Timberline Lodge, Lighted ships celebrate Christmas

Culinary Traveler: Holiday Traditions Oregon Style

Celebrating Christmas in the Pacific Northwest is a natural. Oregon is the number one U.S.
producer of Christmas trees so even it’s agricultural traditions are part of this treasured holiday.
Here are two longstanding traditions that are part of many an Oregon Christmas.

Christmas at Timberline Lodge
First a toy drops. Then the polished buckle and toe of a black boot is visible just below the
immense wood beam mantel. Finally a huge bag of toys squeezes through the small opening of
the massive stone fireplace. And all of a sudden boys and girls of all ages get worked into a
frenzy when a jolly fat man in a red suit pops out of the stone shaft. “Santa” the kids shout.
“Santa you came!”

Christmas tradition is part of the heart of this great lodge. Oregonians have been making
Christmas Eve at Timberline a part of their holiday celebration for several generations. It’s a
perfect place to feel the magic of Christmas. And so it has been for many Christmases since
Timberline Lodge was built by depression -era craftsmen and laborers in the 1930’s as a WPA (
Works Progress Administration) project. Constructed on a flank of Mt. Hood or Wy’East as the
first peoples called the mountain, Timberline Lodge is now a place to reconnect your spirit to
nature in all seasons. Winter is special here. As snow drifts climb outside the windows and
wisps of ice clouds halo the peak of the mountain, visitors take to the lifts to snow board or ski
and return to cozy up by the two rock fireplaces. When nighttime skiing is suspended for
Christmas Eve,( you wouldn’t want someone to ski into a reindeer would you?) the quiet
outside adds to the expectation as swirls of snow dance along the windows.

These smiling kids don’t care that the Lodge was built by hand of local stone and timber. Nor
that old utility poles became fanciful newel posts of a bear, eagle, mole, lynx, mallard, fox,
fawn, pelican, king-fisher and badger in the hands of a skilled carver. Or that old uniforms were
cut and hooked into rugs and railroad rails were hammered into andirons. These kids have one
thing in mind as they sit patiently through dinner and listen for the update from the Lodge ‘s
PA system. Finally the announcer returns and says. “Santa was spotted crossing the Columbia
River and is headed directly for Mt. Hood!”

Oh boy, it’s time to roll ! Kids hop off the carved wooden chairs, all running now through the
halls of modernist artwork, scrambling up the newel post- trimmed stairs to the main fireplace
to wait for the man of the hour. The big red guy is on his way to Timberline; do you hear
reindeer hooves on the roof?

This instauration of magical Christmas excitement renews each December 24th about seven
o’clock after a candlelight dinner and before caroling begins. Once Santa has extricated
himself from Oregon’s most famous and best-loved chimney, he holds court near the towering
Christmas tree twinkling with lights. The children line up to visit with him in turn showing
Santa that they are indeed very good boys and girls. When one very tiny boy reaches the head of
the line to receive his personal message of Christmas from Santa and a special toy, his parents
look on with a sense of wonderment that still lights their eyes. Outside, where surely the
reindeer await on the roof, the wind throws the snow in timeless patterns against the windows as
the moon lights the peak of Mt. Hood.
Timberline Lodge: www.timberlinelodge.com for packages , overnight stays and dinner
reservations.
Fly into PDX, the Portland, Oregon airport. Rent a car and drive to the lodge approximately
ninety minutes away.

The Christmas Ships
For fifty-five years the Christmas ships have paraded along the Willamette and Columbia rivers
creating a beautiful tradition for the people of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.
The story goes that in 1954 a lone sailboat festooned with ribbon and bows sailed out of the
Portland Yacht Club to spread some holiday cheer up and down the rivers. Now it has become
so much more. Small craft of 14ft to vessels over 60 feet cruise the two rivers for two weeks in
December lighting up the darkness with creative displays. Some elegant, some whimsical, all a
part of Christmas now for so many.
Early in September President Jess Heitman tells me, they ramp up the year-long planning to get
this holiday tradition ready for December. When asked how they manage all of this volunteer
effort Jess says, “ Linda Penland. She is our energizer bunny and makes everything happen.”
The captains and crew of approximately 60 power and sail boats brave the icy, cold night to
bring a message of Christmas hope and cheer to people watching from the river bank,
restaurants, homes and hotels along the Willamette and the Columbia. Captain Burt Burgess
holds the honor for participating an astounding 32 years, but all individual boats decorate, pay
for their fuel and give their time and commitment sharing from the heart. President Jess says
that viewing the parade of Christmas ships is the great equalizer. “No matter who you are ,” he
says, “the experience is the same for everybody.” He sees this gift of joy as “made
anonymously” by the participants on these gaily decorated Christmas ships. By sending a
message of light “they are giving back to the community,” he says.
On certain nights the flotilla hosts decorated Navy patrol boats and Coast Guard tenders like
the Blue Bell to join them in bringing their message to people along the shores. There are also
some ride-alongs. The Blue Stars, people with a family member on active military duty will be
on boats some evenings as well as another ride- along for the Gold Stars, families who have
lost a member fighting on active duty.
To locate a place to view the parade of lighted ships go to the Christmas Ships’ website at
www.Christmasships.org. Among the active supporters of the parade are the Red Lion Jantzen
Beach, Shenanigans Restaurant, Mark’s on the Chanel and Beaches restaurant where you can
grab a window seat early and enjoy dinner. The Columbian Newspaper has a detailed list of
vantage points along the Columbia for the Vancouver side created by reporter Matt
Wastradowski at http://www.columbian.com/section/christmasships
And then just sit back and wait for the magic as the first of the boats comes into view. Hey isn’t
that Santa on a jet ski? !

