In honor of my new release, THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON, my publisher, Delacorte Press, donated 10 leftover galley copies to give away through some sort of blog contest. To sweeten the pot, I'm adding in 15 of my backlist titles, and 25 random titles by other authors (some classic, some new, some not yet released). If you're keeping count, that's a 50-book giveaway!

Let's get to it, shall we?

CONTEST #1: STELLA GIVEAWAY

From now until midnight, August 8, 2009 Monday, August 10th, at 11:59 p.m., send me an e-mail to zeisgeist (at) aol (dot) com. In the subject line, type STELLA GIVEAWAY.

In the body of the e-mail, type your name, age, location, occupation (if you have one - student is fine), and a few fun facts about youself.

Also in the body of the e-mail, or attached as a Word doc, I need one of your favorite family recipes, with a paragraph or two about how or why this recipe has become a family favorite. If you have a picture of the dish, send that along to. [NOTE: if this is not an original dish - say, something you've borrowed from Paula Deen but adapted to make you own - make sure you give credit where credit is due. In this case, credit would be, "adapted from Paula Deen, NAME OF BOOK OR SHOW, 2006."

Ten winners will receive personally autographed copies of STELLA, but the top five will also have their culinary contributions posted on my "Recipe of the Week" feature in the near future!

CONTEST #2: BACKLIST GIVEAWAY

If you've already purchased STELLA, but still want in on the fun, here's what you do:

Write an original review of STELLA - something comprehensive, more than just "oh hey i liked it" - and post that review through outlets like IndieBook.org, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, your personal blog, Facebook, GoodReads.com, a message board system, etc., etc. For every five outlets you hit, you are elligible to win one personally autographed copy of any of my backlist titles - BRINGING UP THE BONES, CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE, and ANYONE BUT YOU.

Then, now until midnight, August 8, 2009 Monday, August 10th, at 11:59 p.m., send me an e-mail to zeisgeist (at) aol (dot) com. In the subject line, type BACKLIST GIVEAWAY.

In the body of the e-mail, type your name, age, location, occupation (if you have one - student is fine), and a few fun facts about youself.

Also in the body of the e-mail, include links to the online reviews that you've posted. That's all there is to it!

This contest will remain open until I've given away five copies of each of those three (BONES, CONTENTS, ANYONE) titles (that's 15 books total).

CONTEST #3: BIG MAMA GIVEAWAY

If you've already added all of my Lara titles to your personal library, and are looking to expand a bit, then this last contest is for you. From nnow until midnight, August 8, 2009 Monday, August 10th, at 11:59 p.m., send me an e-mail to zeisgeist (at) aol (dot) com. In the subject line, type BIG MAMA GIVEAWAY.

In the body of the e-mail, type your name, age, location, occupation (if you have one - student is fine), and a few fun facts about youself.

Next, e-mail me a picture or scan of the receipt that shows you purchased STELLA recently. This will become your entry into a drawing to win 25 YA titles from MY personal library - as in, by authors other than me. The one caveat? If you receive a book in this grab bag that you've already read or own, or have no interest in reading/owning, you must promise to either a) donate it to your local library or b) pass it on to a friend who will appreciate it.

Please feel free to repost to your blogs, Facebook pages, etc., etc. to get the word out.

Enjoy!

[Here's where I need to add a little fine print: all three contests are open to readers 12 and up, but all must be residents of the United States - a shipping clause my publisher asked me to include. Also, Contest #3 was inspired by something my friend Elizabeth Scott recently ran on her web site. And oh! And I have to point out that my friend Laurie Faria Stolarz is running her own contest to give away an ARC of her hotly anticipated prequel to the Blue is for Nightmares series, BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS. It's a graphic novel! And looks really freaking awesome!]

Yes! Last night I received this recipe from Cindy Dobrez, librarian extraordinaire, who has encouraged me to keep up with my blueberry recipe streak. I haven't tried this yet but am planning on doing it over the weekend. It sounds like the perfect complement to your family's Independence Day feastivities. Thanks, Cindy!

Cindy's Cooked Blueberry Pie Thing

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Crumb Shell*

1 1/3 cup finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Blueberry Filling*

4 cups blueberries (fresh would work best), divided
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest (optional)
1 8 oz. package of regular cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar

PREPARATION

Cookie Crumb Shell

Adjust oven rack to center and preheat to 350 F.

Butter the inside bottom ONLY of a 9-inch pie pan (do not butter the sides or the shell will slump).

