Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

It’s one of the great mysteries of the universe, on par with “Why is the sky blue?” and “Why do you yawn when someone else does?”

It’s a question I ponder … and ponder … at the end of way too many meals: Why does it take so long to get the check?

Where did she go? I can’t remember what she looks like. Is that her with the ponytail?

One effective technique is craning your neck, looking around the room in such an obvious way that other employees will notice and locate the missing person.

Could someone check the bathroom? Or the back door?

Once, while waiting seemingly forever for the check at a now-closed east side seafood place, I walked into the ladies room and was startled to find our waitress on her cell phone.

That’s not typical, of course.

But I so often end up impatient for the bill that I’ve wondered if there are built-in delays I’m not aware of . Sometimes I’ve even suspected I was waiting for the check at the same time the server was waiting for me to ask for it.

Restaurant industry veteran Tim Wilkins, who does consulting and service training through Wilkins Hospitality Group, says all of that can be true. Or not.

“I’d like to have a good answer for you, but there’s not really one single thing” that delays checks, said Wilkins, who also owns the Historic White Horse Inn in Metamora, Mich.

“The biggest issue is maybe other tables that require more attention. … When servers are taken out of their pattern, even the most experienced ones can lose focus for a couple of minutes,” he said.

Bills can also be delayed by computer issues. For example, as a loss-prevention measure, computer systems at some places won’t generate a bill without a manager’s OK if servers haven’t rung up any nonalcoholic beverages.

Behind the scenes, there’s side work – tasks like refilling salt shakers – that servers must do before their shifts end. The work can take employees off the dining room floor, and 5 minutes can turn into 10.

On top of it all, the job is a juggling act. “There’s food up in the window that they have to deliver; another table needs another round of drinks; you need your check. … They get pulled in seven directions at once.”

But those aren’t excuses, Wilkins said. It’s the server’s job to sense the customer’s timetable and meet it. Are they out for a leisurely meal or are they heading to a movie?

“We say, ‘Read the customer.’ … But sometimes they read it wrong. Some customers give you the impression they’re fine, and then all of a sudden they’re ready to go,” he said.

“If the customer is in a hurry,” he adds, “the more they can communicate that, the more helpful it is.”

He’s right. Being direct about your mood and plans is the best way to help servers meet your needs, whatever they are.

But I’m a realist. If you really want to avoid the MIA-server syndrome at the end of the night, ask for the bill before you finish your meal.

No thanks; no more wine. But could we go ahead and get our check ?

You’re less likely to be delayed when you do want to go. Plus, it’s a great way to avert dessert.

With the holidays fast approaching, it seems timely to share three more nominations from readers for best recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off, this time for cookies. I’d heard of one of them, Cherry Winks, but the other two were new to me.

Lois Millheim of Nazareth, Pa., writes that she has been making Coconut Islands for many years. The recipe was a 1953 third-prize winner for Sister Maria Jose Cannon, a Roman Catholic nun from Honolulu who, it was reported at the time, donated the $2,500 purse to her Maryknoll order. It’s a moist chocolate cookie with chocolate frosting and a snowy cap of coconut.

Ruth Whalen Kreiger of Palmetto Bay, Fla., has been baking Cherry Winks since they won first prize in the junior category in 1950. Kreiger says she uses green maraschino cherries along with the red “to jazz them up for Christmas.” I was skeptical about the cornflakes, but they add a wonderful bit of sweet crunch.

Carol Janssen of Huntsville, Ala. sent the recipe for the Lemon Mardi Gras Squares. “These are very lemony, tart but sweet enough, and they pack and keep really well,” she writes. She says she likes to tint the vanilla glaze with red food coloring for her holiday cookie trays.

COCONUT ISLANDS

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup hot, strong coffee

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup chopped coconut plus more to finish

FROSTING1

1/2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 to 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Sift flour with soda and salt. Melt the chocolate in the coffee and set aside.

Beat butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and chocolate mixture. Add dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in chopped coconut.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto pans. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

To make frosting, melt chocolate and butter in sour cream. Gradually beat in confectioners” sugar until spreading consistency achieved. Frost still-warm cookies and cap with a little coconut. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Per cookie: 107 calories (42 percent from fat), 5.3 g fat (3.3 g saturated, 1.4 g monounsaturated), 13.7 mg cholesterol, 1.3 g protein, 15.1 g carbohydrates, 0.7 g fiber, 67.6 mg sodium.

