Lights! Camera! A few weeks ago, Channel 7 anchor Frances Rivera and her TV crew came to my kitchen to learn how to make turkey pie. The recipe is from "The New Boston Globe Cookbook," which came out last month.

The pie is great for dinner the day after Thanksgiving. Combine leftover turkey with apples in a nice veloute sauce. Cover it with a biscuit crust, which is baked on its own at first, then again on top of the pie; it's beautifully flaky.

Watch for the segment on Frances's "The Dish" on Thursday Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. and Friday Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.

(Yes, she is as beautiful as her photo, and a real sweetie.)

Turkey pie with apples and biscuit crust
Serves 6

The crust for this pie, which is based on leftover roast turkey, is baked separately from the filling, so it doesn’t get soggy. It’s a biscuit dough with lots of fresh parsley. Roll it out so it’s the same shape as your dish (round, oval, rectangular), bake it on a sheet, then finish the baking on top of the creamy turkey pie. The recipe comes from the Dorset Inn in Dorset, Vt.

CRUST
Butter (for the dish)
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup whole milk, or more if necessary
Extra flour (for rolling)

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand a deep 10-inch baking dish. Butter it lightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and shortening. With your fingers or the tines of a fork, work the mixture together until it resembles sand. Add the parsley and 1/2 cup of the milk. Use a fork to work the liquid into the flour mixture to form a moist dough. Add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary to form moist clumps.
3. Transfer the clumps to a floured counter and knead lightly, adding a little more flour, if necessary, to shape the dough. Roll the dough into an oblong or rectangle (it should be the same shape as the baking dish). Carefully lift the dough onto the baking sheet.
4. Bake the dough for 10 minutes or until set. Set side to cool.

FILLING
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 leek (white part only), finely chopped
4 cups cooked turkey meat, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or parsley
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup apple cider
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a small skillet, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes or until it is golden brown. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, celery, and leek. Cook the vegetables over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until they soften.
3. Stir in the turkey, sage or parsley, apples, and cider. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Transfer to the baking dish.
4. In another saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer. Whisk in the butter-flour mixture, salt, and pepper into the boiling stock. When the sauce is smooth and thickened, pour it into the turkey and vegetables.
5. Set the biscuit crust on the filling.
6. Bake the pie for 35 to 45 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling at the edges and the crust is golden brown. Adapted from “The New Boston Globe Cookbook”

That crying you heard in the frozen food aisle wasn't from whiny kids. It was from parents reeling from Kellogg's announcement that a flood in its Atlanta bakery is causing a shortage of products, including Eggo waffles, that might not be restored until the middle of 2010. The link is here http://www2.kelloggs.com/general.aspx?id=3006&terms=eggo but in the meantime we thought we might help the mourning, er, morning routine with a helpful list.

7 other things children should drizzle syrup on while waiting for their waffles:

7 The most annoying noisemaking toy they have. Let them go crazy with the syrup, then sadly explain why it has to be tossed when it curiously goes silent.

6 That 3-year old laptop: Finally, an excuse to get that MacBook Air.

5 Mom's keys: The stickier they are, the harder to lose them.

4 The toothbrush: If that doesn't get them to brush their teeth, nothing will.

3 The alarm clock: Finally, a legitimate excuse for missing that morning meeting.

2 Kevin Faulk's fingers: Without that bobble, Bill Belichick is still a genius.

1 Belichick's playbook: If the pages stuck together, maybe he punts. (Nah)

Posted by Doug Most

I was fiddling with potatoes to decide what to make for Thanksgiving. These are crisps that are quite amazing. You don't have to do anything to them. They're russet potatoes, which are scrubbed, dried, sliced, and drizzled with oil, salt, and pepper.

They're homely before they go into the oven:

Roast them in a hot oven (425 degrees) for 25 minutes, turn with a spatula and continue roasting for 25 minutes, and you get the crisps.

More homely food that turns golden and delicious:

These are plump turkey thighs ($2.99 a pound, each of these weighs about 1 pound, which means 2 for less than $6; that's a good value). They roast nicely and because it's dark meat, they stay moist.

Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some herbes de Provence or a mixture of dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Broil them close to the element for 10 minutes to crisp the skin, then lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees and roast for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) registers 180 degrees.

If I ruled the world, I'd make Thanksgiving a monthly holiday. Or at least order everyone in my kingdom to roast turkey every month. And invite a crowd. And have some fun.

I got to the end of the large dish of roasted vegetables (above) and they were looking pretty dreary. They needed a new identity.

I chopped the vegetables coarsely, put them in a pot with lots of chicken stock and a can of white beans, and brought it to a boil. It didn't need a bit more cooking. In the bowls, I sprinkled the soup with crushed red pepper and parsley. The miracle of reinvention.

Icelandic lamb arrived at Whole Foods -- it's in season for another month. I eyed it skeptically (I love American lamb and also like supporting American products). The shanks were half the size of the American shanks sitting beside them. Both cost $5.99 a pound.

But I was too curious about the taste to pass up the little Icelandic shanks. New Zealand lamb is also small and, I think, tasteless. American lamb can have a sheepy quality, which I happen to like.

I braised these shanks in tomatoes and white wine. When you use red wine with strong-tasting meats, I think the sauce becomes too intense. I cooked them for 1 1/2 hours, added a couple cans of white beans, and continued cooking for another 30 minutes. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like them.

Braised lamb shanks with white beans
Serves 4

4 lamb shanks
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, cut into slices
1 large Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 can (14 to 16 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed in a bowl
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1. Set the oven at 400 degrees.
2. Sprinkle the shanks all over with salt and pepper. In a large flameproof casserole over medium-high heat, heat the oil and when it is hot, set the shanks in the pan. Brown them without moving for 3 minutes. Turn and brown another side without moving them. Continue until the shanks are browned all over. Remove them from the pan.
3. Add the garlic, onion, salt, and pepper to the pan. Lower the heat to medium and cook the onion, stirring often, for 8 minutes. Add the cumin and allspice. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, and water. Turn the heat to high. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture comes to a boil. Return the shanks to the pan. Add the bay leaf. Cover the pan and transfer to the oven.
5. Cook the shanks for 1 1/2 hours or until they are almost tender.
6. Add the beans and stir them into the liquid in the pan. Recover the pot and return it to the oven. Continue cooking for 30 minutes or until the shanks are very tender.
7. Discard the bay leaf. Sprinkle the shanks with parsley and rosemary. Sheryl Julian

If I know that someone is coming over, I try to throw a batch of scones in the oven. Tea and warm scones: is there anything better?

The only way to be able to do this is to take a recipe -- any recipe -- and make it again and again until it becomes second nature. The dough should roll off your fingers. This is the simple recipe I'm working on now.

Mini raisin scones
Makes 36

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup whole milk, or more if necessary
3/4 cup dark raisins
Extra flour (for rolling)
Extra sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and shortening. With your fingers or a pastry blender, work the mixture until it resembles sand.
3. Add the sugar, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the raisins. With the fork, work the milk into the flour mixture to form a moist dough. Add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary, until the dough comes together.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and knead it lightly, adding a little more flour to make it manageable but not dry.
5. Press the dough into an oblong or rectangle that is 3/4-inch thick. The size or shape of the dough does not matter. But don't press it thinner than 3/4 inch. Cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch bands. Cut each band into triangles. Transfer them to the baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar.
6. Bake the scones for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Sheryl Julian

When Arthur Schwartz's "The Southern Italian Table" arrived on my desk last week, I had to make those gorgeous meatballs on the cover.

Schwartz is a talented writer and cook. His last book, "Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking" won American cookbook of the year from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He has been restaurant critic and food editor of The Daily News, and has run a cooking school in southern Italy since 2001.

I'll do the confession part first: I used dark-meat turkey mixed with ground beef. Not sure why. I love turkey meatballs. In any case, these are a cinch to put together (aren't meatballs wonderful that way?).

