Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Apples crunch, but pears melt.

The pear’s luxurious mouth feel explains why some Belgian pear varieties contain the word “beurre” in their name. The buttery fruit pairs well with four of the most beloved food groups: red wine, almonds, vanilla and chocolate.

One classic pear dessert, Poir Helene, named for composer Jacques Offenbach’s operetta about Helen of Troy, combines the cooked fruit with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Since the pear is the real star of the show, The Star’s updated version of Caramelized Pears With Dark Chocolate Sauce bumps up the cocoa content because dark chocolate has been found to contain more antioxidants than milk chocolate. It also replaces the cream with fat-free half-and-half. To further reduce the total saturated fat, substitute your favorite brand of fat-free or low-fat frozen yogurt for ice cream.

Although pears contain more calories than apples, they also have more fiber. Other health benefits: small amounts of phosphorous and vitamin A.

-Shopping tips: Pears are in season from late July through spring. Unlike most fruit, pears are picked while still hard since the texture and flavor actually improve after harvest. According to “The Nutrition Bible” by Jean Anderson and Barbara Deskins, the best varieties for cooking include Anjou (sweet but firm), Bartlett (crisp and bland), Bosc (dryish and grainy) and Seckel (gritty).

The Star’s testers used Lindt 70 percent Cocoa Intense Dark chocolate for this recipe.

CARAMELIZED PEARS WITH DARK CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Makes 6 servings

3 firm but ripe pears, not peeled

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half

1 (3.5-ounce) bar dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups frozen fat-free or low-fat vanilla yogurt

Cut pears in half vertically. Gently cut or scrape out core. Dip cut edges in lemon juice. Sprinkle about 1/2 tablespoon sugar over the cut edges of each pear half.

Place each pear, cut side down, in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar in skillet around pears. Cook 7 to 9 minutes or until sugar is melted and golden and cut surface of pears is golden. Remove pears from skillet.

Meanwhile, heat half-and-half in a 2-cup glass measuring cup in microwave oven on high (100 percent power) 45 to 60 seconds or until steaming hot but not boiling. (Watch carefully so it does not boil.) Immediately add chocolate to hot half-and-half. Allow to stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate melts. Stir to blend and melt chocolate. (If necessary, return to microwave oven and heat on high power in 15 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted.) Stir in vanilla.

Place a small scoop of frozen yogurt in each dessert bowl. Place pear halves on yogurt. Drizzle any collected caramelized sugar over pears. Drizzle with dark chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.

Per serving (1/2 pear, 1/4 cup frozen yogurt and about 2 tablespoons chocolate sauce): 214 calories (21 percent from fat), 5 grams total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 43 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 44 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

Recipe developed for The Star by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss.

Mr. Tidbit expected merely to guffaw at the latest entry in the “me-too” now-with-pomegranate sweepstakes. (Among fruits you might actually have heard of, pomegranates have one of the highest levels of probably good-for-you antioxidants – more even than blueberries.)

So Mr. Tidbit thought that new Total Pomegranate Blueberry cereal was just the latest entry in this rush to include pomegranate in juices, liqueurs, cottage cheese, malt-coolers, ice cream and more. But it’s not even that.

The only pomegranate in Total Pomegranate Blueberry cereal is “natural flavor.” There aren’t any blueberries either. Just “crunchy fruit-flavored clusters.”

There are antioxidants in there. As the package notes, “Total Pomegranate Blueberry cereal contains antioxidant vitamins C and E.” Actually, a serving contains 100 percent of the daily value of those vitamins, and a pretty remarkable 100 percent of the daily value of 10 other vitamins and minerals.

Just no pomegranates. Or blueberries. Except flavor.

But maybe it’s time the nation’s heroic corps of pomegranate farmers get to sit one out.

HOW SMART IS IT?

When Mr. Tidbit noticed the surprisingly large (4- by 6- by 8 5/8-inch) box of Smartfood Popcorn Clusters, and saw that it contained just five 1-ounce bags, he wondered how much Smartfood – as opposed to empty space – there was in the box. The volume of the box is 14 cups. 3 1/2 quarts. Almost a gallon. How much of that is just air?

It’s not obvious. There’s a punch-out dispenser section at the bottom of one side. So you don’t see how much space is on top when the box is “full.” Unless you pull the top open: There’s about 4 cups of air up there (besides all the air surrounding the five bags).

