Szechuan Sesame Noodles

• This recipe came from the Bon Appetit Magazine Millennium Special, Sept. 1999. It's a fairly quick dish to make.
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• 8 ounces thin dried Asian noodles or linguine
• 4 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tablespoons bottled teriyaki sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green or red onions
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Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain; return noodles to same pot. Mix in 1 tablespoon oil and peanuts.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic; stir 10 seconds. Add teriyaki sauce, lime juice and chili sauce; simmer 30 seconds. Mix sauce and onions into noodles. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Grilled Sea Bass with Tropical Salsa

• I have no idea who started the idea that men do the grilling, but I love it. Grilling has changed Beez from a man who only ate hamburger, steaks, and pizza into a culinary adventurer.

This recipe came from the Bon Appetit Magazine Millennium Special, Sept. 1999.

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• 1 cup 1/4-inch pieces peeled, cored pineapple
• 3/4 cup 1/4-inch pieces peeled, pitted mango
• 2/3 cup 1/4-inch pieces red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup 1/4-inch pieces seeded tomato
• 1/3 cup 1/4-inch pieces seeded English hothouse cucumber (guess what? I'm betting you could substitute regular old every day cucumber)
• 1/3 cup 1/4-inch pieces red onion
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chili
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 6 6-ounce sea bass fillets
• Olive oil
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Combine first 10 ingredients in medium bowl; toss to blend. Season salsa with salt. Chill to blend flavors, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours, tossing occasionally.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush fish with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Top with salsa and serve.

Citrus Cheesecake with Marmalade Glaze

Here's a nice cheesecake recipe for Ben, as he has been asking for one. I'm afraid the ones he remembers from his childhood came straight out of the Jello No-Bake Cheesecake Mix box.

This version comes from the Bon Appetit Magazine Millennium Special, Sept. 1999.

Crust

• 1 large egg, separated
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling

• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 2 teaspoons grated lime peel
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup orange marmalade
• Orange slices
• Fresh mint sprigs
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For crust: Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 425°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk egg yolk, lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Blend flour and sugar in processor. Add butter and process until coarse crumbs form. With machine running, add yolk mixture and blend until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of prepared pan. Freeze crust 10 minutes.

Whisk egg white until foamy. Brush crust lightly with some egg white. Bake until crust is pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on rack while preparing filling. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

For filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat until well blended. Beat in 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, all citrus peel and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Pour filling into crust. Bake cake until puffed and cracked around edges and center moves only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove from oven. Run small knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool cake in pan on rack. Refrigerate cake overnight.

Boil marmalade and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in saucepan until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Spread warm glaze atop cake. Chill cake 10 minutes. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Garnish with orange and mint.

If You Are Missing an Ingredient...

If thee needs anything and cannot find it, just come to me and I'll tell thee how to get along without it. ~Etta Macy (quoted by James Alexander Thom in "Indiana's Self-Reliant Uplanders," National Geographic Magazine, March 1976).

I just typed up a recipe that included sour milk among the ingredients. Of course, you can substitute buttermilk for sour milk, or you can make your own, by adding a spoonful of lemon juice or white vinegar to sweet milk and letting it stand for a few minutes to sour.

Experienced cooks learn these tricks over time. If you would like to see a nice collection of food substitutions in recipes, please check out the About.com: Home Cooking page on Recipe Substitutions.

Orange Bread

This is a very flavorful bread--the aroma is great! The recipe comes from Maine's Jubilee Cookbook, published in 1969; I've added my own glaze.

1 orange

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk [you may substitute plain yogurt. ~CZ]

1 tsp. soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 - 1/4 cups flour

Put the raisins and the orange, peeling and all, through the food chopper. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add the soda to the buttermilk, then mix all ingredients together in the order given. Add the raisin-orange mixture last.

Bake in a well-greased loaf pan at 350° for one hour or until done.

Drizzle while warm with a mixture of 1/2 cup powdered sugar stirred together with just enough orange juice to make a thin glaze.

Let cool completely before slicing.

All-Bran Yeast Bread or Rolls

From Maine's Jubilee Cookbook, published in 1969.

1 tbl. dry yeast

2 cups lukewarm water

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1/2 cup All-Bran cereal

1/4 cup melted shortening

1 tsp. salt

6 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add molasses, beaten egg, and All-Bran. Mix well.

Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Turn out onto floured board, knead well.

Let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise a second time until doubled.

Form into loaves or rolls, let rise a 3rd time until double.

Bake in 350° oven for 35 minutes for loaves; or 400° for 25 minutes for rolls. Test for doneness.

Ugly Crackers

These are called ugly because they look a little odd, being made with blue cheese. They are so good--nice with a glass of wine--and really fun to make. From The Harlow's Bread & Cracker Cookbook.

3/4 cup good blue (bleu) cheese

6 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1 cup sesame seeds

1 tbl. salt

1 tbl. baking powder

Mix all ingredients together until they are thoroughly distributed in the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll out the dough as then as possible [we use use our pasta maker on the lasagna noodle setting]. Place large sheets of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets and cut across and down into squares, using a rotary pastry cutter.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. The crackers will turn golden around the edges of the pan.

Grape-Nut Bread

I am a fan of Grape-Nut cereal, and I must come by that honestly. When we first moved back to New England from the west coast we discovered that people there loved Grape-Nuts, especially in Grape-Nut Pudding. I have to admit that I never quite "got" that pudding, but this bread (from Maine's Jubilee Cookbook, published in 1969) is a very tasty way to eat your Grape-Nuts.

1/2 cup Grape-Nuts cereal

1 cup sour milk (if you don't happen to have any, use this method)

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 to 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbl. melted shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

Soak the Grape-Nuts in the sour milk for 10 minutes. Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix the egg, vanilla, and shortening. Add the egg mixture to the sour milk. Add the sifted ingredients and mix well.

Pour into a well-greased loaf pan. Let rise for 20 minutes before baking. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Chicken and Rice with Choose-Your-Own Toppings

For some reason, the kids just loved this meal, probably because they could act as their own cooks-at-the-table. Here's how it worked: Everyone was served some steamed rice and some chunked-up cooked chicken. Toppings were placed all around the table in little bowls, and people could choose as many or as few as they wished.

Toppings:

Finely chopped green onions

Chopped peanuts

Thinly sliced celery

Toasted coconut

Chopped tart apple

Cooked green peas

Cream of chicken soup, thinned with a little milk and warmed

Chutney