After they were browned in a skillet

then simmered in tomato sauce and ladled over spaghetti, we dined like kings.

Meatballs in tomato sauce
Serves 4

SAUCE
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic, lightly crushed
1 can (28 ounces) imported whole tomatoes, with their juices
Salt, to taste
Crushed red pepper, to taste
3 fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

1. In a large flameproof casserole, combine the oil and garlic over medium heat. When the garlic begins to sizzle, lower the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until the garlic starts to color. Remove the garlic from the pan.
2. Using a food mill, puree the tomatoes into the pan or use your hand to crush them as you drop them in. Turn up the heat until the mixture comes to a simmer. Add salt and red pepper.
3. Simmer the sauce, stirring often, for 12 minutes. Add the basil halfway through cooking.

MEATBALLS
2 cups dried crustless bread in 1-inch cubes
1 1/4 pounds ground beef (80% lean)
2 eggs, beaten to mix
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup raisins
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil, or more if necessary (for frying)

1. In a bowl, soak the bread in cold water for a few minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in another large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, garlic, pecorino, parsley, pine nuts, raisins, salt, and pepper. Do not mix.
3. Squeeze the bread by fistfuls to drain it. Break it up with your fingers and add to the beef mixture. With your hands, mix the beef mixture well, blending the bread and meat thoroughly.
4. Using wet hands, roll the beef mixture into balls, making about 12.
5. In a skillet, heat a thin film of oil over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the meatballs. Let them cook for a few minutes or until golden on the bottom. Using two utensils, turn the meatballs and cook a few minutes more until golden.
6. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and let them simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve over spaghetti. Adapted from "The Southern Italian Table"

In some Italian-American kitchens, the traditional pasta e fagioli is pronounced pasta fajool. One of the authentic versions of the dish begins with cranberry beans, also known as shell beans, and in Italy as borlotti beans. They have red and white marbled pots, really stunning, and they're labor intensive to peel. Each pod -- don't get the green ones because the beans aren't ripe -- yields 3 or 4 beans. Watch a movie or daydream (I prefer the latter).

Pasta fajool is made with beans, tiny pasta, tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs. It simmers into a beautiful dish, which you can garnish with Parmesan, parsley, and crushed red pepper. We plan to eat it all winter, using dried beans when the cranberry beans are no longer in season.

Pasta e fagioli
(Italian pasta and beans)
Serves 6

If you begin with 3 pounds of fresh cranberry beans, you’ll get about 3 cups of shelled beans. This dish tastes better if you let it sit for a couple of hours. Add more water when you reheat the pot.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped or 1 can (28 ounces) imported whole tomatoes, crushed
6 cups water, or more if necessary
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 pounds fresh cranberry or shell beans, shelled or 2 cans (1 pound each) shell or white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup tiny pasta, such as shells, tubettini, farfalline (mini bow ties)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Extra chopped fresh parsley (for serving)
Crushed red pepper (for serving)

1. In a large flameproof casserole over medium heat, heat the oil and cook the onion, carrots, salt, and pepper, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, water, oregano, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, cover with the lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Add the beans and continue cooking for 3 minutes. The pasta and beans will not be tender; they’ll cook more later. Drain into a colander.
4. Add the beans and pasta to the tomato mixture. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 20 minutes or until the beans and shells are tender. Add more water during cooking if the pot seems dry.
5. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan, parsley, and crushed red pepper. Sheryl Julian

We bought beautiful native green beans and hearty greens at Wilson Farms in Lexington this weekend. There are also plenty of root vegetables just coming into season.

I packed a baking dish with butternut squash, turnips, red potatoes, carrots, red onion, radishes, and mushrooms and roasted them for 1 1/2 hours. This isn't a dish that caramelizes the veggies (you need to cover the pan so the roots cook through), but the results are homey and satisfying.

Roasted fall vegetables
Serves 6

1 bunch radishes, trimmed
5 carrots, thickly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and thickly sliced
1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
3 purple-topped turnips, each cut into 6 wedges
1/2 pound button or other small mushrooms, trimmed
4 small red potatoes, halved
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Handful fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 cup chicken stock or water

1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. In the baking dish, arrange the radishes, carrots, squash, red onion, turnips, mushrooms, and potatoes in clusters, packing them into the dish as tightly as possible. It's OK to make two layers of the smaller vegetables.
3. Sprinkle the vegetables with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Lay the thyme on the vegetables. Pour the stock or water in at the edges.
4. Cover the dish with heavy duty foil or 2 sheets of regular foil. Roast the vegetables for 1 1/2 hours or until they are tender. Halfway through roasting, baste the vegetables with the juices in the dish. Sheryl Julian

Steve Johnson of Rendezvous in Central Square has a way with fish cakes. Years ago, I ate his ethereal bluefish cakes at Mercury Bar, where he was cooking, and wherever he went after that, he always put them on the menu.

I had his bluefish cakes again on Saturday night at Rendezvous -- they're delicious! -- and decided it was time to go into the kitchen. Steve makes fish cakes with all the ingredients already cooked (rather than raw fish cakes). After cooking the fish, he adds spicy mayonnaise, lots of sauteed vegetables, and shapes the cakes and browns them.

They couldn't be easier. You can use leftover grilled or broiled salmon, or plain white fish. Serve the cakes with cucumber salad or cucumber-mint relish. I suggest making extra spicy mayonnaise to use as a sauce, as instructed here.

Bluefish cakes with spicy mayo
Serves 4 as an appetizer

1 pound boneless bluefish
Olive oil (for sprinkling and frying)
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 jalapeno chili pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 bulb fresh fennel, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sriracha or other hot sauce
2 slices (1-inch thick) French bread or 1 small dinner roll, torn up

1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Set the fish in a baking dish (skin side up). Sprinkle with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the fish for 12 to 15 minutes or until it is cooked through. Leave to cool. Flake the fish, discarding the skin and any bones.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil. When it is hot, add the chili pepper, onion, fennel, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are softened.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of the hot sauce. Taste for seasoning. Add the remaining hot sauce, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it is the right heat for your taste. Transfer 3/4 cup of the mayonnaise to a serving bowl.
4. In a food processor with the motor running, pulse the bread into crumbs. Add the fish and pulse until it is well mixed. Add the onion mixture and remaining 3/4 cup of the mayonnaise. Pulse until well mixed.
5. Remove the work bowl from the processor stand. With your hands, shape the fish mixture into 4 patties.
6. In a large nonstick skillet, heat enough olive oil to barely cover the pan. When it is hot, fry the fish cakes for 5 minutes on a side, turning once, until they are crisp and golden. Serve with the spicy mayonnaise. Adapted from Rendezvous

Haddock has no glam. I watched half a dozen people in front of me at the fish counter buying all kinds of beautiful species. No one was touching the haddock. I've wanted to make a haddock and corn chowder for weeks.

One small problem: I don't particularly like clam broth and I never have fish broth on hand. (Last winter I bought pounds and pounds of fish frames to make my own fumee, put much of it in the freezer, and then spent hours getting rid of fish smell in there. Even triple-wrapping does no good.)

At a friend's house earlier this summer, someone took all the lobster bodies off everyone's plate, simmered them in a big pot, and sent me home with the lobster broth -- and the pot! (I averted a potential disaster by wrapping the pot in several garbage bags.) So I had plenty of broth for the chowder. I defrosted it but it didn't have much flavor. I started reducing it while I browned the bacon for the chowder.

"The broth is too weak," my husband announced. "The chowder won't have any flavor."

Then: "Are you adding milk?" he asked. "That will dilute it even more."

But I kept at it. Took the kernels off the cobs. Cut the haddock into large hunks. Put him to work taking thyme leaves off the stems.

A big chopped onion went into the bacon fat, then the lobster broth and fish, then all the corn and thyme, and finally a cup of hot milk.

