By Heidi Bell Gease
Behold the power of pie.
That’s what had people lined up at the front doors of Pinedale Elementary School last Saturday, waiting for the annual Pinedale Bazaar to begin.
Along with nice crafts, it seems the bazaar is well-known for its homemade pies. A lot of the folks who were first in line were after something specific: strawberry-rhubarb, key lime, sweet potato.
I’ve never been a big pie person though I’ll eat it if it’s there. Up until last week I had made a total of one pumpkin pie in my life.
But being the mother of a kindergartener, I did my duty and baked a lemon-chess and a butterscotch pie to help the PTA, which is largely funded through the pie sale.
I also managed to get home with two pies made by other parents: a lemon meringue and a super yummy one labeled “Rag Top Apple Tart.” (Or maybe it was “Torte.”)
At any rate it was delicious. And it didn’t have a top crust on it, which means I might actually be able to make it myself.
Has anyone heard of this? And do you have the recipe?

Here’s a recipe I tried on my family this weekend. It would be especially fun for Halloween night.
This is adapted from a recipe from cooks.com.

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small or medium pumpkin
1-2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 c. cooked rice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut top off pumpkin and clean out insides. Draw a jack-o-lantern face on pumpkin with a permanent marker, if you’d like.
Brown beef, onion and green pepper in skillet; drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, soup, rice, water chestnuts and mushrooms. Put into pumpkin and replace pumpkin lid. Place on baking sheet and bake 1 hour.
When serving, scoop out pumpkin with meat mixture.
Serves 6-8.

By Deb Holland

I was fortunate to get a huge bag of apples from a co-worker and throught it would be the perfect time to bring out the old dehydrator to make some dried apples and fruit leather with the bounty.

When Jim and I were first married, his parents gave us the food dehydrator they bought sometime in the 1970s. It’s a Nutri-flow brand with a dozen shelves, so you can dry in volume.

Anyone who knows me can attest that I love kitchen gadgets. So, of course, I have an apple peeler, corer, slicer from Pampered Chef that makes peeling and dicing the apples a breeze.

I found a recipe for fruit leather, but when I went to prepare my trays for the dehydrator, I realized I only had Glad Press ‘n Seal, not Cling Wrap. So, I used the Press ‘n Seal. Bad decision. It was so sticky, that I could not peel away the leather.

I thought about it for a day or so and decided I would buy the Cling Wrap, but first try drying the leather on a Slipat sheet I got as a Christmas gift a few years back.

It worked wonderfully. I was able to pull the leather back in a whole sheet, then used the Cling Wrap to wrap the leather up for storage.

Here is the recipe I used from simplyrecipes.com

How to Make Fruit Leather
Ingredients
Fresh fruit (apricots, peaches, plums, berries, apples, pears, grapes)
Water
Lemon juice
Sugar (if needed)
Spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)

Method
1. Rinse the fruit. If you working with stone fruit, take out the pits, chop the fruit. If working with apples or pears, peel and core them, then chop. If working with grapes, de-stem them.
Taste the fruit before proceeding. Note how sweet the fruit is. If very sweet (ripe Concord grapes for example) you will not need to add any sugar. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar in the next step.
2. Place fruit in a large saucepan. Add a half cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit. Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the fruit in the pan. Taste the fruit and determine what and how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add. Add sugar in small amounts (1 Tbsp at a time if working with 4 cups of fruit), to desired level of sweetness. Add lemon juice one teaspoon at a time to help brighten the flavor of the fruit. Add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices to augment the flavor.
Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened, another 5 or 10 minutes (or more).
Note if you are working with grapes - strain the juice out of the mashed grapes to make grape juice. Force what is left behind, after straining, through a food mill, to make the purée for the next step.
3. Put the purée through a food mill or chinoise. Alternatively purée it thoroughly in a blender or food processor. Taste again and adjust sugar/lemon/spices if necessary. The purée should be very smooth.
4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with sturdy plastic wrap (the kind that is microwave safe). Pour out the purée into the lined baking sheet to about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.
5. Place in a dehydrator for 6-8 hours, or place on a baking sheet lined with Cling Wrap in a 140-degree oven overnight, so about 8-12 hours.

By Jomay Steen

Until I started working on weekends, my cousins and I had instituted Sunday brunches several times a month. We would make up our menu then bring our favorite dish on Sunday to a beautifully set table of linen and china. We pampered ourselves with good friends, a leisurely meal and plenty of rich, flavorful coffee.
That went away months ago as I started a new reporting schedule.
Yet on a recent vacation to a fishing village in Canada, I again felt the daily pleasure of a breakfast lingered over with a fine cup of perfectly brewed coffee. My hosts would cook up hearty and delicious brunches allowing us to skip the midday meal but indulge in a cocktail hour at 5 p.m. complete with hors d’oeuvres and dinner at 7.

Beyond the scrambled eggs and bacons, I love pastries best and include a recipe below:
Praline Biscuits
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Ground cinnamon
36 pecans or walnut halves
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup milk
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place 2 teaspoons butter in each of 12 muffin cups. Heat until melted. Stir 2 teaspoons brown sugar and pinch of cinnamon into butter in each cup; arrange three nut halves in each cup. Mix baking mix, applesauce and milk until dough forms. Beat 20 strokes. Spoon onto mixture in cups. Bake 10 minutes. Immediately invert on heatproof serving plate. Let pan remain 5 minutes so syrup can fun down over biscuits.

