ravioli on hand throughout the year, and regularly rotates seasonal specials such as pumpkin-sage ravioli ($5.95 per pound). The flavorful fillings and toothy pasta only need a simple butter sauce and some shaved Parmesan . But with all the goodies in Jick's shop, you'll likely find something else to add to your plate. Dave's Fresh Pasta, 81 Holland St., Somerville, 617-623-0867. -- LEIGH BELANGER