CHERRY WINKS

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped dates

1/3 cup chopped maraschino cherries

2 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed

Additional cherries for garnish

Sift flour with baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside. Beat shortening with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients. Add the pecans, dates and cherries and mix well.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Shape into balls, using a level tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Roll each ball in crushed cornflakes and place on pan 1 inch apart. Top each cookie with 1/4 maraschino cherry. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before storing. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Per cookie: 80 calories (45 percent from fat), 4.1 g fat (0.8 g saturated, 1.9 g monounsaturated), 7.1 mg cholesterol, 1 g protein, 10.3 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 51.4 mg sodium.

LEMON MARDI GRAS SQUARES

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs, separated

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1/2 cup chopped pecans

GLAZE

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cream or milk plus more as needed

1 cup confectioners” sugar

Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift the flour with salt and baking powder. Set aside. Beat egg whites until soft mounds form. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add dry ingredients alternately with lemon juice, beating well after each addition. Stir in zest and pecans. Fold in egg whites gently but thoroughly. Pour batter into pan, and bake 25 to 30 minutes.

For glaze, stir vanilla and 1 tablespoon cream into confectioners’ sugar, adding up to 1 tablespoon more cream for spreading consistency. Spread glaze on still-warm bars. When cool, cut into 24 bars.

Per bar: 140 calories (39 percent from fat), 6.2 g fat (2.8 g saturated, 2.2 g monounsaturated), 36.6 mg cholesterol, 1.8 g protein, 19.9 g carbohydrates, 0.4 g fiber, 89.8 mg sodium.

(Linda Cicero: lcicero(AT)MiamiHerald.com)

Agave – it’s not just for tequila anymore. The nectar from the agave lily may be the “it” sweetener of 2010.

Sweeter than sugar, this golden liquid is less viscous than honey with the same number calories – 60 per tablespoon. However, agave is low-glycemic (32 on the glycemic index compared to honey’s 58), which means the body converts it more slowly to sugar without blood-sugar spikes and crashes.

An ancient succulent related to aloe, agave is making its way into products from cereal (Grandy Oats organic goji agave granola, $4.99, 13 ounces) to ketchup (OrganicVille, $4.99, 24 ounces).

Because it imparts both moistness and sweetness, it’s the darling of vegan bakers from Miami’s Cynthia Olmsted of Om Garden to BabyCakes NYC’s Erin McKenna. Even spice giant McCormick calls agave an up-and-comer, and the demand is such that it’s now available in Publix’s Greenwise section (Madhava, $6.29, 23.5 ounces).

Like maple syrup, agave nectar comes in a range of grades – neutrally sweet Light; earthier Amber and full-flavored, honeylike Dark. Unlike nutritionally null sugar, it contains calcium and iron.

Agave is also high in inulin, a water-soluble natural fiber that serves as a prebiotic, aiding digestion and enhancing immunity. Powdered Vivagave ($8.99, 7 ounces) bills itself as organic blue agave inulin, but you get inulin in liquid agave, too.

We’re just now figuring out the mysteries of a plant that’s been around for 9,000 years, and we have some catching up to do. In the meantime, go for organic agave nectar from reputable companies, including Madhava and Xagave ($8.99, 25 ounces).

PUMPKIN-AGAVE BREAD

This mildly sweet bread is good for breakfast – or on the family dinner table.

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup agave syrup

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin with the oil, agave, eggs and vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk the flours, soda, cinnamon and ginger to blend.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Gently stir in raisins and nuts. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour or until bread is golden and a tester comes out clean. Makes 1 loaf, 12 slices.

Per slice: 183 calories (51 percent from fat), 10.7 g fat (1.1 g saturated, 6.3 g monounsaturated), 35.3 mg cholesterol, 3.9 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g fiber, 203 mg sodium.