Wonderful meal! Nothing like great chowder, even made with a homely fish all the other customers pass up. Just so you know: I won over my critic. The bowls were full of flavor.

Fish and corn chowder
Serves 4

Use clam broth if you don't have homemade fish or lobster stock. To make lobster stock, simmer the bodies for 30 minutes in water to cover.

2 thick slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups clam broth
2 1/2 cups water
1 pound boneless haddock or other firm white fish, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from cobs
1 cup milk, heated to hot
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1. In a large flameproof casserole, render the bacon, stirring often, until it is golden brown. With a spoon, lift out all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
2. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes.
3. Pour in the clam broth and water. Bring to a boil. Add the fish and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add the corn and bring to a boil (corn picked that day needs no more cooking). Add the hot milk and thyme. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Sheryl Julian

Before I left for vacation, I read a recipe for corn fritters (it's in this week's Food section), in which contributing writer Jill Santopietro says that sometimes you just get tired of eating corn on the cob every night.

Not me, I thought.

Then last week in rural Vermont, where there's very little to do but walk and read -- and the nearest store is 20 minutes away (one of those quirky but typical country places that sell guns, bullets, artisan bread, and the finest ears of corn you've ever eaten), we did finally need to do something else with the corn besides zipper those rows off the cobs.

We simmered the kernels with the cobs, a chicken backbone from the main course that night, diced pancetta, a finely chopped golden patty pan squash, several local tomatoes, and some chopped potatoes. What a pot!

Corn chowder
Serves 8

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 thin slices pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 quarts water
1 chicken bone or 1 chicken thigh
2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3 medium Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 golden patty pan squash, coarsely chopped (or use 1 yellow squash)
5 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from the cobs (save the cobs)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1. In a soup pot, heat the oil. When it is hot, cook the pancetta, stirring often, until it renders its fat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
2. Add the water, corn cobs, and chicken bone or thigh. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, and patty pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
4. Using tongs, remove the corn cobs from the pot, shaking them to release any vegetables that adhere to them. Remove the chicken bone or thigh (when it cools, use the thigh to make a salad).
5. Add the corn and thyme. Simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Sheryl Julian

My friend Janet had some minor foot surgery last week and I wanted to bring her something that would last for a few days and be easy to eat when she hobbled from the fridge to the table. I didn't have time to go shopping and do the meal delivery, so I used what I had. I found several cans of very good Italian tuna in olive oil. I had been to the farmers' market a few days before, so I had regular and cherry tomatoes in nice colors. Capers are always on hand, as are a few stalks of celery hearts, Armenian cukes, red onion, and canned white beans.

I lined a big plastic container with lettuce leaves, added the salad, and surrounded it with sliced tomatoes. Then snapped on the lid.

Just before heading out, I called Janet. She was just getting home from the pharmacy and was in terrible pain. "I have no appetite," she said, "but I appreciate the thought."

We dined on that tuna salad for days. I took it for lunch twice in a row. The tuna became steeped with the sherry vinegar and tasted good to the bottom of the bowl.

Tuna salad for a crowd
Serves 8

4 cans (7 1/2 ounces each) Italian tuna in olive oil
2 cans (15 ounces each) white beans, drained and rinsed
4 stalks celery heart, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 Armenian or pickling cukes, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
4 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 head Boston or romaine lettuce
3 small ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 pint golden cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Tip the tuna into a large bowl with several tablespoons of the olive oil from the cans (don't use it all).
2. Add the white beans, celery, cucumbers, red onion, and 3 tablespoons of the capers.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently but thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and add more vinegar or oil from the cans, if you like. You can add more mayonnaise, but the dressing should be mostly oil and vinegar.
4. Line a bowl with the lettuce leaves. Add the salad. Surround with tomatoes. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon capers. Sheryl Julian

Any day that starts with an egg is a great day. Yesterday, a friend came for breakfast and I didn't have a chance to go out and get anything. I had a few ripe tomatoes from the farmers' market last weekend, half a red onion, an orange bell pepper that was going to go onto a crudite platter I brought to a reunion (there was already enough orange).

I made a piperade, which is a saucy saute of peppers and tomatoes, adding some spicy, smoky dried maras peppers and a generous pinch of cumin to the pan. I soft-cooked a couple of eggs for the top. It's a dish I was recalling from one I had in Spain a couple years ago and also drawn from something I ate at Sofra Bakery recently. The real piperade begins with the pepper mixture, then eggs are added, which scramble in the pan. I prefer the version that keeps them separate. In this, the soft-cooked egg runs into the spicy saute, adding a little richness to the sauce.

Piperade
Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into strips
3 ripe tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1/8 teaspoon maras peppers or crushed red peppers
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil and when it is hot, add the onion, pepper, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, maras or red peppers, and cumin. Cook, stirring often, for 12 minutes or until the mixture is saucy. Add the vinegar and cook 3 minutes more. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, maras or red papper, or vinegar, if you like.
2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the eggs and cook exactly 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water. Let the cold tap run into the bowl for half a minute. Very gently, tap the shells with the back of a spoon. Peel carefully and transfer to a paper towel to dry.
3. Spoon the piperade onto plates, add an egg to each, and sprinkle with parsley. Sheryl Julian

When it's time to decide what to bring to a pot luck, I'm always on the fence. A pasta salad? Well, it will join all the other pasta salads. A big bowl of corn relish? The work involved in taking all that corn off the cobs!

I consider who is going to be at the event -- last Sunday it was a family reunion -- and lately my decision is to bring a platter of crudites. My husband and I always have a discussion about the fact that people don't want fresh vegetables. They want pasta, potatoes, pizza. We've been pleasantly surprised to learn that they're eating crudites. A nice dipping sauce helps. This mayo-based sauce is a little spicy.

To build a crudite platter
Imagine that you're planting a garden and want to spread out the flowers, so your black-eyed Susans are in different spots around your house. Start with carrots, say, and set them in clusters of threes or fours. I prefer to begin with real carrots and cut them into spears. Baby carrots are often carrots that have been stamped out of larger carrots. Do the same with celery hearts. Leave them long and leave some greens on some of them. On this platter, you'll see four clusters of carrots, two of celery, two of cucumbers (these are Armenian cukes; leave the skins on and slice them on a diagonal), with halved cherry tomatoes in four places, a little group of thinly sliced radishes (about 1/2-inch of green stems intact) in the center. From the side, the platter forms a dome; you want some height.

Mayo dipping sauce
Serves 8

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons spicy cocktail sauce, or more to taste
Dash liquid hot sauce, or more to taste
1 teaspoon grated raw onion

1. In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and sour cream with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
2. Whisk in the cocktail sauce, hot sauce, and onion. Taste for seasoning and add more cocktail sauce or hot sauce, if you like.
3. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until serving. Sheryl Julian

Friends who rent a house in France had lunch on aioli day in a little village in the south of France near Arles. The garlicky mayonnaise was the center of attention, but so were snails (below), another regional specialty.

Apparently you get lots of steamed vegetables (including a big potato; potato slathered with aioli!), the snails if you order them, so your plate starts to look like this:

Then you add a big piece of cabillaud, a firm white fish in the cod family.

If you can't get there, steam the fish yourself, grab a few snails from the garden, and pop a big potato in the oven. Here's an instant aioli.

Quick aioli
Makes about 1 cup

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 cup bottled mayonnaise
Black pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

1. On a cutting board with the end of a blunt knife, mash the garlic and salt until they form a paste.
2. In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise until smooth. Whisk in the garlic mixture, pepper, and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper, if you like. Sheryl Julian

It gets you dinner for 14, which I made last Saturday for a group of Francophiles I cook for annually (the day of the celebration is a weekend close to Bastille Day.

We are usually 12, but this year two people were in France, so we were 10. I made enough for dinner for two more nights (who wants to cook again after all that effort?).