Small bags make convenient servings, but packaging that way takes up what can be deceptively more room than the contents require: Of the 14 cups the box could hold, the total volume of clusters (poured out of the bags) is about 3 1/2 cups.

Cost-conscious home chefs have a growing genre of cookbooks to help keep grocery budgets in check. The concept is not new, but the new formats and titles are appealing. Here are three affordable publications you might consider adding to your collection. One caveat: Thumb through these at the bookstore to make sure they break new ground for your household’s menu-planning. If not, it will just be another expense on the monthly tally.

“The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: 200 Gourmet Recipes for Any Budget” by Alanna Kaufman and Alex Small (Adams Media, $14.95): Each recipe gives the yield and price per serving up front. The authors list the total cost as well, but that seems a waste because all you have to do is multiply the other two numbers.

“The $7 a Meal Quick and Easy Cookbook” and “The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook” both by Susan Irby (Adams Media, $9.95 each): Irby’s resume is impressive, and nutritional information is included with each recipe in both books.

Amid all of the shopping and scheduling that marks back-to-school season, packing a variety of children’s lunches can seem daunting. But what if your children helped assemble their own lunches?

That’s something even young children can do, Allie Foyerlicht, owner of Young Chefs Academy in Fresno, Calif. Her students, typically ages 3-13, learn how to make foods such as pita bread from scratch, energy bars, baklava and more. This summer, they even did a session with portable meals. Many of these foods work well for school lunch.

“That’s the secret to healthy lunches. It’s planning,” Foyerlicht says.

Three children in the Silva-Costa family of Clovis, Calif., recently demonstrated how to assemble lunches.

Nine-year-old Harrison scooped jam thumbprint cookies, as well as a snack of baked, spiced chickpeas, into plastic bags.

His sister, 6-year-old Kennedy, rolled tortillas around sliced tomatoes, turkey, spinach, bean spread and cheese.

And 4-year-old Britton used a melon baller on a cantaloupe.

They had some help from Foyerlicht. She used the food processor to make the bean spread, and she transferred the chickpeas and cookies to and from the oven. But the kids did the rest – slicing tomatoes with a special plastic knife, stirring together a raspberry dressing for the cantaloupe, shaping the cookies and more.

It may sound like a lot of work, but each of these dishes can be made the day before. Tortillas, in particular, are great for sandwiches. Unlike bread, they won’t get soggy, Foyerlicht says.

Cooking this way also lets children experiment according to their tastes. Harrison chose a turkey wrap without tomatoes, and he wouldn’t touch the cantaloupe. “I like everything but cantaloupe and raw tomatoes, he says.

But he happily ate the chickpeas. “I like them because they’re seasoned,” he says.

This year, the children will be home-schooled, but they’ll still eat meals on the go, Harrison says. They’ll tote lunches to dance class, and he’ll sometimes being dinner to football practice.

In addition to these ideas from the Young Chef’s Academy, the children say they like carrot sticks with ranch dip, leftover pizza, raisins and peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches – all foods they can help assemble.

No matter what they eat, the food containers are just as important as the lunches themselves. A sandwich on bread can look great in the kitchen. But packed in a plastic bag and a soft tote, it can look less than appealing by the time it gets to school.

“Kennedy doesn’t like it when the sandwich is smushed,” says the children’s mother, Darrylynn Silva-Costa.

The family has its preferences when it comes to lunch boxes and food containers. Darrylynn Silva-Costa likes two-part containers that store cold milk on the bottom and dry cereal on top. They also work well for parfaits of yogurt and granola, she says. One brand is the EZ-Freeze Cereal on the Go.

She also was interested in the Thermos Food Jar, which keeps food cold or hot for hours and was easy enough for Britton to open.

Harrison liked a lunch box with compartments that keep different foods separate. One brand is the Arctic Zone insulated lunch pack. The bottom compartment comes with a Tupperware-like container. There’s a taller, top compartment that can hold a sandwich or another container.

Kennedy and Britton liked a different lunch box. A small Igloo Playmate Gripper (the 9-can cooler) has a large bottom compartment and another space on top that’s perfect for a water bottle.

No matter what type of lunch box you buy, you’ll want to ensure that it keeps food at safe temperatures.