(Ellen Kanner writes about vegetarian concerns. She blogs at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com. Contact her at ekanner(AT)MiamiHerald.com)

What’s Thanksgiving without some leftover turkey? Even on those rare occasions when I’m not preparing the turkey, I still feel the urge to at least cook a turkey breast in order to have some leftover for a turkey pie or a cranberry, stuffing and turkey sandwich.

I recently tasted a light Turkey Hash with each ingredient adding a delicious, fresh flavor. The chef shared two secrets of his preparation. One was shiitake mushrooms. These wild mushrooms give the hash an earthy flavor. The other was using just a little bit of cream instead of a heavy gravy to bind the hash. I’ve adapted his ideas to make this quick dinner.

The hash tastes great the second day and can be tripled for a casual party or football dinner.

Serve the hash as a one-dish meal with warm bread and a washed, ready-to-eat salad.

This meal contains 665 calories with 20 percent of calories from fat.

Helpful Hints:

-If you don’t have leftover turkey, buy low-fat honey roast turkey.

-Cut all of the ingredients about the same size so they will cook and blend together evenly.

Countdown:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees to warm bread.

-Start potatoes.

-Prepare remaining ingredients.

Wine suggestions: This pleasant dish without strong flavors could go with any number of white wines, including chardonnay and Riesling.

WILD TURKEY HASH

3/4 pound red potatoes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, diced (about 1 cup)

1 medium red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)

3 1/2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

3/4 pound cooked, skinless turkey breast, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/2 French baguette

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons whipping cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash potatoes, do not peel, and cut into 1-inch cubes. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet. Add potatoes, cover with a lid and saute 5 minutes. Toss to turn potatoes over, cover, and saute 5 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Add onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, turkey and pine nuts and saute, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring during that time.

Place bread in oven for 5 minutes to warm.

Push hash ingredients to the sides of the skillet. Add the flour and then milk to the center of the pan stirring until sauce thickens. Stir the other ingredients into the sauce; it will lightly bind the hash together. Add cream and stir again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with baguette. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 665 calories (20 percent from fat), 14.9 g fat (5.2 g saturated, 5.3 g monounsaturated), 148 mg cholesterol, 64.3 g protein, 69.4 g carbohydrates, 7.7 g fiber, 148 mg sodium.

SHOPPING LIST

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Dinner in Minutes.

To buy: 3/4 pound cooked turkey breast, 3/4 pound red potatoes, 1 medium red bell pepper, 1 small package shiitake mushrooms 3 1/2 ounces needed, 1 small package pine nuts, 1 small carton whipping cream and 1 French baguette.

Staples: Onion, olive oil, skim milk, flour, salt and black peppercorns.

(Linda Gassenheimer is the author of 14 cookbooks including her newest, “Mix ‘n Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes,” and “Prevention’s Fit and Fast Meals in Minutes.” Visit Linda on her web page at www.DinnerInMinutes.com or email her at Linda@DinnerInMinutes.com.)

When I plan Thanksgiving dinner, I look forward to the leftovers as much as the feast itself. I take advantage of the lower prices on turkey this time of the year and buy an extra breast to roast along with the big bird.

Turkey can replace chicken in many recipes, and it’s a wonderful addition to soups and casseroles. Don’t forget turkey pot pie, curried turkey salad and turkey enchiladas or quesadillas.

Even the turkey bones can have a second life as the basis for delicious turkey broth, which can be frozen in 1-cup portions for several months. It’s a good alternative in recipes calling for chicken broth and can be used as a base for soups and stews.

One of my favorite post-Thanksgiving recipes is the Hot Brown open-faced turkey sandwich created by chef Fred Schmidt at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Ky., in the 1920s.

Leftover mashed potatoes make great potato pancakes with the addition of an egg and some herbs, and sweet potatoes can be turned into sweet-potato pie, quick bread or biscuits.

And, at the end of the week, I know I deserve a fabulous cocktail. Try mixing a spoon of leftover cranberry sauce in a martini and relaxing in your favorite chair.

THE LEGENDARY HOT BROWN

12 bacon slices

6 slices firm, white sandwich bread

Unsalted butter, softened, for spreading on toast if desired

1 pound sliced roast turkey breast

12 tomatoes slices

SAUCE

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 1/2 cups turkey or chicken broth

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Paprika and chopped fresh parsley

Cook bacon in batches in a large, heavy skillet until crisp (or on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan in a 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes). Drain on paper towels.