We began with my new favorite hors d'oeuvre: taramosalata, a Greek spread made from smoked cod's roe with lemon juice, olive oil, and some mashed potato to lighten the taste.

Then something I call French farmhouse salad, which consists of frisee lettuce, or other local greens, chunks of bacon, a mustardy vinaigrette, and a soft-cooked egg, whose yolk spills onto the salad and acts as another dressing. My eggs were one minute over runny, but had a lovely free-range taste.

For the main course, I made marmitako, a fish soup from the Basque region of France. Globe food writer and stylist Karoline Boehm Goodnick taught me the recipe, which is a real fisherman's stew -- meaning made from scraps. Her big tomato-based stew only has 3/4 pound of fish in it (I usually double that amount), plus colored bell peppers, leeks, and smoky pimenton and hot paprika, which really brighten the pot.

Dessert: two blueberry crostatas with vanilla creme Anglaise, an extraordinary combination.

That's a lot of food for the money. But I'm not counting my labor. Two hours to shop, eight hours in the kitchen (and dusting off the back porch and other chores unrelated to the stove). I'm not usually this ambitious, but the Francophiles are a special group.

French farmhouse salad
Serves 6

3 thick slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 eggs
2 small heads lettuce (frisee, Boston, arugula), stemmed and torn up

1. In a skillet, render the bacon, turning often, until it is golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add more vinegar or oil, if you like.
3. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Lower in the eggs. Set the timer for 5 minutes. Let the eggs bubble gently for 5 minutes exactly. With a slotted spoon, remove from the water and transfer to cold water. The egg whites are delicate at this point. With the back of the spoon, tap them lightly to crack the shells. Peel them and return to the water until all the eggs are cracked. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
4. In a large bowl, toss the lettuces with the dressing. Arrange them on 6 plates. Set some of the bacon on each one. Add an egg. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Sheryl Julian

This is taramosalata, a Greek smoked fish roe spread that's either dreamy or awful. Awful versions are very strong, but this is a culture where the taramosalata might be sitting beside grilled octopus and snails in vinegar on a table.

You can buy taramosalata ready made (the color is a pretty pale coral) and the taste is mildly smoky, similar to a smoked salmon pate. Jars of roe (called tarama) are available at Middle Eastern markets, so you can make your own, but every time I've made it, the taste has been powerfully fishy.

I decided to try it again. I'd been thinking about it since "Vefa's Kitchen" came across my desk. When you buy the roe, it's so strong that you have to dilute it with bread soaked in water. This makes sense. Mediterranean cultures have many ways to use up stale bread.

Vefa mentioned using potatoes instead of bread to lighten the roe. In "Flavors of Greece," a book I like a lot, author Rosemary Barron also writes that some cooks prefer to use potatoes and bread together, or simply potatoes. So I decided to use all potatoes, and took Barron's proportions and turned them on their head. I used much less tarama than she suggested and much more potato. The results are wonderful!

Taramosalata
Serves 8

2 large Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes
1/2 jar (5 ounces) tarama
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
1/4 red onion, finely chopped

1. Quarter the potatoes. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes and water to cover them by several inches. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon, lift them from the water and transfer to a plate. Leave to cool.
2. Pull off the potato skins. With a fork, mash 1 1/2 potatoes; set the rest aside.
3. In a food processor, work the tarama and lemon juice until the tarama is loose. With the motor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube until it is all combined. Add the mashed potatoes and work the tarama in on-off motions until the potato is well blended.
4. Taste the mixture for seasoning. Add more potato (mash it first) if the mixture seems too fishy.
5. Transfer the spread to a bowl, smooth the top, and sprinkle with olive oil and onion. Cover and refrigerate for several hours for the flavors to mellow. You can keep the spread for several days. In that case, add the olive oil and onion just before serving. Adapted from "Flavors of Greece"

Greek food authority Vefa Alexiadou has written 13 cookbooks and they've been compiled in "Vefa's Kitchen," published by Phaidon Press. That's the house who brought us Spain's "1080 Recipes" and Italy's "The Silver Spoon," both classics in their regions. In her country, Alexiadou has sold more than five millions books and has her own TV show. She lives in Athens and the Halkidiki peninsula in Greece.

"Vefa's Kitchen" is a treasure box of octopus, beans, phyllo dough, stewy garbanzo dishes, game birds, fish stews, pilafs, and long-cooked vegetables. You look at photos of this food and you can imagine some grandmother toiling away in a small kitchen on a Greek island.

Nothing about this cooking is particularly beautiful, but the dishes seem sensible and classic. An omelet (a kind of frittata) filled with egg noodles, more than half a pound of feta, and half a dozen eggs made me want to run out for ingredients and head to the stove.

Small egglant stuffed with ground beef, tomatoes, and kefalotiri cheese, topped with white sauce, are homely but exceptionally appealing.

Taramosalata, the classic Greek spread, is one of my favorite dishes (it's the pink one in the middle, below). The main ingredient, cod's roe, can be quite strong. Alexiadou's tip is to mix pink and white fish roe (white is more expensive but milder, she writes), so you get the pink color without the fishy flavor. Or dilute the roe with boiled potatoes in place of soaked white bread.

Taramosalata
Serves 8

6 thick slices of day-old bread, crusts removed or 7 ounces potatoes, cooked and peeled
7 ounces cured cod's roe
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup mixed olive and corn oil, or to taste
5 tablespoons lemon juice
3 scallions, finely chopped (for garnish)
Handful pitted kalamata olives, chopped (for garnish)

1. Tear up the bread. In a bowl, combine the bread and enough water to cover it. Set aside for 5 minutes. Lift out the bread, squeeze it out, and transfer to a bowl. Coarsely chop the potatoes.
2. In a food processor, combine the roe, onion, and 1/3 cup of the oil. Work the mixture until the roe is broken down and the mixture is blended.
3. Add the bread or potato a little at a time until the mixture is smooth.
4. With the motor running, add the remaining oil in a thin steady stream until the mixture is smooth. Add the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning. If you like, add up to 1/4 cup more oil. If the mixture is too thick, thin with club soda or sparkling water. Beat until light.
5. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill for several hours. Sprinkle with scallions and olives. Adapted from "Vefa's Kitchen"

The new "Good Housekeeping Grilling for Every Day" is a bookazine, which I think means that it's more than a magazine but less than a book. The soft cover publication, launched this week, costs $9.99. There are other bookazines on the market, but this is the first food-related one I've seen.

Here's a sample of one of the 137 recipes, all designed for a Fourth of July barbecue.

Shrimp and pineapple with basil and greens
Serves 6

3 to 4 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 pineapple (3 pounds)
12 corn tortillas
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
6 ounces mesclun or other baby greens
2 heads Belgian endive, thickly sliced

1. Prepare outdoor charcoal or gas grill for medium heat.
2. Grate enough of the limes to make 1/2 teaspoon grated rind. Juice them to get 1/4 cup juice.
3. In blender, combine the lime rind and juice, olive oil, 1/2 cup basil leaves, and a generous punch each of salt and pepper. Blend until pureed.
4. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the basil mixture to a medium bowl. Add shrimp and toss well.
5. Cut off crown and stem ends from pineapple. Stand pineapple upright and slice off rind and eyes. Cut pineapple lengthwise into 8 wedges. Cut off core from each wedge. Place pineapple wedges on hot grill rack and cook about 10 minutes or until lightly charred and tender, turning once.
6. Place shrimp in a grill basket or on a small grill rack and transfer to grill. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until opaque throughout, turning once. Transfer shrimp to large bowl. Transfer pineapple to cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch chunks.
7. Sprinkle tortillas with oil. Grill 4 to 5 minutes or until toasted, turning over once.
8. Add greens, endive, pineapple, remaining basil, and remaining dressing to the shrimp. Toss well.
9. Place 2 tortillas on each of 6 plates; top with shrimp and pinenapple salad. Adapted from "Good Housekeeping Grilling for Every Day"

I got the idea from Donna Hay, who is the brilliant Australian cook with an empire something like Martha Stewart's. Down Under, of course, the season is wintry. Considering what's going on outside, food for chilly weather seemed appealing.

