Baking Dish

What if little Jack Horner never pulled a plum from his Christmas pie? What if it was a raisin? It's possible. According to Alan Davidson's Penguin Companion to Food, the word "plum" was used to describe virtually any dried fruit (including raisins) during the Middle Ages, the period when the rhyme originated. The juicy plum is easier to distinguish these days, but it still comes in many shapes and colors. According to worldshealthiestfoods.org, the plum (in season from May through October)

I didn't have to look very far for a Shrimp Scampi recipe for Tom Reesey. This one, from "The Williams Sonoma Cookbook" published in 1986, is one of my favorites. I first made it several years ago for a swanky party, doubling the recipe to feed eight.I've since made it dozens of times, serving it with fresh french bread and tender-crisp green beans.Shrimp Scampi2 pounds large shrimp3 teaspoons dried tarragon, chopped2 tablespoons parsley, chopped2 shallots or small green onions, chopped fineSalt and pepper3 to 4 tablespoons olive oilPreheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mary Angela Zerhusen of Millersville requested a recipe that she had lost for baked beans. "It was my favorite and was called Sandy's Baked Beans and was published in a magazine. If anyone has it, I'd appreciate receiving it." From Helen Szwast of Whitmore, Pa., came a positive response. "I happen to have this recipe so I thought I'd help this lady and pass it on." Baked Beans Makes 8 to 10 servings 1 pound (2 cups) small white navy beans 2 onions, sliced 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper hambone and leftover baked ham 2 cups ketchup 2 cups light-brown sugar 1/3 cup vinegar 2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon dry mustard Soak beans, covered, overnight in enough cold water to cover.

When entertaining during the chilly days of winter, when temperatures rarely rise above freezing for long stretches of time in my part of New England, I love to plan robust menus to stave off the cold outdoors.Typically, after these filling meals, I serve a warm fruit dessert as the conclusion. Among my favorite selections are apple cobblers; tarts made with dried cherries or apricots; bread puddings layered with sliced bananas; and compotes of grapes, oranges and other winter fruits marinated in spiced and sweetened wine.

Nowadays, when so many families find Sundays crammed with activity and as busy as any other day of the week, an old-fashioned roast chicken dinner may seem out of the question.Easy Sunday chicken bake may not quite top the Norman Rockwell image of grandmother toting a glorious bird to the table, but this dish is every bit as toothsome and considerably less of a production.Easy Sunday chicken bake is reminiscent of old-fashioned chicken and dressing with a couple of newfangled twists.Easy Sunday chicken bakeMakes 6 servings.

Many of my friends are talented on more than one level. Take, for example, my pal Elinor Lipman, a successful novelist as well as a gifted cook and hostess. She infuses her cooking with the same creativity and crispness that she pours into her witty fiction. Whenever I've eaten at her house, I've not only loved the food, but marveled at how she invents or adapts her recipes. Lately, she and I have engaged in recipe swaps, e-mailing one another new dishes with personal comments and notes attached.

Perhaps the perfect answer to "what's for dinner?" is right here."I want a ground turkey meatloaf recipe," wrote Marie Curry of Baltimore, "that has the same texture as one made with ground beef."A bread pudding was what Joe Jones of Crofton wanted, saying he was trying to find a pudding in which "the end product was like a custard but the bread in it remained whole."Chef Syglowski of the Baltimore International Culinary College, who tests the responses sent in, chose a meatloaf from Lee Tydings of Baltimore who calls her dish an Italian meatloaf.

"When in doubt, serve meat and potatoes." That's a motto I embrace often when entertaining, if my guest list does not include vegetarians. My spouse, like countless others, swoons when he hears this combination mentioned. He likes almost any variation on the theme. Last month, he was delighted by a creamy potato gratin that I served with a leg of lamb on one occasion and with beef tenderloin on another. He even went off his diet and indulged in seconds. The rich gratin is a remake of a scalloped potato dish I created several years ago. In the original version, I topped layers of sliced potatoes with creme fraiche (a thick French cream that is a cross between heavy and sour cream)

With school starting again, life becomes even more complicated. Not only do you have to meet your own schedule, but now there are kids to pack off to school and after-school activities to arrange. Not to mention that your significant other is on an entirely different work -- and play -- schedule than you are.How can you possibly plan meals or find time to prepare them? The old standbys -- fat-filled cheesy and beefy lasagna, calorie-laden tuna casserole made with cream of anything soup, egg-rich and ham-studded quiche -- just don't seem right anymore.

Ronni Biolosky from Cleveland was looking for a recipe for a squash casserole similar to one she had enjoyed recently at a dinner party. She said it was made with yellow squash and probably had egg and cheese in it as well. Holladay Bank from Butler sent in a recipe for a yellow squash casserole that she found on allrecipes.com. She says that she is not much of a cook but that this casserole is very easy to make, goes well with just about any main course and always seems to be a crowd-pleaser.