“We do recommend the ones for cooling just because of health department reasons,” Foyerlicht says. Small ice packs also can do the trick.

JAMMIN COOKIES

Makes 2 dozen cookies

3/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup, plus 1 teaspoon canola oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Place the oatmeal into food processor bowl and pulse until you have oatmeal flour.

Mix together in a medium bowl: oatmeal flour, whole-wheat flour, oil, syrup, extracts and egg.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Gently flatten cookie dough and make a thumb imprint in the center of each cookie. Fill each indention with \-1/2 teaspoon jam.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

-Young Chefs Academy

COOL TURKEY WRAPS

Makes 4 servings

1 can (15 ounces) white beans (such as navy or cannellini), rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 small garlic clove

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 large (10-12 inch) flour tortillas

1/2 pound thinly sliced deli turkey

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced (optional)

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 cup baby spinach leaves

Combine beans, oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth.

Spread about 1/4 cup bean spread on one side of each tortilla leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Arrange 2 ounces turkey down the center of each tortilla. Layer with 2-3 slices tomato, 1-2 slices onion, 1 tablespoon cheese and 1/4 cup spinach.

Starting at one end, tightly roll each tortilla and place, seam side down, on a serving plate. Cut crosswise in half and serve.

-Young Chef’s Academy

CHICKPEAS TO GO

Makes about 1 3/4 cups

1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning

3/4 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

Lightly pat chickpeas with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat. Transfer to baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes to promote even cooking.

Remove pan from the oven, coat chickpeas with cooking spray and bake until chickpeas are golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from oven, spread out on paper towels to cool. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

Variation: For a sweet version, use 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Reduce cooking time to 20 minutes.

-Young Chefs Academy

CANTALOUPE WITH RASPBERRY DRESSING

Makes 4 servings

1 cantaloupe, seeded

1/4 cup raspberry wine vinegar (see note)

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Cut the cantaloupe into quarters, or use a melon baller to scoop out cantaloupe balls. Set aside.

Whisk together vinegar, honey and poppy seeds, stirring well. Drizzle evenly over cantaloupe.

Note: If you are unable to find raspberry wine vinegar, use 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar with 1 teaspoon seedless raspberry jam.

-Young Chefs Academy

I approach this week’s topic with a level of diplomacy normally reserved for Middle East peace talks or union negotiations.

I’ve got to be careful here, because I have been on both sides of this fence in the past.

I’m talking about sharing recipes – those who do, and those who don’t.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me start off by saying there are only two recipes I’ve refused to share.

The first is the secret ingredient in our family’s potato salad. Only my mother, my sister and I know what it is.

My husband found out one day because he happened into the kitchen as I was making a bowl. (Contrary to family lore, he was not struck blind.) However, he has been sworn to secrecy and threatened with divorce, or worse, a life without potato salad, should he ever reveal. So far, he’s kept his mouth shut and his belly full.

The second is my mother’s recipe for meatballs. I have a friend who for years begged both my mother and me for it. I think mom may have finally relented on the sauce recipe, but not the meatballs.

When she would ask for the secret formula, we’d tell her we were saving it for the cookbook we planned to write one day. But now, I see that even if the cookbook ever materializes, some secret family recipes were meant to be kept a secret.

One Sunday a few years back, my mother sat in church and listened as the priest discussed the importance of sharing – ourselves, our time, our resources – and he used an example of a woman who wouldn’t share her recipes, selfishly keeping them from the rest of the family until she died and they went to the grave with her.

What a waste, he lamented.

As my mother told me this story, I was feeling guilty. But mom quickly cautioned me that the meatballs would not go to her grave, as she had passed on the recipe to me. She had shared – albeit selectively – and I was still to keep my mouth shut.

So as you can see, I understand and have participated in the secret-keeping side of this debate, even though my heavenly reward could be on the line.

But that doesn’t stop me from asking others for their recipes. Some would say I do it for a living.

A few holidays ago I went a few rounds with a sister-in-law who refused to give up her recipe for cranberry gelatin salad. She would not be in attendance at that year’s dinner, and I wanted to make sure the salad was there.

She refused to give it up.

Her explanation was essentially this: If she gave me the recipe, then I’d start making it, and then she wouldn’t be known for it any longer. At this point of the conversation, I think I laughed out loud, which didn’t help my cause.