The great thing about this dish is that you don't brown the chicken. Just put all the seasonings -- I used a sprinkle of sea salt, maras pepper, lemon slices, black olives, small tomatoes, and thyme -- right onto the pieces, cover with foil, and send the dish to the oven. Two hours later, you've got a fine meal.

Chicken with lemon, thyme, and tomatoes
Serves 4

1 chicken (3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cups white wine
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
Salt, to taste
Maras or black pepper, to taste
5 small tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
Handful fresh thyme

1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Have on hand a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. Arrange the chicken in the dish. Sprinkle with wine, olive oil, salt, and maras or black pepper. Add tomatoes, olives, lemon, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover with foil.
3. Cook the chicken for 2 hours or until it is very tender and no longer pink at the bone. Discard the lemon and thyme. Spoon the cooking juices over the meat.
4. Turn on the broiler. Broil the chicken for 2 minutes or until the skin looks crisp and golden. Sheryl Julian

This blogger is known as the Queen of Slaws. She can shred anything!

I'm also happy with a cheap mandoline and some vegetables. I mixed red and green cabbages this weekend to make a colorful bowl:

This is the recipe, more or less (you have to take some initiative and add what you like to a slaw; that's part of the fun). The dressing is vinegary with just a little mayo.

Then I decided to make a fennel slaw. You can't slice the fennel by hand because you can't get it thin enough. I used a Benriner (it's the green plastic implement beside the bowl, below). I dressed the slaw with sherry vinegar and added a bouquet of fresh herbs, including mint, which disappeared into the dish but softened the fennel.

Fennel slaw
Serves 6

2 bulbs fresh fennel
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, mint)
5 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Trim the fennel. Halve the bulbs and use a mandoline to slice them thinly. Transfer to a bowl, layering with salt. Set aside for 15 minutes. Tip out any juices that accumulate in the bowl.
2. Add the bell pepper, vinegar, oil, and black pepper. Toss well.
3. Add the herbs and scallions. Toss again. Sheryl Julian

Nestle announced a recall of its prepared refrigerated cookie doughs.

If you need a dough that keeps well in the refrigerator and turns out very crisp cookies, here's our nominee. The recipe comes from Alice Medrich, an extraordinary baker whose books I admire. She melts the butter for the cookies so they need to be refrigerated before baking (otherwise the dough is too soft). Keep it in a plastic container for a couple days, then press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the dough and freeze to keep it longer. Defrost in the refrigerator for a day before baking.

Refrigerator chocolate chippers
Makes 5 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cool but still liquid
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups chocolate chips

1. In an electric mixer, beat the butter with the granulated and brown sugars. Beat in the salt.
2. Add the eggs, one by one, followed by the vanilla.
3. Beat in the flour and baking soda. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a large spoon, stir in the chips.
4. Transfer the batter to a plastic container, cover, and refrigerate for half a day or up to 3 days. Freeze if keeping longer.
5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Let the dough sit out for 30 minutes to soften. Set the oven at 375 degrees.
7. Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes or until they are firm to the touch. Adapted from "Cookies and Brownies"

The recent Brattleboro, Vermont Strolling of the Heifers, in which calves are led through the town, is held to help save family farms. This year, the event included a grilled-cheese sandwich cook-off. Each cook had to use Vermont cheese and Vermont bread.

Overall winner was Vermont Seasons Fine Catering, a Brattleboro company. Jamie Baribeau used Sicilian bread from La Panciata in Northfield Falls, Vt., aged Grafton Cheddar, Vermont Shepherd sheep’s milk cheese, pears in honey, smoked ham from Lawrence Smoke Shop, and grainy mustard. Can't wait to make my own!

Winning grilled cheese sandwich
Makes 1

1 tablespoon butter
2 slices thick crusty bread
2 thin slices ripe pear
1/2 teaspoon honey
2 ounces Vermont Shepherd cheese, thinly sliced
2 ounces Grafton 2-year-old Cheddar, thinly sliced
2 1/2 ounces shaved ham
1/2 teaspoon grainy mustard

1. Lightly butter 2 slices of bread (Save 1 teaspoon of the butter.)
2. In a skillet, melt the butter. Saute the pear for 1 minute. Add the honey and remove from the heat.
3. Set the cheddar on the nonbuttered side of the bread. Add the pear and ham. Spread the mustard on the ham. Top with Vermont Shepherd cheese and the bread, buttered side up.
4. On a griddle, cook the sandwich until it is crisp and golden. Adapted from Vermont Seasons Fine Catering

Last Sunday, I needed to retest the pastry for the chocolate pine nut tart in tomorrow's paper, but I didn't want to make the entire tart (yet again). The pastry is made in a bowl with a wooden spoon and couldn't be easier. When it's time to make the tart, you press it into the pan.

So I decided to turn the pastry into shortbread. I pressed the pastry into the tart pan but did not go up the sides. Then I dredged it with sugar, scored it, and pricked the dough well. The little squares are just sweet enough to be a fine accompaniment to fresh berries.

Here are shortbread details:
Make the pastry as directed here. Press it into the bottom of a buttered 9-inch fluted French tart pan with removable base. Dredge it generously with granulated sugar.

Use a long chef's knife to make horizontal and vertical cuts in the pastry about 1 1/2-inches apart. (When you score the pastry, press down with the knife, but do not pull it along the pastry; the best way is to score half the round, then rotate it and finish scoring.)

Set the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the pastry in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Set the pan on a small bowl so the rim falls away. Transfer the pastry (still on the bottom round) to a cutting board. Recut the pastry where you scored it initially. Set the pieces on a wire rack to cool.

Honestly, I could have baked a batch in the time it's taken me to explain this!

I had a long chat this morning with Lorna Sass, best-known for three books on how to use the pressure cooker (she convinced me; I own three). She also wrote the prize-winning "Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way" and came to my kitchen a couple of years ago to cook some of them.

Sass was vegan for almost a decade and wrote a bunch of vegetarian books, which she told me are really vegan books. She only broke her very strict vegan regime when she met a guy who liked to eat cheese and sip wine. "Short-Cut Vegan" is her latest book. (She's with another guy, who is distinctly not vegan, she says.)

She was traveling and offered some great tips for packing things to go and eating at restaurants. Watch for the story next Wednesday.

Quick bean guacamole
Serves 4

1 can (15 ounces) navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into chunks
3/4 cup chunky salsa, or to taste
1 tablespoon lime juice, or to taste
Generous dash liquid hot sauce, or to taste
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (for sprinkling)

1. In a food processor, combine the beans, avocado, salsa, and 1 tablespoon of the lime juice. Pulse until the mixture turns into a coarse puree.
2. Add the hot sauce and salt. Taste for seasoning and add more salsa and lime juice, if you like.
3. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with cilantro. Adapted from "Short-Cut Vegan"

I haven't had a slaw as good as this in a long time. The recipe was sent to me by Peter Irving and Natasha Kanieff of St. Alphonzo's Kitchen in South Boston. I made it over the weekend so we could run it in tomorrow's paper. I had it for lunch on Sunday, then for dinner, then for lunch and dinner yesterday, and just now ate the last of it for lunch today.

It's mildly sweet from ketchup and a little sugar, nice color from paprika, pucker from lemon juice and rice vinegar.