Toast bread and, if desired, lightly butter. Heat broiler.

To make sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in broth and milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and thickened. Gradually add grated cheese, whisking until melted. Sauce will be quite thick.

Place one slice of toast on each of 6 oven-proof plates. Layer with turkey and tomato slices; cover with sauce. Place under broiler, 2 to 3 inches from heat, just until sauce is lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

Arrange 2 bacon slices in an X on each serving. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 604 calories (62 percent from fat), 41.9 g fat (24.9 g saturated, 11.6 g monounsaturated), 172.3 mg cholesterol, 32.7 g protein, 24.1 g carbohydrates, 1.5 g fiber, 1,095 mg sodium.

(Carole Kotkin is manager of the Ocean Reef Club cooking school and co-author of “Mmmmiami: Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere.”)

Wake up! The turkey is digested, and Friday was the first serious shopping day of the holiday season. One good way to ease the hassle is to visit a bookstore or sit down at your computer and buy well-chosen books for your friends. Here are some new titles to consider:

“The Heart of Bordeaux: The Greatest Wines from Graves Chateaux” by James Lawther (Abrams, $50): A big, beautiful coffee table book also chock-full of good information about the 16 Cru Classe wines of Bordeaux’s Graves region. A preface by Hugh Johnson, winery histories, pretty pictures and wine-pairing recipes by Daniel Boulud, Pierre Gagnaire and Eric Ripert. A great gift.

“The Vintage Caper” by Peter Mayle (Knopf, $24.95): Remember Mayle’s 1990 book, “A Year in Provence,” about a London businessman who fulfills every wine lover’s Walter Mitty dream by chucking it all and moving to the south of France? And how he falls in love with the surly, obstreperous French, their strange customs and wonderful food and wine?

This time Mayle has produced a novel. It’s about Danny Roth, a hot-shot Los Angeles lawyer with a gorgeous wife and a gorgeous wine cellar. After thieves steal $3 million worth of his fine French Bordeaux, Roth tracks them to Paris, then Bordeaux and then – “voila!” – to Provence. And a good deal of wine and food are partaken of along the way.

“Tasting Beer: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink” by Randy Mosher (Storey, $16.95): Did you know beer was first made around 10,000 B.C., by Neolithic people in what today is Kurdistan? Did you know professional beer tasters use water crackers as palate cleansers because other crackers have too much fat and dull the beer’s flavors? Just no end to the revelations in this nicely illustrated book.

“2009 Food & Wine Guide” by Anthony Giglio (Sterling, $11.95 in paper): This is one of those skinny books you put in a jacket pocket so you can look up wines in restaurants. It’s a handy one, divided by grape, country and style, with lots of pairings.

“When the Rivers Ran Red: An Amazing Story of Courage and Triumph in America’s Wine Country” by Vivienne Sosnowski (Palgrave MacMillan, $26.95): It was wine, not blood, that turned Northern California rivers red in 1920 as federal agents, engaging in running gunfights with winemakers, emptied their barrels into the water. This tells a whole new side of Prohibition.

“Pacific Pinot Noir: A Comprehensive Winery Guide for Consumers and Connoisseurs” by John Winthrop Haeger (University of California Press, $21.95): This is for serious pinot-philes. It’s an alphabetical list of nearly every pinot noir vineyard on the Pacific Coast, from Acacia in Napa to Yamhill Valley in Oregon – 454 pages without a single photo. I wouldn’t read it in bed, but it’s a comprehensive reference guide.

“Lessons in Wine Service” from Charlie Trotter by Edmund O. Lawler (Ten Speed, $24.95): If you’ve read any of the cookbooks by Trotter, the brilliant, temperamental Chicago restaurateur, you know they’re so complicated and intimidating that they’re more for inspiration than cooking. This wine book is a little like that. Its greatest value is to other restaurant owners and managers, but it’s a fascinating read for diners. Trotter explains, for example, how, after he dressed his whole staff, from general manager to food runner, in dark business suits, his customers couldn’t tell them apart. So he had to train his runners to know nearly as much about wine as his wine stewards.