I tried to explain to her that I didn’t want to start making it, I was only asking for the recipe because she wouldn’t be there that year and that I wasn’t about to start making it year after year, usurping her culinary glory.

Still she refused to give it up.

“But I’m family,” I protested. Nothing. We hung up as the phone line began to frost over.

Now, some of you are probably thinking, “Well, tit for tat,” or “That’s what you get when you won’t share.”

So this is where I have to play politician and talk out both sides of my recipe box.

To me there is a difference in the multitude of recipes that can and should be shared, and those precious few we may want to keep within the family.

Said cranberry gelatin was not a family heirloom, handed down from generation to generation. It came out of a cookbook, one that I don’t happen to have.

Increasingly, I find my e-mail box filled with notes such as this:

“I recently was at a (party/potluck/shower/name your occasion) where I ate this incredible (dip/dessert/cookie/casserole/name your dish) but the person who brought it wouldn’t share the recipe. Can you find the recipe for it?”

Often, it takes no more than a quick Internet search to find it at one of the thousands of recipe sites out there. Often, it came from the back of a box.

And that’s where I’ll end this debate.

If you have a secret family recipe, a true secret family recipe, one that your great-great-grandmother carried in her bosom during a long and arduous journey from some foreign land, or even one that you just worked hard to create from scratch and have perfected over the years, then keep it a secret for now. Just make sure someone has it before you die, and since none of us knows when that will happen, share it with at least one person now.

If you got it from a cookbook, the Internet, or the back of a box or can, share it already. It’s not like we can’t find it.

Better yet, give us a copy in your own handwriting so we’ll remember it came from you and we’ll think of you every time we make it.

Remember, sharing is caring.

So now that the great recipe debate is settled, let me tell you that the secret ingredient in the potato salad is . . .

Are you kidding me? Do you think I want to get kicked out of my own family?!

Until next week, have fun in the kitchen, keeping a secret or two of your own.

Summer’s picnic season simply glides into tailgating season with the first football games of the season.

Portable grills, propane-fueled stove tops, fancy coolers with wheels, pop-up tents emblazoned with your favorite team’s logo and sometimes an RV have become essential tailgating items.

“It’s not just hauling the grill and unloading it to throw a few burgers and hotdogs on the fire anymore. It really is about bringing people together and reuniting each year to reminisce, celebrate and enjoy great food and good conversations,” Jayna Oakley said.

Oakley and sister-in-law Kelli Oakley are tailgating experts and authors of “Kentucky TALEgating: Stories With Sauce” and “Kentucky Talegating II: More Stories With Sauce.” And with a five-page article in the current issue of Taste of the South, their fame is spreading.

Since the magazine hit newsstands a few weeks ago, the women have heard from tailgaters “from the West Coast to the East Coast,” Jayna Oakley said.

Creating the cookbooks was as easy as going “on a joyride through the university parking lots” on game day and talking to “perfect strangers,” they told Taste of the South writer Stacey Norwood.

“Finding tailgaters who were eager to share their stories and recipes came as no surprise to either one of us,” Oakley said. “I think it’s part of Southern hospitality. So many times when we have get-togethers, food is part of that occasion.

“Everyone is eager to share a new recipe, where they got it, and where else they’ve taken it. It’s just all part of the tailgating tradition.”

From their tailgating experiences, talking to tailgaters and writing about tailgating, the women know how to plan the perfect stadium party.

For Jayna Oakley, the most important element is “to be prepared for everything – have lots of food, and pack for all kinds of weather.”

Kelli Oakley said for her it’s always about “cooking for the masses.”

“I love cooking for lots of people, and what better place to do just that than in a parking lot with thousands of people?” she said. “As a cook, you always want to plan on fixing something that will feed lots of people, because that’s the best part about tailgating: all the people stopping by. And, of course, you plan according to the weather. If it’s hot, you throw some burgers on the grill. If it’s cooler weather, you bring out the chili.”

The Oakleys’ recipes are mostly from tailgating parties that they’ve “crashed” while pursuing stories for their books. They say the most requested recipe is for the chocolate chip cheese ball, which the magazine published with a photograph.

“I’ve prepared so many of these recipes, and you keep going back to the ones everyone likes,” Kelli Oakley said. “But, I tell you, Taste of the South’s story and photos sure did make the All-American burger very appealing, For Jayna, it’s always one of the sweet treats.”

