This pear pie by guest author Garrett of Vanilla Garlic scored major points with my parents. Great pie! ~Elise

Every once in a while I see a recipe in a magazine at the doctor’s office or in the reception room of my work and tear it out with all good intention of making it at home. For the most part though I either lose the recipe, or it gets forgotten, or accidentally throw away. However, while perusing an issue of Family Fun magazine I came across a recipe for a pear and maple pie. Inspired, I called Elise right away and made plans with her to make this pie. With an appointment set, I knew this recipe wouldn’t get away.

My oh my, this is good pie. Sweet from the fresh pears and the maple syrup, it’s balanced by the snap from the candied ginger which helps give the pie a clear voice. The crumbly oatmeal topping is reminiscent of granola and provides a nice textural tête-à-tête with the fruit and crust. A wonderfully Autumn appropriate pear pie that’s a welcome change from apple!

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We tried this thyme mint cream sauce from another recipe and loved it so much I decided to make it with chicken and pasta. Great flavor combination, and the kicker is that by the time the pasta water has come to a boil and the pasta is cooked, everything else is ready too, making for a filling, tasty midweek meal.

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My father found this Louisiana recipe for collard greens in the Wall St. Journal earlier this year that we’ve now made several times. Each time I wonder why we don’t make them more often, they’re so good! The combination of the bacon, onions, sweetened cider vinegar and hot pepper sauce seem to neutralize the natural bitterness of the greens. Do you like collard greens? If so, what’s your favorite way of preparing them? Please let us know in the comments.

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Don’t you just love it when you put something together on a whim, and it works out the first time? My friend Garrett had a few extra pears from a baking adventure which I decided to poach in Marsala wine, with some sugar, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. Star anise has a strong licorice flavor, so I was a little worried my poached pears would end up tasting like Good-n-Plenty. Fortunately, the other spices rose to the occasion and along with the Marsala infused the pears with a happy, spicy, delicious aroma.

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Stuffed bell peppers is one of those classic comfort food dishes that my family practically lived on when I was a kid. This recipe my mother got from Adele Davis as mom was teaching herself to cook in the 60s. Like so many of those early recipes, mom has modified them to her taste and style through the years. This one she rarely does exactly the same way twice, she’ll use a different set of herbs and seasoning depending on what strikes her fancy looking through the spice cabinet. Whereas my father is a stickler for details and exact ingredients measurements, mom usually can’t be bothered; she keeps things simple, and improvises as she goes along. While dad’s stuffed bell pepper recipe is terrific, it’s a little too much fuss and bother for her to make. This one is easier and more her style.

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My parents are no strangers to making a dollar stretch, both of them being children of the Depression and having raised six kids on a teacher’s salary. Some of my favorite recipes on this site are those inexpensive dishes that my folks made for us practically every week when I was growing up, like baked chicken, chili beans, tuna macaroni salad, enchiladas, or hamburger and macaroni. Even today, if you popped in for dinner unexpectedly, likely one of those would be on the menu that night. And if you were me, you would be darn pleased. Cooking on a budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor or nutrition.

Some of the themes that mom and dad have perfected over the years in their practical budget-mindedness when it comes to food and cooking are:

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Why make your own vanilla extract? Well let’s see. It’s easy to make. You’ll never run out of vanilla again. It might even be economical, given that you’ll never run out of it. It’s fun to watch the extract change colors? I don’t know. Sometimes we just make things for the heck of it. In this case, Garrett gave me a dozen or so vanilla beans, sharing what he had been given by this generous company. Vanilla beans are produced in several countries, and Garrett has a good write-up on his site regarding the differences between the varieties – Madagascar, Bourbon, Tonga, Mexico, Tahiti, etc.

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From the recipe archive

We’ve been in a nostalgic mood lately, thinking of some of our favorite dishes from years past. One that my father remembered that my grandmother used to make was a egg noodle ground beef casserole, with tomatoes, lots of cheddar cheese, corn, mushrooms, and olives. My brothers and I recall this dish as well, when my grandmother lived with us in Los Angeles in the 60s. We finally dug up grandma’s old hand written recipe; its name – Talerine. Doing a quick search on Google for “talerine” reveals several very similar recipes that many people coincidentally also got from their grandmothers. Does anyone know the origin of this dish, and the name? (Let us know in the comments.) It’s a great casserole – tasty, easy to make, hearty, can feed a lot of people.

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Joe’s Crab Shack now has over 120 locations in 28 states across the good ol’ US of A. It is one of the largest, most-successful seafood restaurant chains in America. So if there’s not a Joe’s near you, then try this copycat recipe at home!

Ingredients:
1 lb Small Fresh Shrimp (cleaned and shelled)
4 Tablespoons Corn Starch
2 Eggs Beaten
1/4 Cup Water
1 Cup Cracker Meal
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Plain Bread Crumbs
1/3 Cup Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Paprika

Place shrimp in a bowl. Add garlic powder, brown sugar and Tabasco Sauce and mix well. Marinate shrimp for 1/2 hour in refrigerator.
Beat egg and water together, set aside. Mix flour, cracker meal, bread crumbs paprika and creole seasoning together and blend well.
Set up one bowl for corn starch, one bowl for egg wash, and one bowl for cracker mixture. Heat oil for frying.
One piece at a time dust shrimp with corn starch, then place in egg wash, then roll in cracker crumb mixture. Fry until golden-brown. Shrimp will float to top when cooked through, remove and place on paper towels. Serve with tarter sauce.

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3 cups water
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (4 ounce) cube steaks, trimmed, flattened
1 1/2 tablespoons ground beef, lean
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pour water into a medium bowl. Sift flour, salt, and pepper together in medium bowl. Dip steaks in water, then in dry mixture. Repeat.

Lay coated steaks on wax paper and freeze for about 3 hours.

Deep fry steaks in 350 degrees F oil for 8-10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Brown ground beef in skillet. Stir in flour, then remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, then simmer until thick. Pour gravy over steaks.

Serves: 2

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