Sweet red slaw
Serves 6

1 red cabbage, cored, quartered, and very thinly sliced
1 shallot, quartered
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup oil
Black pepper, to taste

1. In a large bowl, place the cabbage; set aside.
2. In a food processor, combine the shallot, rice vinegar, ketchup, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and paprika. Pulse until the mixture is smooth.
3. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until is it well mixed. Add the dressing to the cabbage and toss well. Sprinkle with pepper. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if you like. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Adapted from St. Alphonzo's Kitchen

Food page contributor Ike DeLorenzo made this penne for dinner last night. He emailed to say that it takes only 30 minutes in one pan, "and has a rich, satisfying, almost slow-cooked taste. The key is to use excellent quality pancetta, like the housemade one from Formaggio Kitchen." He began with penne made from farro, which, he says, "lends the dish an especially balanced and satisfying taste."

Wine recommendation: a lighter red (Chianti, pinot noir) or a crisp dry white (Picpoul-de-Pinet, sauvignon blanc).

Farro penne with tuna and pancetta
Serves 2

Salt, to taste
1/4-inch slice top quality pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 can (14 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 pound farro penne rigate
1 can (6 ounces) tuna in olive oil
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup grated romano cheese

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a flameproof casserole large enough to hold the finished dish, turn the heat to medium-low. Add the pancetta with a splash of olive oil. Cook the pancetta for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn slightly golden. About 1 minute before the pancetta is done, add the garlic. Don't burn the garlic.
3. Add the tomatoes. Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the red pepper, and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit. Add a few splashes of olive oil.
4. Drop the pasta into the water. Cook according to package directions (usually about 7 minutes). Be alert with farro pasta. The difference between perfectly cooked "al dente" farro and overcooked mush is less than a minute. Drain farro pasta 2 minutes early; it will continue to cook in the pan.
5. Use a fork to ease the tuna out of the can into the tomato mixture, so you flake rather than mash it as it falls out of the can. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
6. Drain the pasta into a colander. Add the pasta and parsley to the tomato sauce. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently, for 5 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with romano cheese. Stir slowly to prevent the cheese from clumping as it melts. Ike DeLorenzo

This is the famous apple pie made with Ritz crackers instead of fruit (it's an old dessert, once much loved as an easy, cheap alternative to real apple pie). Ritz is celebrating 75 years, no doubt due to the popularity of this pie and to the excellent combination of peanut butter spread on the crackers, one of the most satisfying PB partners.

Ritz mock apple pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 3/4 cups water
Rind and juice of 1 lemon
Flour (for sprinkling)
Pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie
36 Ritz crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut up
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cream of tartar . Gradually stir in the water. Bring to boil over high heat; turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in the lemon rind and juice. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.
2. Set the oven at 425 degrees. Have on hand a 9-inch pie pan.
3. On a lightly floured counter, roll out half the pastry to an 11-inch round. Ease it into the pie pan. Place cracker crumbs in crust. Pour sugar syrup over crumbs; top with butter or margarine and cinnamon.
4. Roll out the remaining pastry to a 10-inch round. Ease it over the pie. Seal and flute the edges. Cut several slits in the top crust for steam vents.
5. Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

I was in Budapest last month sampling specialties made with the famous Hungarian paprikas. A story I wrote about my search for paprikas was in Sunday's Travel section.

Here's the video that shows how to make the dish. And click here for the recipe.

Last Spring, during June's local strawberry season, I decided I wanted to make shortcake, so I took a favorite scone recipe and added much more liquid, then baked it in an ordinary layer cake pan. The cake is so light and easy, very crusty on top from a generous sprinkle of granulated sugar. When it's done, I sprinkle it again, this time with confectioners' sugar. Save this for the day when you go into the markets and the berries look beautiful.

I made it last weekend and instead of garnishing the slices with whipped cream, I used plain yogurt, which I flavored with vanilla (or use vanilla yogurt). The berries have enough sweetness so you probably don't need to add sugar to the yogurt.

Strawberry shortcake
Serves 6

SHORTCAKE
Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
Extra granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch layer cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit it. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder.
3. Add the butter and use a pastry blender or two blunt knives to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles crumbs.
4. Stir the granulated sugar into the flour mixture.
5. In a bowl mix the cream and egg. With a rubber spatula, stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture just until it forms a moist batter. Do not over mix.
6. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake the shortcake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
7. Let the shortcake cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Turn it out onto a plate, then turn it right side up onto a flat cake platter. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

STRAWBERRIES
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and halved or sliced
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, softly whipped

1. In a bowl, layer the berries and sugar. Set them aside for 15 minutes. Stir gently.
2. Cut the cake into 6 triangles and set them on dessert plates. Spoon berries and cream on the wedges. Sheryl Julian

In last week's review of Beacon Hill Bistro, I mentioned the beet salad. It features nicely dressed greens beside a crimson wedge -- a sort of beet quiche. The roots are sliced thin and layered with creme fraiche and eggs.

Several people expressed interest in the dish, so here is the recipe for the beets, from chef Jason Bond. You might want to scale down! Ten pounds of beets could provide more than you care to eat. (Not to mention 10 eggs plus 16 yolks -- there's a reason sometimes not to learn what goes into restaurant recipes.) Or make all of it and FedEx the leftovers to Barack Obama. It's time he learned the joy of beets.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Beacon Hill Bistro's beet salad

10 pounds beets
10 eggs
16 yolks
4 ounces creme fraiche
4 ounces flour
2 ounces fresh thyme, chopped
10 shallots, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook beets in simmering water until tender; peel and cool.
2. Slice beets thinly on a mandoline.
3. Whisk together eggs and yolks, then stir in remaining ingredients. Fold with beets to coat.
4. Transfer beets to a shallow pan big enough to hold them and cover in plastic wrap.
5. Top with another pan and weigh it down with cast iron skillets. (Note: Bond specifies six cast iron skillets if you've got 'em.) Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
6. Heat oven to 350. Remove plastic and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let cool, slice, and serve with greens dressed with vinaigrette.

Anyone who knows someone on a gluten-free diet is aware of how difficult it is to enjoy desserts, go to restaurants, participate in celebrations. Elizabeth Barbone, author of "Easy Gluten-Free Baking" (Lake Isle Press), is an alumna of the Culinary Institute of America (her degree is in pastry arts). Here's her version of the famous cookie-jar treat.

Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

1 1/4 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 bag (12 ounces) gluten-free chocolate chips

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl combine the white rice and sweet rice flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to stir them.
3. In a mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat just until a dough forms.
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a wooden spoon, stir in the chips.
5. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake the sheets one at a time.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are golden. Set the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool for 3 to 5 minutes or until cookies are firm. Transfer to the rack to cool completely. Bake the second sheet in the same way. Store cookies in an airtight container. Adapted from "Easy Gluten-Free Baking"

New York restaurant group Union Square Hospitality, which includes Union Square restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, and The Modern, raised money for City Harvest by donating a portion of chicken entrees to the hunger organization. Now they're doing the same thing with eggs. If I owned a restaurant, there'd be an egg dish on the menu every day.

The one here is made by tossing salad greens with a lemony vinaigrette, hard-cooking eggs, and setting two halves around the edges of each plate. Season mayonnaise (commercial is fine) with Dijon mustard, a splash of white wine vinegar, and a few drops of hot water until it is the consistency of thick cream. Spoon the mayonnaise over the eggs.

This is the third flourless chocolate cake I baked for the Passover Seder I attended last night. The first, from one of America's best bakers, was just 1/2-inch high. "Cut it into tiny squares and call them brownies," said my husband. But they were too thin -- even for brownies.

The second was made with ground almonds and it wasn't much better, also from another famous cook. Finally, I turned to a "Better Homes and Gardens" clipping I pulled out last month and made Judy Bart Kancigor's "Too Good To Be Called Passover Cake." It's dense, baked in a water bath, and really luscious. The only change I made was to bake it longer than she suggests. Kancigor's recipe calls for 25 to 30 minutes in a water bath. It needs closer to 1 hour. After it cooled, I dusted the top with unsweetened cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar.

Third time's the charm.