What’s your favorite brunch menu item?

“Eeewww.” That was pretty much my response as a kid whenever squash appeared on the dinner table.
In recent years, though, I’ve come to like squash. There are so many kinds to try - and there’s something very cozy and homey and fall-like about the smell of baking squash.
Just now I have spaghetti, butternut, acorn, turban and carnival squash sitting around my house looking festive.
My question: What kind of squash do you like best, and how do you cook it?
I’d like to find some simple recipes to try. Please share

By Jomay Steen

If you have to figure out something for the next bazaar or craft festival, I offer you these recipes from Land O Lakes Butter. Cake, cupcakes and crispy rice treats, it’s all good. Then brew up some crisp apple cider to ward off the chill.

Pumpkin Pound Cake
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups Land O Lakes butter, softened
6 3ggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
Glaze
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons Land O Lakes butter, softened
4 to 6 teaspoons milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine sugar and 1-1/2 cups butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding eggs one at a time, until well mixed. Add pumpkin; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk, until well mixed.
Spoon batter into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.
Combine powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons butter and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl. Glaze cooled cake.
Substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and cloves.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup Land O Lakes butter, melted
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup Fat Free Half & Half
3 eggs
2 small (1 cup) apples, shredded
Frosting
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons Half & Half
2 tablespoons Land O Lakes butter
2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups into 24 muffin pan cups; set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and apple pie spice in medium bowl. Combine all remaining cupcakes ingredients except apples in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes). Add flour mixture; stir until just moistened. Stir in apples.
Fill each prepared muffin cup with about 1/4 cup batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pans; cool completely.
Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 4 tablespoons Half & Half and 2 tablespoons butter in 1-1/2 quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved (4 to 5 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in enough powdered sugar for desired frosting consistency, adding additional Half & Half, if necessary. Stir in vanilla. Frost cupcakes.
Recipe Tip: An easy way to shred the apples is to core and halve them before shredding. Leave the peal on for a little color and texture.
Recipe Tip: Brown sugar is measured a little differently than other sugars or flour. Be sure to pack the brown firmly into the measuring cup or spoon until it is level with the top.

Candy Bar Crispy Treats
1/2 cup Land O Lakes margarine
1 (10-1/2-ounce) bag (6 cups) miniature marshmallows
3 (2.05-ounce) 1-1/2 cups chocolate-covered caramel and nougat candy bars, chopped
6 cups crisp rice cereal
Melt margarine over medium-low heat in 4-quart saucepan. Stir in marshmallows until melted (2 to 3 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in cereal. Stir in 1 cup chopped candy. Candy may melt slightly.
Press mixture into greased 13×9-inch pan. Sprinkle with remaining chopped candy.
*Substitute your favorite chocolate-coated candy bars.
Microwave Directions: Combine margarine and marshmallows in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once, until marshmallows are melted. Stir in cereal. Stir in 1 cup chopped candy. Continue as directed above.
VARIATION: If desired, shape mixture with buttered hands into 1-inch balls, roll in chopped candy or decorator sugars. Place onto waxed paper. Store in container with tight-fitting lid.
Recipe Tip: For easier chopping, refrigerate candy bars at least 1 hour before cutting.

Spiced Hot Apple Cider
1 gallon apple cider
1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
3 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
Combine all ingredients in 6-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until heated through and flavors blended (15 to 30 minutes).
Tip: To keep cider warm, hold in slow cooker on Low heat setting.

By Lynn Taylor Rick

My father-in-law and mother-in-law are arriving for a visit on Friday and I’m looking for some good meal ideas. My father-in-law eats very healthy and mostly vegetarian. Any ideas?

By Deanna Darr

We had about 30 soccer players at our house last night for a pasta feed before today’s game. Parents brought lasagna, pasta salad and a three-cheese pasta made with cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. Also on the table was a pizza pasta dish featuring spaghetti, sauce, cheese, pepperoni and Canadian bacon - all conveniently baked in a 13 X 9 pan.
It all tasted great, which must mean that casserole season is officially here! Share your favorite recipes with us.

By Deanna Darr

We had about 35 minutes to eat supper and be out the door tonight. The answer? Pizzaburgers!
We had a small bowl of browned hamburger in the fridge, a jar of pizza sauce, some shredded mozzarella and a few leftover hamburger buns. After some quick assembly - we spread the bun halves with sauce, then added hamburger and sprinkled with cheese — they were in the oven. Delicious and quick!

By Tanya Manus

I recently had the pleasure of meeting self-described “foodie” named Melanie who loves finding recipes online, and recently started reading the Journal’s food blog.

My post a few weeks ago about deviled eggs left her with a dilemma - how long is it safe to leave them at a buffet or on a snack table at a party? The answer, according to www.super1foods.com, is two hours. If they’ve been sitting for longer than that, you might want to think twice before you nibble on one!

She also wondered how to keep them at a good temperature while they’re on the buffet table? My suggestion would be to fill a bowl with ice, then sit the tray of eggs on the ice to keep them cooler. Do any readers have any ideas to share, or any favorite gadgets that help you keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold during parties, potlucks etc.?

Melanie and I would love to know!