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and vanilla. Add the butter and toss until the crumbs are evenly coated.

Turn the mixture into the prepared pie pan. Scatter the crumbs so that they are evenly distributed and press onto bottom and up sides to make an even shell. Bake for 8 minutes, or until set and just barely beginning to brown. Cool to room temperature on a rack.

Blueberry Filling

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook 2 cups of the berries with the sugar, water, corn starch, and salt over medium heat. Cook until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove, stir in remaining uncooked blueberries, and, if desired, the cinnamon and lemon juice or zest (but not both!). Let mixture cool slightly.

While the blueberry mixture is cooling, mix softened cream cheese with confectioner's sugar until well incorporated (a hand or stand mixer would be really helpful here). Spread this over the bottom of the cookie crumb shell. Make sure shell has cooled enough, or this will be quite difficult!

Pour blueberry mixture over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve!


* Crust recipe from Jim Fobel's OLD-FASHIONED BAKING BOOK, which Cindy says is "so worth buying ... it has family photos and great anecdotes in addition to fab recipes that use butter - gasp! - and no low-fat products. If you're going to eat dessert, by God, eat DESSERT!"

** Filling recipe from Cindy's blueberry farmer neighbor, Deb Madl

[NOTE FROM CINDY: This is probably my favorite pie. ... I usually make this with a glazed strawberry pie (also in the Fobel cookbook) for a red, white, and blue holiday dessert table. Enjoy!]

[NOTE FROM LARA: As I said, I haven't made this yet, but I would think about adding a heavy pinch of salt to both the crust and the filling. Salt tends to bring out the sweetness in desserts, even if that sounds counter-intuitive. Also, I'd definitely opt for the zest over the juice - just from making my baked blueberry French toast I can tell you that the zest melts into the mixture in such a way that you can't even notice it - as Joe says, it adds this bit of "brightness" that you can't quite put your finger on until you taste it without that ingredient.]

I know that most people view the slow cooker as more of a winter cooking tool - and can any Ramona Quimby fan forget the beef stew incident that lead to raw pancakes for dinner? But I love using it in the summer, too, because then the oven isn't heating up the house and making the A/C work overtime. I was inspired to try this recipe because I had a pound of frozen shrimp that needed using, only to discover too late that my shrimp shells had developed white spots on them that may or may not have been some kind of bacterial disease thing. (This is after peeling almost all of them, but fortunately before I spent 30 minutes deveining them.) Anyway, some slow cooker recipes make me happy because you kind of throw a bunch of ingedients in, walk away, and then come back 8 hours later to a yummy dinner. This one? Not so much. The initial prep alone took an hour and a half, and that's not including the time it took to make the accompanying brown rice. Despite all of this - the time consumption, the unexpected lack of shrimp, etc. - I can't tell you how delicious it turned out. We ate it for three days straight and still managed to fill a large freezer back with leftovers so that we can have more gumbo-y goodness later.

Still haven't gotten that cooked blueberry dessert recipe, but I will share it as soon as I do. For now, gumbo away!

Slow Cooker Chicken, Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Kielbasa or Smoked Sausage, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large onion, chopped (don’t dice – bigger chunks are better)
1/2 red or green pepper, chopped (ditto)
2 stalks celery, chopped (ditto)
4 cloves garlic, minced (Trader Joe’s frozen cubes work great)
1 10 oz. package frozen sliced okra, thawed (I used a 16 oz. package and it was fine)
1/3 cup canola oil, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups hot chicken broth
1 cup hot water
1 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken (OK to use rotisserie chicken, even though harvesting that meat is messy and gross)
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon filé powder (optional)
12 oz. peeled and deveined raw shrimp (see note below)

PREPARATION

Heat 1 tablespoon oil (olive or canola) in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Brown the smoked sausage; remove with slotted spoon to slow cooker. Next, add 1 tablespoon butter to sausage drippings and sweat onion, red pepper, and celery over medium heat until tender and onions are translucent; add garlic and sweat for another minute before placing the contents into the slow cooker.

In the same pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté thawed okra over low to medium heat until it starts to lose its sticky gooiness (you’ll know what I mean when you see it – it takes about 10-15 minutes). Add to slow cooker.

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat 1/3 cup canola oil over medium heat and then add flour, whisking constantly for five minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking and whisking until roux has darkened to the color of pecans (roughly 15 minutes). DO NOT LET MIXTURE REACH A SIMMER, and DO NOT STOP WHISKING – the mixture will begin to separate immediately.

