Kettle

Taking a clue from the national economy, I have decided to go "soft" on New Year's resolutions. None of my resolutions will be vigorous, demanding or expensive. They will be about as downbeat as the projections of the guys on the Dating Committee.This is the short name for the Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economists, the group of seven economists who officially declare when the U.S. economy is in recession. The Dating Committee guys conducted a conference call recently, sized up the situation, and uttered the "R" word.

PALATINE, Ill. - The man in an apron casually moves quartered slabs of zucchini off the hottest part of the grill to the cooler edges, where they can be turned to expose angled stripes of caramelized flesh. Then peppers, yellow and red and blistered, and saucer-sized portobello mushrooms, too. And finger-thick spears of asparagus, now freckled brown and fire-kissed. The flesh of filleted salmon is weeping surface puddles of its own oils. The swordfish steaks have been turned, and there is a crackle over the heat.

Appetizing tips After the marathon cooking and baking sessions of the holidays, many of us still may be reluctant to get back into the kitchen. Still, winter entertaining doesn't need to be difficult. Here are some tips from Hillshire Farms: Stick to lighter fare, such as appetizers, so you can spend more time with your guests. Serve both hot and cold appetizers and place the food throughout the party space. Figure on eight to 10 appetizers for each person. Do as much preparation ahead of time as possible, and plan on offering a variety of cheese, meat, vegetable, poultry and fish dishes.

Baltimore: Harborplace Salvation Army's '05 campaign to open The Salvation Army will kick off its 2005 Red Kettle Campaign today at the Inner Harbor amphitheater. The Salvation Army Band is set to begin playing at 10:45 a.m., and the ceremony will begin about 11 a.m. City Council President Sheila Dixon, the Salvation's Army's 2005 recipient of the Outstanding Civil and Charitable Contributions Award, will place the first "official" donation in the kettle for the 2005 holiday season. The Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is being recognized with the group's Outstanding Corporation Contributions Award.

The elixir that makes soup a cure-all or transforms rice into pilaf is a rich chicken stock -- a leisurely infusion of chicken, lots of aromatic vegetables and herbs. Making homemade stock takes time, although considering the results, it's time well-spent. Besides, once the stock makings are simmering, they need almost no attention for several hours. The results will be more flavorful, more robust, and more economical than canned broth or bouillon cubes. And once you discover the benefits of having a supply of homemade stock in the freezer, you'll use it at least once a week for soups, stews, sauces, rice, pasta, and for poaching, braising and deglazing poultry, fish and other foods.

Three men were killed and a fourth was wounded early yesterday in a shootout on a tense Seneca Indian reservation in western New York where rival factions for the tribal leadership have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks, Seneca officials and Erie County authorities said."

FOR THE KABLES, fall means cooler weather, football games and more than 100 jars of apple butter. In a fledgling family tradition, the Westminster family spent the last weekend in October peeling about 11 bushels of Stayman, Winesap, Golden Delicious and Red Delicious apples to create this autumn treat the old-fashioned way. "We had a good time. It was a lot of fun," said John Kable. The Kables made the apple butter for the first time last year, in a 40-gallon kettle that John's wife, Robin, bought at an auction for his birthday.

BOSTON - Here where America's most famous tea party was held more than two centuries ago, the Democratic Party is striving its best to keep the lid on a kettle of anti-Bush outrage that constantly threatens to boil over. Determined to accentuate the positive in coping with public uncertainty about prospective presidential nominee John Kerry, his strategists have decreed that this week's national convention speakers hold in check their hostility toward President Bush, on everything from his policies to his persona.

JUDY CEPHAS is the new Gifted and Talented Program resource teacher at Patuxent Valley Middle School. A dedicated educator, she's taking 150 pupils to New York City to see a Broadway production this month.But that's not why she called this reporter.Cephas, who is spending her first year in our area -- although she has worked at other Howard County schools -- is a big fan of other staff members at the school. And she is really impressed by the work of Suzanne Gross' sixth-grade reading class.