Too Good To Be Called Passover Cake
Serves 16

Butter (for the pan)
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 eggs
Unsweetened cocoa powder (for sprinkling)
Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch springform pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, and butter the paper. Wrap 2 layers of foil around the bottom of the pan. Bring a tea kettle of water to a boil.
2. In a food processor, combine the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates. Pulse until finely chopped.
3. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Set over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
4. With the processor running, add the boiling sugar syrup through the feed tube. Add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, followed by the eggs, one by one.
5. Pour the batter into the pan. Set it in a roasting pan. Carefully pour enough water around the cake pan to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few specks clinging to it. Remove the cake from the water and set it on a rack to cool.
6. Unlatch the sides of the springform. Use a wide metal spatula to slide the cake (without the paper) onto a cake plate.
7. Dust with unsweetened cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar. Adapted from "Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family"

Until today, I was unaware of this apparent e-mail/Internet phenomenon. (If you Google "chocolate cake in a cup," you get 1,800,000 hits.)

It's a 5-minute chocolate cake that's made in a mug in the microwave. Someone e-mailed the recipe to my father, who passed it along to me.

It goes like this:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1,000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
Then EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous.)

It ends: "And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night."

Unfortunately, I'm at the office and can't concoct this thing RIGHT NOW like I want to. Has anyone tried it? Could it actually be good?

According to the folks at King Arthur, not so much, but they offer a few improvements.

The secret to good chicken soup is chicken. That seems so obvious, but apparently many cooks ignore that. Some make chicken soup with beautiful ingredients and just before serving, in order to give the bowls a boost, they add powdered chicken broth at the end. The soup gets that unmistakable yellow color with tiny bits of dried herbs in it. Add more chicken and you'll get all the flavor you need. One parsnip adds a nice sweet taste, but sometimes smells strong while cooking. Add plenty of carrots and don't bother to cut them up. Just lay them whole in the bottom of the pot. Cut up the onions, however, since they will not fall in half when you lift them out. Once the soup is made, separate the liquid from the solids and refrigerate them separately. Skim the fat from the broth. Remove all the meat from the bones, and combine everything to reheat. The recipe came to me from Sally Shapiro of Providence. I make it once a week from October through May. If you have a small pressure cooker, you'll have to divide this recipe in half, which is easy enough to do.

Pressure-cooker chicken soup
Serves 6

6 carrots (leave whole)
3 medium onions, chopped
1 parsnip (leave whole)
6 stalks fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
1 chicken (3 1/2 pounds), cut into quarters
2 split chicken breasts
1 tablespoon kosher salt
12 cups water

1. In a pressure cooker, lay the carrots, onions, parsnip, parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns in the bottom. Add the chicken pieces with the neck and gizzard, extra breasts, and salt. Pour in the water.
2. Lock the lid and set over high heat to bring the pressure up. Adjust the heat to maintain medium pressure and cook for 15 minutes exactly. (Important: do not leave the kitchen while the pressure cooker is on; modern cookers are perfectly safe, but you still need to babysit.)
3. Let the pressure cooker sit for 5 minutes. Carefully carry the cooker to the sink and run very cold water onto the top to bring the pressure down. You'll hear the valve make a big sigh. When it's safe to remove the lid, lift it off.
4. Let the soup cool for 20 minutes. With tongs, transfer the chicken to a large bowl. Put the vegetables into one container, tip the broth into another. Discard the parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Let everything cool.
5. Refrigerate the broth. Remove the meat from the chicken bones and transfer the meat to the vegetables. Refrigerate.
6. Remove the fat from the broth. Tip the broth into a soup pot. Add the vegetables and chicken. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Adapted from "The Way We Cook"

Make this with slender Armenian cucumbers, which have thin skins. They're slightly longer than pickling cukes and not as pudgy. I get them at my local farmstand. You also need some sort of hand-held slicing machine, like a fancy mandoline or one of the newer cheaper plastic versions.

4 Armenian cucumbers
About 1/4 cup white wine or cider vinegar
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Without peeling them, slice the cucumbers thinly. Layer them in a bowl, sprinkling the layers with vinegar, salt, and parsley.
2. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least several hours. Sheryl Julian

I just got around to making a very simple lentil and pasta dish my sister-in-law, Donna, gave me last fall. You can imagine people who had nothing putting this on the table with crusty bread. You begin by simmering lentils in water, then you add olive oil, garlic, and parsley, simmer a little more, then throw in tiny pasta shells and finish the cooking. I thought the dish wouldn't have any flavor, but I used good olive oil and it was terrific. At first, when it's done, the dish is soupy, but when the lentils sit for a few minutes, they absorb the liquid in the pan.

It's a very cheap, very nourishing meal. Talk about making something from nothing.

Pasta and lentils
Serves 4

8 cups water
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups green lentils
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup top-quality olive oil
1 cup small pasta shells or soup mac

1. In a large saucepan, combine the water and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Add the lentils, partially cover the pan, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of the parsley, garlic, and olive oil. Recover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
3. Add the pasta and continue cooking for 10 minutes more or until the pasta and lentils are tender. (Total cooking time is 35 minutes.) Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Stir over medium heat until it is hot again. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Donna Meuse

Celery root is an amazing vegetable. It tastes only vaguely like the green stalk celery, and has no strings. But it is crisp and makes a fine salad when prepared the classic French way as celeri remoulade: cut into julienne strips, blanched for a minute, and tossed with a mayonnaise and mustard dressing.

Celeri remoulade
Serves 4

Salt and pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
2 heads celery root
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plain yogurt or sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or more to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Fill a large saucepan with water, salt, and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
2. With a rotary vegetable peeler, peel the skin from the celery roots. Halve them, remove any spongy cores with a spoon and cut the bulbs into julienne strips. Working quickly so the strips do not brown, add them to the water. Return the mixture to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Shake the colander to remove excess moisture.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt or sour cream, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add the celery root and toss gently but thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, and mustard, if you like. Sprinkle with parsley. Sheryl Julian

Short ribs are an amazing cut. I often order them in a restaurant (the photo above was shot at 28 Degrees in the South End), but I've never made them at home. Last weekend I took the plunge. They're huge, fatty, bony things -- they come boned but my butcher only had ribs with bones intact. I seared them all over, added plenty of rendered bacon, sauteed red onion wedges, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, and wine.

They spent a couple of hours in the oven and the house smelled heavenly. Once the ribs were done -- they were falling off the bone -- I had to chill it. The big flameproof casserole I used was too big to go into the fridge, so I put it outside in the snow! That's my new method of chilling food fast. And you do have to chill this dish. There's an inch of fat on top, which is easy to skim off.

We're feasting on the ribs this evening with friends who are coming in from Vermont. Here's the recipe, which is in tomorrow's paper.

Today's Globe featured an interview with doctor/jazz man/cook Stanley Sagov (below). He spoke about some of the dishes he likes to make, from his native South Africa. If they intrigued you, here are two of his recipes.

Josh Reynolds for the Boston Globe

Stanley's South African Jazz Curry

Serves 4-6

Note: A heady mixture of various curries gives this dish an exotic flavor. Try to find some that are spicy and some that are sweet, from India and/or Java. Try Cartwrights Curry Powder from South Africa or Shan brand from an Indian grocery store.

VEGETABLES
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into thick slices
1/2 cup fresh green beans, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup fresh lima beans
2 eggplants, peeled and cut into thin rounds
3 small green mangoes, peeled and halved
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 green peppers, seeded and diced
3 large tomatoes, halved

SAUCE
1 small piece fresh ginger root, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 stick cinnamon (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1 teaspoon fennel seed (or 1 teaspoon grated fresh fennel)
1 teaspoon curry powder, or more to taste
4 cloves
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons fresh coconut, shredded
2 green chili peppers, chopped
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed and sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Wash, peel, and cut all the vegetables and mangoes. Set peppers and tomatoes aside.

3. Simmer the remaining vegetables in a pot with as little water as possible. When the vegetables are half-cooked, add the peppers and tomatoes and simmer until everything is gently cooked but still "al dente."