When roux has reached the desired color, add 3 cups hot chicken broth and 1 cup hot water, whisking as you pour. Keep whisking until mixture is smooth and then pour into slow cooker.

Finally, add chopped chicken, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to the slow cooker. Stir all ingredients until well incorporated. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. Add shrimp during the last 20 minutes and cook until pink.

Serve over hot, buttery rice (I use brown, for the whole grain factor).

LARA'S NOTE: My shrimp were questionable, as I mentioned above, so I omitted them. To thicken the gumbo, I added one tablespoon of filé powder – a traditional gumbo ingredient usually used when you aren't relying on okra as a thickening agent – at the point when I should've added the shrimp, had my shrimp not gone all icky. It's available at Jannsen’s in Delaware, or online if you don't have a store that sells the stuf. I have to say, this gave the gumbo great flavor and did thicken the mixture quite a bit. Gumbo shouldn't be gluey-thick, though - it has to be wet enough to mix well with the rice.

Okay, I know what you're thinking: what's up with all of the blueberry recipes? What can I say; it's summer and I'm a big fan of this antioxident-rich superfood. Anyway, this is a recipe I got from an episode of GIADA AT HOME. We first made it for Joe's grandmother as part of her Mother's Day brunch, paired with a modified version of the Duggar's famous Tater Tot Casserole - cutting the recipe in half and substituting spicy breakfast sausage for the ground turkey - for a savory element. Because Grammy loved it so much, we made the baked French toast for her again the weekend that Joe's grandfather passed away. (I come from a Jewish family; food is how we help deal with grief.) Now Joe and I are reprising the entire brunch when we celebrate Father's Day with my family this coming Sunday. It's an easy recipe that will be a big hit with all, I promise!

Baked French Toast with Blueberries

INGREDIENTS

Butter, for greasing
6 eggs
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup maple syrup, plus extra for serving
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 lemon, zested
3 (1-inch thick) slices (8 ounces) day-old challah or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups (12 ounces) fresh or frozen, thawed, and drained blueberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

PREPARATION

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Add the bread cubes and mix until coated. Stir in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the egg mixture in an even layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is set.

Spoon onto serving plates and drizzle with maple syrup.


Lara's Tip #1: To ensure the day-oldness of the challah, what I did was slice it up the night before and put the slices on a plate in the fridge, uncovered. The second time we made the recipe, it was on the fly and we couldn't find any challah, so we used an equivalent amount of egg rolls, which tasted about the same. Not sure I'd like the sourdough, but that's just me.

Lara's Tip #2: Our second time making this was from memory, and I totally forgot about the lemon zest. You really can't taste a difference, so if you don't feel like buying/zesting your own lemon, you won't be missing much.

This one is for Kristie Finnan, who asked me for the recipe through a Facebook friends request MONTHS ago after she was cutting back the lavender she was growing. I never accepted the friend request, because I didn't want to forget to give her the recipe. (Don't worry, I messaged her to let her know WHY I hadn't accepted the request yet.) Anyway, I figured this would be the perfect time to do it, especially since blueberries are in season now (I think - if not, they will be soon). This awesome recipe comes from Recipes for Life After Weight-Loss Surgery by Margaret Furtado and Lynette Schulz, which my mom gave me as a Christmas present. Even if you haven't had WLS, but are trying to shed pounds or cut back on simple carbs, there are so many great recipes in this book. As for this recipe, most of the parenthetical notes are mine, as are the two tips (well, the tip are mostly mine). Anyway, if you make these, I promise they'll be a huge hit, because they don't even taste like they're supposed to be good for you! And Kristie - I'm sorry it took me this long to get you the recipe!

Lavender-Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup sugar OR 1/3 baking sugar substitute (I like granulated Splenda or Splenda Baking Blend)
1 cup oat bran flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt (Kosher works, but fine sea salt is even better)
¼ cup dried lavender (buds only – no stems)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (we use an Omega 3 blend that’s AWESOME)
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt (we use plain, fat-free Greek yogurt – it gives the muffins a really rich taste)
¾ cup fresh or frozen blueberries (see Tip #1 below)
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375º F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar or baking sugar substitute, oat bran flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lavender. Stir to combine.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla, yogurt, and applesauce, just enough to combine. Then stir in blueberries (see Tip #2 below). The batter should be slightly lumpy.

Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full with batter (and they will rise, trust me). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes before turning the tin over to release them. If the muffins stick to the pan, a slight tap on the back should help release them. (We do this over a clean kitchen tea towel just in case the muffins try to escape. Then we each eat one warm one and let the rest cool completely on a wire rack. As for storage, we put them in the fridge, on a plate covered with plastic wrap to retain moisture. Because of the yogurt, we weren't sure they'd be okay sitting out.)

Recipe yields 12, 2 oz. muffins. If made with Splenda, each one has 90 calories, 3 grams of protein, 15 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fat, and 2.87 grams of sugar (from the fruits). If using table sugar, the carbs go up to 21.64 grams and the sugars end up 9.20 grams.


Lara’s Tip #1: If you’re using store-bought frozen blueberries (either regular or wild will both work), place them in a small sieve put the sieve over a bowl deep enough that the sieve doesn’t touch the bottom. Let the blueberries defrost overnight in the fridge – this way the juice doesn’t bleed into your muffins and make them soggy. You can freeze that juice, by the way, and use it as a flavoring in other recipes. Of course, fresh berries are best, but freezing your own berries produces the same results as fresh ones. You do this by spreading the fresh berries over a sheet pan in a single layer, freeze them overnight, and then move the berries into a freezer-safe bag. We learned this trick from Alton Brown, and it works perfectly.

Lara’s Tip #2: This is actually something I learned from watching Ina Garten. Before adding your blueberries into the batter, toss them with a tablespoon of flour (we used the all-purpose kind). This keeps the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Of course, it will change the carb counts slightly – but so slightly that it probably doesn’t matter to anyone who’d be making these muffins to begin with.

Sunday, we had a baby shower for my best friend Candace, who's expecting a little boy in the next couple of weeks. The party had a bumblee theme, as in "Bee is for Boy" (courtesy of Wendy, Party Planner Extraordinaire). To echo the theme, Joe and I whipped up a batch of Bumblebee Chili. The recipe, which I pulled from the Internet (as I'd lost my copy long ago), seemed a little flavorless to us, so Joe and I used our culinary skills to soup it up (no pun intended). The results were delicious, and everyone raved about our Crockpot full of love. Candy's friend Risha even took some home for a couple of work day lunches - and she thinks people who "make plates" are tacky. (Risha, by the way, contributed some gorgeous pastel blue and pastel green frosted cupcakes, which Joe and I spruced up with homemade sproingy bee picks and little hearts that read, "It's a Boy!" So. Yummy.)

Anyway, thought I'd share this still easy and quite tasty recipe with you all.

Lara’s Bumblebee Chili

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb bag frozen yellow sweet corn
2 cans petite diced tomatoes (can use seasoned)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano (dried – use 1 tablespoon if using fresh)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup chicken stock (optional)
2 bay leaves
S&P

PREPARATION

Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat, then sweat onions and jalapeno, sprinkled with a heavy pinch of kosher salt, for seven to eight minutes (if they start to sauté, turn the heat lower). Add garlic, cumin, and chili powder and cook, stirring, for one to two more minutes.

Add black beans, corn, and tomatoes. Add one can full of water, poured through both cans, to get out all of the lingering traces of sauce. (For a richer flavor, substitute the cup of chicken stock here.) Stir in hot sauce and add bay leaves.

Bring mixture to a low boil, then turn the heat down. Simmer, covered, for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chili has reached desired thickness. Remove bay leaves and season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (be careful - if tomatoes have a lot of salt in them, you'll need to add less).

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

This recipe is for a side dish Rachael Ray made on a recent episode of 30 Minute Meals. We thought it made a pretty good main dish. The first time I made it, I used whole wheat orzo and dried parsley (didn't remember to pick up fresh), and it was awesome. The second time we made it, we couldn't find whole wheat orzo, so we used the regular kind. We also used fresh parsley. It was still awesome. The one major modification we made was to double the amount of feta the recipe called for; 4 oz. just wasn't enough. Best part about this dish? It's great hot OR cold.

Orzo with Chick Peas

INGREDIENTS

Salt
1/2 pound orzo (white or whole wheat)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small to medium zucchini, diced (I used a large zucchini last time - loved having the extra veg)
1/2 red onion, chopped (you could use a whole one, esp. if you using a larger zucchini)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
8 oz. feta or goat cheese, crumbled (haven't tried it with goat)

PREPARATION

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook to al dente.

Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet. Add zucchini, onions and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook 6 to 7 minutes until tender. Add chick peas and heat through. Toss with herbs, orzo and cheese. Adjust salt and pepper and serve.

[NOTE: it's cheaper to buy a block of feta, chop it and hand crumble it, then to buy a container of already crumbled cheese.]

I've been on a soup kick as of late. It's winter; it always makes me crave warm and cozy things. Anyway, I found this recipe online, tweaked it some, and voila! Extra special yumminess. Enjoy!

Curried Cauliflower Soup with Honey

INGREDIENTS

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets (6 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (check before adding, esp. if NOT using low-sodium broth)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thick
2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (choose one that has a little heat)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 cup half and half or heavy cream
honey

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread cauliflower florets on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast until florets are browned, about 25 - 30 minutes.

In a medium stockpot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add onions, sprinkling them with a pinch of salt, and sauté until they turn brown (about 10-15 minutes, depending on the kind of pan you use). Stir in curry powder and cook until fragrant, 1 - 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and cauliflower. Bring to boil, then kick back the heat and let simmer until cauliflower is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the half and half just at the end.

Puree the soup with a stand or immersion blender until smooth. Return to pot if using a stand blender; reheat if necessary. Add cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowl with a drizzle of honey.

[NOTE: We didn’t need to add any extra salt to this recipe, but the original recipe called for half stock/half water, and we opted for 32 oz. of low-sodium broth instead. We also put a tiny pat of Smart Balance spread at the top of each cup of soup before drizzling the honey on. Oh my gawd. Richness galore!]

So, last weekend when Joe was rearranging the freezer, he put a frozen pie that we had leftover from Christmas on top of the fridge and forgot about it for a couple of hours. When I discovered it, I said, "I guess we're having quiche tomorrow!" I looked at a bunch of recipes, but nothing tickled my fancy, so I raided the fridge and this is what I came up with. It is absolutely delicious, and something I will definitely make again!

Quiche in Frozen Pie Shell

INGREDIENTS
1 frozen 9-inch deep dish pie crust
5 large eggs
¾ cup half and half
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
5 oz. white mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
9 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained, and re-chopped
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 large clove garlic, minced
½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
½ cup shredded cheese (we used a four-cheese Italian blend)
Salt and fresh-ground pepper

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and whisk together with half and half, 1 teaspoon of salt and a ½ teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add bacon. Saute until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Do not drain grease from pan.

Reduce heat under skillet to medium and sauté onions until they start to get soft. Add mushrooms and a sprinkling of salt to draw out moisture. When mushrooms are soft and golden, push them and the onions to the outer rim of the pan and add spinach to center. Add the nutmeg and garlic and cook for one minute. Toss in the drained bacon and stir to combine the whole mixture. Turn off heat.

Mix ricotta and shredded cheese together. Add to egg mixture and whisk until well combined.

Place pie crust on cookie sheet and fill with hot mixture, making sure to distribute equally. Then pour egg mixture over top. There might be a little spillage; it’s okay and won’t hurt the quiche or the pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until center is set and the top is a warm golden color. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Joe loves when I make seafood, but due to the cost and my inexperience cooking fresh fish, I always drag my feet on it. However, our Shoprite often has individually wrapped flash-frozen filets of salmon and mahi mahi, so I've been experimenting more. This recipe is a snap to make and tastes decadent. Serve with some quinoa and sugar snap peas, either the frozen kind that steams in its own bag in the microwave or fresh ones lightly blanched (my preference). Edamame would also be great. One thing to note: this recipe does not reheat well, so only make enough for you to consume immediately. If you do have leftovers, you may want to make a cold salmon salad out of it – the glaze is really yummy and would pair well with some crisp veggies. Enjoy!

Honey and Soy Glazed Salmon

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1.5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced (I grate mine using a microplane grater)
½ tablespoon fresh ginger (peel with a spoon, then grate as with garlic)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 six-ounce salmon fillets, patted dry with paper towels
Salt and pepper

PREPARATION:

In a small bowl whisk together honey, water, soy sauce, lime juice, mustard, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.

Season both sides of salmon with a sprinkling of kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper. In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. (We use an Omega-3 enhanced Canola, but straight vegetable oil or even peanut oil would work. Olive is too delicate for a job like this.) Cook salmon 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden and just cooked through.

Transfer salmon to two plates. Add honey glaze mixture to skillet and simmer one minute, until warm and slightly reduced. Pour glaze over salmon.


Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine, February 1997. All extra commentary is my own.

Looking for an even healthier substitute for brown rice, whole wheat couscous, or even quinoa? Look no further. This recipe, from Alton Brown, couldn't be easier. It's also incredibly healthy. I like to alter the recipe slightly according to what I'll be serving with it. For instance, if I'm doing something Mexican inspired, I'll add a teaspoon of cumin to the mix before I bake it. With Italian dishes, I'll add a little oregano or pizza seasoning. Etc. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

Baked Barley

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup hulled barley
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups boiling water
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

PREPARATION:

Place the barley into a 1 1/2-quart ceramic or glass baking dish (with a lid) and add the butter, salt and boiling water. Stir to combine. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and place the lid on top of the foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove the cover, fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

As you all know, today is Inauguration Day. It also happens to be my birthday. In honor of that second, less auspicious event, I thought I'd post a favorite recipe from my childhood. When I was in elementary school, my mom used to bake cupcakes for me to take into my classmates on my birthday. This was before the days of the cool plastic cupcake totes, so Mom would get a shallow cardboard box tray, line it in foil, and pile it with the most fantastic cupcakes. What she'd do is this: bake the batter in those pale ice cream cones that aren't pointy (I don't know what they're actually called, because my whole life I've referred to them as cupcake cones). Then she'd frost half in vanilla and half in chocolate, making them look like cones of ice cream. I thought this was the most ingenious thing ever growing up. As an adult, whenever I half this cake I'm blown away by 1) how delicious it is and 2) how every time I eat it, I feel like I'm back in Mrs. Phillips's third grade class. Enjoy!

Nancy’s Hot Milk Cake

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk
10 Tbsp. butter

PREPARATION

In small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the milk and butter. Do not bring the mixture to a boil; you just want to warm the milk enough for the butter to melt. [TIP: My mom says she does this using a fancy microwave setting nowadays.]

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs on high until thick (approximately 5 minutes). Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Slowly add to batter and beat on low until smooth.

Next, add the vanilla and the warm milk and butter mixture. Beat, still on low, until just combined.

Pour into a greased 13 x 9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Test for doneness.

Quoth my momma: “As you know, I have made this into cupcakes and a bundt cake besides the recommended 9 x 13. It is a good general white cake that can be changed according to needs. It can also be doubled and made into a sheet cake.”

I'd been craving chicken pot pie for a while now. Not that nasty kind you get in the freezer section, either. Then, I noticed that an episode of BAREFOOT CONTESSA was featuring chicken pot pie, so I DVR'd it and watched. I love Ina Garten; I find her absolutely adorable, and normally, her recipes are really simple. I wasn't entirely crazy about this one, though. For one thing, her pot pie calls for roasted bone-in chicken breasts; I love buying skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs because A) they're usually around 49 cents a pound, B) they're way more moist than breast meat, and C) they have much more flavor. So, I decided to substitute thighs and braise them instead of roasting them, so they'd have maximum moistness. Also, Ina's recipe instructs you to divide the filling between four oven-proof bowls and put homemade pastry crust on each one. I had a leftover pre-made crust from Thanksgiving that needed using, and only some 8x8 casserole dishes. So, we made one big pot pie that way and froze the other half of the filling for a later date. Lastly, Ina's recipe didn't have any garlic OR celery in it, and that felt wrong. In the end, I made a ton of modifications and we were thrilled with the results. I guess that makes this MY chicken pot pie recipe now. If you want to look at Ina's original version, you can find it here. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS

6 skin-less, bone-in chicken thighs
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
1 Tbsp. onion powder
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 medium carrots, diced (approx. 2 cups), blanched for 2 minutes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
1 cup frozen small whole onions
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 box store-bought pie crust (2 rolled sheets to the box)
Eggs for egg wash

PREPARATION

Place two cups of water in a 3- to 5-qt. large pot or Dutch oven and mix with poultry seasoning and onion powder. Bring to a boil. Add chicken thighs (if you buy them with skin, make sure to remove before adding to pot). Cover and simmer for 25 mins. Remove chicken to cool, dump water from pot, and replace on stove top. When chicken has cooled, remove the bone and cut into cubes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.

