Baking Sheet

Marilyn Whitten of St. Augustine, Fla., wrote that she was seeking a recipe for baked sweet-potato chips. She said that the recipe had been shown on a live TV show but she had turned it on just as the potatoes were being removed from the oven. Virginia Comstock of Santa Rosa, Calif., responded with a recipe that she feels is the right one. Baked Sweet-Potato Chips Makes about 60 thin chips 2 sweet potatoes (or baking potatoes) salt, to taste (can use onion salt or garlic salt for added flavor)

At the beginning of December, I begin to think seriously about Christmas gifts, and not just about the presents to be wrapped and placed under the tree. This is also the time to prepare the little culinary indulgences that I share with friends, family, colleagues and those who've been especially generous to me over the past year. Christmases past, I have baked countless batches of cookies 2 / 3 cupcakes and brownies. I've turned pounds of pecans into sugared and spiced morsels for nibbling and have made cheese wafers and straws by the dozens.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick. SUNDAY / Family Sweeten up family time with Honey-Dill Chicken on the menu today.

Blustery cold winter days make huddling inside all the more appealing. For the Saturdays that you plan to spend curled up with a good book or watching your favorite old movie, here are some inexpensive, easy tortilla snacks that are ready in 10 minutes.Containing less than 1 gram of fat each, corn tortillas are always a healthy choice. Flour tortillas are higher in fat (2 to 4 grams each).Quesadillas con frijoles refritosMakes 24 wedges; serves 61 cup fat-free refried beans2 tablespoons hot jalapeno relish, or other spicy salsa12 6-inch corn tortillas1 cup frozen corn, thawed1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro1/3 cup chopped scallions3/4 cup finely grated Monterey Jack cheese (3 ounces)

Although I love summer's glorious produce, I can be equally rhapsodic about the fruits and vegetables that arrive in our markets during the cold-weather months. Once the temperature starts to drop, I put away recipes for eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes and focus instead on delectable winter choices, such as squashes and parsnips, rutabagas and other root vegetables. Carrots, shallots and baby red skins drizzled with olive oil and roasted until golden-brown are always a winning trio. And a rich satisfying soup made with diced sweet potatoes and chopped leeks simmered in chicken stock, then pureed and enriched with cream, proves irresistible.

A FELLOW gardener gave me a few fresh raspberries right off the bush, and I re-evaluated my opinion of this regal berry. Until then I had encountered raspberries in fancy restaurants. I was dressed up, and they were presented on a silver platter and cost a king's ransom. But the other day, when I was given a handful of free raspberries, I was standing in the mud in the middle of a community garden in Baltimore's Druid Hill Park. I had been hoeing weeds and had paused to talk with Larry Morris, a fellow gardener and guy who can grow almost anything, including raspberries.

Mani Niall did not start out to be a baker. In fact, he did not even start out as Mani, but as George. The Sanskrit name-change from the '70s is but a minor note in the career of a man who once worked at a restaurant called the Golden Temple of Conscious Cookery, once made ice cream for Michael Jackson in a hotel bathroom, and, when opportunity knocked, parlayed a request from Danny DeVito into a boffo baking biz. Mani's is an L.A. story right out of...

Neat treat for MomEveryone knows that mothers simply adore burned toast, runny eggs, weak coffee and partly spilled orange juice for breakfast -- that is, they do if it's Mother's Day and the family's youngest chefs have been at work in the kitchen.However, there is a chance for youngsters to present Mom with a food gift, and leave the mess in someone else's kitchen: It's the annual Mother's Day brunch next Sunday at Windows restaurant in the Stouffer Harborplace Hotel, which features freshly baked, 6-inch-diameter "cookie cards" that kids can decorate with icing on the spot and present to Mom.Besides the cookies, the brunch features a raw bar, salads, and dishes such as poached halibut with leek sauce.

Mixing bowls and spatulas will always have their place, but this season, sophisticated cooks are adorning their kitchens with high-tech gadgets like battery-powered oil misters and Austrian whipped-cream makers. "Specialty seems to be selling more than the general," said Rebecca Staffel, senior editor of Amazon.com Kitchen. For example, the company sells more mandoline slicers than knives, and more baking sheet liners than baking pans. While consumers may be heading to the Internet to locate hard-to-find items, Staffel said she believes part of the trend toward specialty products lies in the country's good economy.

Bake chicken, biscuits and peaches together and you'll have a delightful treat on your hands. Also, try this brie cheese and apricot hors d'oeuvre which has an incredible flavor.Marian Wilson of Owensboro, Ky., wrote, "I would like to find a recipe that I made years ago but have since lost. Essentially it was chicken, biscuits and canned peach halves baked together in a large pan.Most responses were similar. Chef Gilles Syglowski chose one from Joye De Leach of Fayetteville, N.C.Oven-fried Chicken With Biscuits and Peaches1/4 cup vegetable shortening4 tablespoons butter or margarine1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour2 teaspoons paprika1/4 teaspoon saltpepper to taste1 chicken (about 3 pounds)