“I guess I’ll always love the chocolate chip cheese ball,” Jayna Oakley said. “Kelli and I have taken the chocolate chip cheese ball everywhere we’ve been, and it’s such a hit. So, I guess it will always be my all-time favorite.”

Now it can be a favorite among even more tailgaters.

“We’ve had a lot of stories in a lot of magazines, and being asked to do a story in Taste of the South was such a compliment to our books,” Kelli Oakley said. “The story was fantastic, with great visuals of actual recipes in the books, and we got to talk about the people we met and how we actually put the books together.

“It’s just been a lot of fun, and people want to send us their favorite recipes and invite us to come and tailgate with them. So, it’s been a great experience, and we’ve sold a lot of books too.”

Books may be ordered through the Oakley Press Web site, www.oakleypress.net, or by calling (859) 494-1027.

PLAY IT SMART

Food is the focus of a tailgating party, so it’s important to think about food safety. Remember to pack clean, wet disposable cloths or wet wipes and paper towels for cleaning hands and surfaces.

Keep hot food hot

-To keep foods like chili and stew hot, use an insulated container. Fill the container with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, empty it, then put in the piping-hot food.

-Keep the insulated container closed to keep the food hot (140 degrees or higher).

-Quick-cooking meats such as rib-eye steaks and hamburgers are best for the grill.

Keep cold food cold

-Carry cold perishable foods such as raw beef patties, steaks and roasts in an insulated cooler packed with several inches of ice, frozen gel packs or containers of frozen water.

-Perishable side items such as potato salads or pasta salads must be kept cold. Pack them with several inches of ice.

-Wrap raw meat securely to prevent juices from cross-contaminating ready-to-eat food.

-Always make sure your seasoned and marinated items are in resealable plastic bags.

Source: Kentucky Beef Council

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PARTY IN THE PARKING LOT

-Plan your menu and do prep work a day or two before the game. Keep the menu simple, and pack prepared food in disposable containers.

-Make a list of the items you want to take along. Check off items as you pack. Pack paper products (plates, napkins, towels, forks, spoons) the night before. Remember a small first-aid kid, trash bags, water and extra ice.

-Plan to arrive 3 to 4 hours early and stay 1 to 2 hours after the game.

-Find a good spot to park. Not all parking spaces are created equal. Park next to a grassy area or at the end of the parking row; this gives you more room for serious tailgating.

-Food should be ready 1 1/2 hours before the game starts. This is plenty of time for those going to the game to eat, clean up and extinguish fires. Share food with neighbors. Swap recipes.

-Leave area clean. Take plenty of plastic trash bags for cleanup.

Source: Tailgating.com

This recipe is from Sandy Hillen of Lexington. It appears in both volumes of “Kentucky TALEgating: Stories with Sauce” (Oakley Press, $21.95).

CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESE BALL

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup miniature chocolate morsels

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, divided

Graham crackers, butter cookies, or pretzels

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, butter, brown sugar and vanilla, beating with an electric mixer until smooth. Add chocolate morsels and 1/2 cup pecans. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Shape mixture into a ball and roll in remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Serve with graham crackers, butter cookies or pretzels. Makes 8 to 12 servings.

This dessert can go to the opening game in sweltering heat and a bowl game in chilling temperatures. Fresh berries or fall apples are perfect fillings for a rustic fruit tart.

RUSTIC BERRY TART

1 sheet refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

4 cups fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or a mix), rinsed and picked over

1/4 cup granulated sugar; more to taste

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Pinch of salt

1 whole large egg, beaten

Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Whipped cream for serving, optional

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Unroll pie crust onto cookie sheet.

In small bowl, toss berries with sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt. If too tart, add as much as 2 more tablespoons sugar.

Spoon filling mixture onto center of crust within 2 inches of edge. Carefully fold 2-inch edge of crust over filling, pleating crust slightly as necessary.

In small bowl, beat egg and 1 tablespoon water; brush over edge of crust. Sprinkle sugar over crust edge. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into wedges; serve warm. Cover and refrigerate remaining tart.

DORITOS SALAD

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

16-ounces can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bag of Doritos chips (squeeze bag to crush chips)

1 bottle French or Catalina salad dressing

In a large bowl, layer lettuce, beans and cheese. Toss with chips and salad dressing, and serve immediately.