In the large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. About half way through, add the celery, garlic, and dried thyme. When vegetables are fully softened, add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

Divide the filling equally between two 8x8 casserole dishes OR freeze half of the mixture for a later date. Brush the outside edges of each casserole will one egg that’s been beaten with a fork. Place pie crust over top and crimp the edges against the casserole to seal. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 5 slits in the top. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

I'm a student of various styles of chili. Several years ago, I discovered a recipe where you grind your own meat for chili. It's super-spicy and to this day my mom still makes hers this way. Last year I made Tyler Florence's Texas-Style Chili, which uses cubes of chuck instead of ground beef in any form (it was okay. Good, but not my favorite). I've also played with vegetarian chilis (including this yummy Bumblebee Chili) and various "white" chilis, to varying degrees of success.

Anyway, not long after I moved into my house, I caught a Food Network show about regional specialties and learned about Cincinatti-style chili, made famous by Skyline Chili. I loved the idea of cinnamon and unsweetened chocolate mixed in with my meat; I also love how easy this no-fuss recipe is. One taste and I was hooked; now I make it several times a year. Plus, this recipe yields a ton of chili, so now we freeze half the batch for later. (I just put a big ol' bubbling pot on the stove this morning - can't wait to come home from the gym tonight to THAT.) I've never tried making it in a slow cooker, but I think after the initial simmer it would totally work. Hope you enjoy!

Skyline Chili (a.k.a. Cincinnati-style Chili)

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. hamburger (don't brown, chop up) <-- I use 80% lean, because you can get it so cheap
2 qts. water
2 lg. onions, chopped
2 (16 oz.) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
29 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
4 tbsp. chili powder or more (to taste)
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate squares
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 drops Tabasco sauce

PREPARATION:

In an 8-quart kettle combine hamburger, water and onions; simmer for 30 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 or 3 hours, uncovered.

Serve with steamed buns, hot dogs, onions and cheese, or serve over spaghetti noodles, onions and cheese.

Makes 6 pints.

It feels a bit ironic posting this particular recipe, considering yesterday's confession about my recent weight loss surgery, but I will say that Joe and I have made these exactly twice and both times we employed the Safe Cookie Strategy. Which is to say, we made them, but made sure they were headed to other destinations. This time, we didn't even bake the cookies at home, but brought the dough with us to other people's houses, baked them there, and left the cookies behind. This way, we were able to sample, but not overindulge. In fact, out of the whole batch, Joe ate three or four and I had exactly two. Hence, the name the Safe Cookie Strategy.

Anyway, thanks go out to my friend Jaime, who is a lover of all things bacon, and who tweaked this recipe when she got it somewhere else. She omits the white chocolate chips, but we like them, so we reinstated them into the recipe.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups bacon bits (roughly 1.5-2 lbs. bacon)

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together the butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until creamy. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together. Dough will be slightly soft.

Add in chocolate chips and bacon bits. Stir until well integrated. Place dough on a sheet of waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour.

Remove dough from fridge, pinch off 1.5 inch pieces of dough and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly with your fingers in the center.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown.

[Lara's tip: We prefer roasting our bacon in a 375 degree oven. I cover old cookie sheets with that foil that doesn't stick and every ten minutes drain the grease from the pan. You want to cook the bacon long enough to render out almost all of the fat, then cool on paper towels to drain out the rest of the grease. Once cool, crumble well - it's no good to get big hunks of bacon in the cookies. Better to have fine crumbs - and trust me, we learned the hard way!]

As promised last week, here's the rescipe for the strata I make ahead on Christmas Eve day to bake up Christmas morning. It's not an original recipe, but one I've adapted from Nestle (I think). Enjoy!

Christmas Morning Strata with Sausage and Pumpkin

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 pound loaf of Italian bread, slightly stale, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (12 fluid ounces each) evaporated milk
1 can (15 ounces) 100% Pure Pumpkin
4 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. dried oregano, crushed
½ tsp. dried basil, crushed
½ tsp. dried marjoram, crushed

PREPARATION:

1. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan (disposables are great for this kind of dish).

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring to break up sausage, for 7 to 10 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink (again, a metal potato masher is great for this). Drain excess fat out of pan.

3. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, cheese and sausage mixture.

4. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, beat together the evaporated milk, pumpkin, eggs, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and marjoram.

5. Pour wet ingredients over bread mixture, stirring gently to moisten bread. Transfer the whole concoction into the prepared baking pan.

6. If you’re making ahead, refrigerate the pan at this stage. Pull it out about 15 to 30 minutes before you’re ready to bake the next day.