4. Mix together the ginger, all of the spices, salt, coconut, and green chilies. Add jam and yogurt and stir to make a thick sauce.

5. Place the cooked vegetables in an oven-proof casserole and pour the yogurt mixture over them. Carefully toss and turn the vegetables so the sauce is distributed fairly evenly.

6. Sprinkle garlic and olive oil evenly over the vegetables. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes.

Sagov says: Curry is always better the next day! Serve with rotis (Indian flatbread) and yellow rice -- white rice that is cooked with raisins, turmeric, butter, cinnamon, and sometimes a little sugar. For table condiments, serve chutney, raita (a mixture of yogurt, fresh mint, and chopped cucumbers), and sliced bananas.

Stanley’s Bebop Tomato Bredie

Serves 4-6

1/4 cup olive oil
About 2 pounds stew beef, cubed
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 marrow bones
About 1 pound tomatoes, peeled and ground to a pulp
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 chopped green chili
1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
About two pounds small potatoes, halved
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Toss in the beef cubes, onion, and marrow bones. Cook until well browned.

2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, sugar, chili, bell peppers, and potatoes. Stir well and simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Reduce heat and add turmeric and garam masala. Simmer uncovered until the meat is tender, about 2 hours.

4. Serve over white rice. You can add turmeric to the rice for color.

We needed a meatloaf recipe for a story in tomorrow's paper and I bought both lean ground beef and turkey sausages and went into the kitchen. I decided that you have to add vegetables to the meat mixture or you'll get something that isn't moist enough, so I added finely chopped carrot and onion, and lots of parsley. I had left some dinner rolls out for a day to get stale, which I threw in the food processor with the vegetables. Then I made a spicy tomato sauce to cover the top (good meatloaf needs to bake under a blanket). Great dish! Here's the recipe.

Food contributing writer Debra Samuels belongs to the International Women's Club of Boston, for which she co-hosts, with French native Francoise Matte, informal cooking classes. This week they had a chocolate session and made a chocolate roll cake, orange and grapefruit rinds dipped in chocolate, florentine cookies, and truffles. Making the truffles is very easy. A great last-minute gift for your valentine.

Chocolate truffles
Makes 4 dozen

1 pint heavy cream
2 pounds chocolate (minimum 65% cacao), chopped into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, or more if necessary (for coating)

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the cream. Add the chocolate and stir over low heat until the chocolate melts.
2. Scrape down the sides of the pan. Let the chocolate mixture cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight until the chocolate is cold.
3. Spread enough cocoa on a plate to make a thick layer.
4. WIth a small spoon, scoop up balls of chocolate. Roll them in your hands into small balls. (Work quickly because your hands will warm and melt the chocolate.) Roll the balls in the cocoa to coat them all over; transfer the truffles to small paper cups. Continue until all the chocolate is rolled and covered with cocoa.
5. Store in a cool, dark place. Debra Samuels

"I'll order any dish that has _______ in it."

There are some ingredients I can't resist. It's not even always that I like them on their own, but if a dish contains them, I will order it. For example:

Figs
Artichokes
Horseradish
Kumquats, Meyer lemons, or blood oranges

Kumquats are currently in the markets, which makes me happy.

I candied some the other day. Here's how:

Slice thin 2 dozen or so kumquats, removing seeds.
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir about 3/4 cup sugar into about 3/4 cup water till sugar dissolves. Raise heat and bring to a boil.
Add the kumquats. When the mixture comes to a boil again, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until kumquats are tender.
Let cool, then store in a clean jar. You can also make this with more sugar and water for a greater amount of syrup.

They 're great on pound cakes, tapioca pudding, ice cream with hot fudge, and so on. The syrup is also good in cocktails.

I've been putting them in my yogurt.

What ingredients almost always get you to order a dish?

After the swearing-in ceremony, President Obama's lunch -- the one where Senator Kennedy collapsed -- included seafood stew. Here is Chef Shannon Shaffer making the dish. Lunch was served at the U.S. Capitol building and catered by Design Cuisine of Arlington, Va.

The menu went on to include pheasant with wild rice, duck breasts with cherry chutney, molasses-whipped sweet potatoes, winter vegetables, and cinnamon-apple sponge cake. The stew, according to Guardian newspaper reporter Daniel Nasaw, was baked in individual serving dishes with puff pastry caps.

Lobsters for the dish came from Maine; it would be nice with our sea scallops and cod (they used black cod). It seems really creamy. But then, I don't need as much fortification. I didn't get up at dawn and dance until the wee hours.

Seafood stew
Serves 10

1 gallon water
6 Maine lobsters (1 pound each)
20 medium sea scallops
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled
1 pound cod
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 leek, finely chopped
1/2 russet potato, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch ground nutmeg
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup dry vermouth
10 rounds puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Bring the water to a boil; poach lobsters, then the shrimp, then the cod, and finally the scallops. The seafood should not be cooked through; it will cook more later. Remove all the seafood from the water. Reserve the cooking liquid and bring to boil.
2. In the seafood water, cook the carrot, celery, leek, and potato for 10 minutes or tender.
3. Let the liquid boil until only 1 quart of liquid remains. This will be the base for the sauce.
4. Add the vermouth and heavy cream and let the mixture bubble steadily until reduced by half. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. You have reached your desired thickness when the sauce will cover the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.
5. Cut lobster, shrimp and scallops into bite-size pieces.
6. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand 10 ramekins (about 3 1/2-inches across) or other small heatproof dishes.
7. Fold seafood and vegetables into cool sauce, mixing carefully. Scoop into the dishes. Cover with puff pastry rounds, brush them with egg and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Adapted from Design Cuisine

Because President-Elect Obama likes hot food so much, I thought I'd make bowls of chili with roasted peppers. Chilies are so warming and it seems like the ideal weather for something like this. When Jim Scherer took this shot a few years ago, Julie Riven and I were experimenting with how different chilies taste after roasting.

We slip them under the broiler so the flesh is about 6-inches from the element, then keep turning them for 5 minutes or until they charred all over. Put them in a bowl, cover it, and let it stand for 5 minutes to loosen the skins. The seeds can burn your fingers, so you may want to use plastic gloves to remove them and chop the flesh.

Chili
Serves 4

Serve these generous bowls of pork and roasted chilies with a side of black beans (there are no beans in the stew).

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large Spanish onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 serrano chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large flameproof casserole, heat the oil. When it is hot, add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until they soften. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
2. Add the pork to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the meat looks cooked at the edges.
3. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, and salt. Add the mixture to the pork and stir the meat to coat it in the seasoning.
4. Add the water and chilies. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, partially cover the pan, and cook the pork for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork.
5. Stir in the cilantro and taste for seasoning. Add more salt or chili powder, if you like. Sheryl Julian & Julie Riven

It's time you perfected your comfort food. I've been braising beef chuck, ribs, hunks of pork, all kinds of bean and potato dishes. The house smells good, you eat for days, the food improves on reheating.

Three-bean stew with ham
Serves 6

1 cup dried cannellini beans
1 cup dried pinto beans
1 cup dried kidney beans
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3/4 cup crushed canned tomatoes
1 large piece (1 1/2 pounds) boneless ham
12 cups water
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large bowl, combine the cannellini, pinto, and kidney beans. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let the beans soak at room temperature overnight. Drain the beans into a colander.
2. Set the oven at 275 degrees. In a large flameproof casserole, heat the oil. Add the onion and carrots and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the vegetables soften.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the drained beans, rosemary, and tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute.
4. Add the ham and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook the beans for 4 hours or until they are very tender. Halfway through cooking, turn the ham over in the pot.
5. Remove the pot from the oven. Transfer the ham to a cutting board and cut it into 1/2-inch pieces. Return the ham pieces to the stew. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with parsley, and serve at once. Sheryl Julian & Julie Riven