7. If making the casserole immediately, bake in a 350-degree preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

When I was very little, our traditional Christmas morning breakfast consisted of those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with the canned frosting you spread on the top while the rolls are still hot. Then, one year, my mom found the following recipe and decided this should be our new Christmas morning breakfast. I was bitter at first, because I'm very resistant to change, but one bite and I was hooked. Now, as our family expands, Mom makes at least two batches of these to eat while opening presents and drinking coffee. I try to keep to only one serving, because they're so rich and sugary, so I also make a strata that bakes during present opening and is eaten an hour or two later (but that's next week's RECIPE OF THE WEEK).

One last thing: you can do a lot of prep the night before, like cutting the rolls, putting all of the ingredients for the sauce into a small saucepan and refridgerating them, etc. In our house, my mom's the last to get up, so I usually get the rolls going while she's either still sleeping or brushing her teeth. Because she does most of the prep the night before, it's really easy to get these into the oven and start baking!



INGREDIENTS:

½ cup butter
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees if using a regular bundt pan, or 350 degrees for a colored, fluted tube pan.

2. Place 2 Tbsp. of butter at the bottom of the bundt pan and place in preheating oven until butter melts. Remove pan and brush butter all around.

3. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of nuts on the bottom of the bundt pan.

4. In a small saucepan, place the rest of the butter, the remaining pecans (or more, if you like things really nutty), brown sugar, and water. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

5. Remove crescents from can but DO NOT UNROLL. l

6. Take each section (½ of 1 can) and cut into 4 slices (8 slices total per can).

7. Arrange slices from 1 can of crescent rolls (8 each layer) in bundt pan, separating each roll slightly so brown sugar sauce can penetrate.

8. Spoon ½ caramel sauce over first layer.

9. Arrange the second can of rolls (8 more slices) on top of the first, placing each roll on the seam between the rolls from the bottom layer. Remember to loosen each roll so that sauce can penetrate.

10. Pour the rest of the caramel sauce over the second layer of rolls.

11. Bake 25-30 minutes (30-35 for colored flute pan) or until deep golden brown.

12. Cool 3-5 minutes; turn onto serving plate while still hot. Scrape up any stuck caramel sauce and spread on cake. Serve immediately!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion (I used red)
1 large or 2 small carrots
2 – 3 stalks celery
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 ounces pancetta, very finely chopped (Trader Joe’s sells it already chopped)
1 lb 80% lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
pinch allspice
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ juice
3 tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1 lb pasta (I used bucati)
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for grating

PREPARATION:

Finely chop onion, carrot, and celery. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat, cook pancetta until all fat is rendered and pancetta is just beginning to brown. Add chopped vegetables and garlic; raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and soft.

Add ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon, 1/4 tsp (to start) salt, pepper, red pepper flake, and the rest of the dried spices. Cook until meat is brown.

Add milk. When it begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally until milk has mostly boiled away, about 30 minutes. Add white wine and cook as with milk, until it has mostly boiled away. Add tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and bay leaves; bring to a simmer. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and allow sauce to cook very gently at barest simmer, 2.5 to 3 hours. Season to taste with remaining salt.

Just before sauce is done, bring a pot of water to boil, salt it generously, and boil pasta according to package directions. Drain, mix with a third of sauce, then serve with remaining sauce on top with lots of grated Parmigiano cheese. Makes roughly 4 cups sauce.

Nancy's Semi-Famous Pumpkin and Sausage Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. fresh andouille sausage
1/4 cup butter, divided
1 lg Vidalia onion, diced
1 t dried thyme
1 29 oz. can pure pumpkin (or sub. 1 ½ lbs. sweet potatoes)
1/4 cup Frangelica
4 cups chicken stock
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/8 cup heavy cream

PREPARATION

1. Remove sausage from casings and brown in skillet with 2 T butter.
2. Remove sausage; leave oil in the pan. Add onion and cook until soft.
3. Add thyme and pumpkin and cook 5 minutes.
4. Add liqueur, stocks and brown sugar.
5. Cover and simmer over low heat for several hours (longer simmer = thicker soup)
6. Add ½ of the cooked sausage to mix; use stick blender to puree. Add remaining sausage after pureeing.
7. Stir in cream and remaining butter. Serve warm.

[Lara's tips: I use a metal potato masher to break up sausage and ground meats when browning. It helps a lot and makes the chunks just the right size. Also, I simmer the soup for at least three to four hours. Sometimes it tastes even better the second day, when it's had a chance to heat up on the stove and thicken even more!]