Stuffed Mushroom Caps
Award-winning Executive Chef Leif Benson, CEC, AAC, at Timberline Lodge and creator of
fresh Cascade cuisine sends you this special holiday recipe.
Serves 6-8 as an appetizer
Mushroom Caps:

• 2 pounds very large mushrooms, brushed and stems removed( keep stems for stuffing)

• Butter

• Fresh bread crumbs

• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Cheese Stuffing:

• Stems from 2 pounds of mushrooms

• Butter

• Dry white wine

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

• 1 teaspoon dill weed

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/4 cup sour cream

Prepare Cheese Stuffing mixture to set aside: Chop stems and sauté in butter with a splash of
white wine and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. In mixing bowl combine cream
cheese, garlic powder, 1/2 cup chipped parsley, dill weed and 1/2 cup butter. Drain sautéed
mushroom stems and add to cheese mixture with sour cream.
Prepare mushroom caps to stuff: Sauté mushroom caps in butter until soft. Allow to cool a little.
Stuff caps with Cheese Stuffing. Sprinkle with half bread crumbs and half grated Parmesan
cheese. Bake at 400 degrees until hot and golden brown. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Riding the rail to the trail in Copper Canyon, Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains

Culinary Traveler: Riding the rail to the trail in Copper Canyon, Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains

The little mountain town of Cerocahui, Chihuahua state in Mexico is a long way from my home
in the mountains of Oregon, but each part of the journey unfolds with it’s own discoveries
along the way. Cerocahui is reached by train as part of a rail trip you can book through Mexico
Adventures.Inc. on the first -class Ferromex Chepe (Chihuahua Pacifico route) train. You may
start your trip on either end of the journey; Los Mochis or Chihuahua City. Why explore this
region? Although it’s not a beach-y resort vacation, you will be rewarded by a more authentic
trip and fabulous vistas.

Aero Mexico flies from gateway cities in America to several cities in Mexico where you change
planes and puddle jump into your starting city to begin your train trip. I’m headed for Los
Mochis, north of Mazatlan near the Sea of Cortez to catch the Copper Canyon train. At the
Hermosillo, Mexico airport I meet up with journalists from the International Food Wine and
Travel Writers Association (www.ifwtwa.org) on a press trip. We fly into Los Mochis together
on a slim Aero Mexico Embraer jet.

Los Mochis is an industrialized “modern” city built by American Benjamin Johnson in 1903 to
house and provide commerce to a population that worked his sugar cane empire. Mostly
cement low-rise buildings with the exception of hotels and hospitals, for us it provides a
comfortable rest stop at Hotel Santa Anita. In the morning we will board a pleasure boat and
cruise around the breathtaking Topolobampo ( to-po-lo-bam-po) Bay.

Topolobampo Marine Sanctuary is a rich bio-diverse bay filed with tuna, shrimp, clams, oysters
scallops and crab. Part port, part sanctuary, deep within the bay there is Farallon Island
populated by sea lions and Bird Island with, you guessed it, a huge population of many species
of birds. As our boat pulls away from the pier, the small town recedes. Along the shore in the
sanctuary area there are no houses but curiously there is a large “energy production” plant. We
quickly cruise past and marvel at pods of dolphins surfacing along our bow. The journalists vie
for position on the boat to photograph the pelicans and other seabirds nesting on several
promontories as we motor by.

Soon the sun is high and our captain slows alongside a dory. Our deckhand offers some cold
coca-cola to the day boat fisherman, and he fills the chef’s fry pan full of shrimp. Lunch is
looking up!

As guests of Balderrama Hotels and Mexico Adventures we are traveling with our own chef on
Balderrama‘s fishing charter boat . While chef Victor Samaniego prepares delicacies in the
galley, we sip Pacifico cervezas on the canopied fly bridge. Soon platters of shrimp and scallop
cerviche, coconut shrimp and sautéed shrimp arrive. With a squeeze of lime, a taste of cerviche
and a sip of cold beer and I am in Topolabampo nirvana! The boat rocks gently as I imprint this
perfect memory of warm sun, cool beer, birds squawking on rocky ledges and the soft brown
hills rising from the bay.

Fast forward fifty land-miles and a day to the 1564 Spanish city of El Fuerte, birthplace of “El
Zorro.” After a river tour to view ancient petroglyphs and an enchanting evening with the
flirtatious, masked, singing Zorro poolside at “ Hotel Posada del Hildalgo” we are seated
aboard the Ferromex “Chepe” train headed to Bahuichivo where a bus will take us to
Cerocahui ( sero-ka-wee). We cross miles of canyon systems that make up Copper Canyon in
the Sierra Madre Mountains. Our train snakes along this geological marvel, four times larger
than the Grand Canyon. Under blue skies the wide-open views of river change to dark grey
rock wall tunnels as the train pushes on.

We wind through sesame fields, scrub trees, acacia and cactus. A few settlements of rail workers
and Tarahumara natives poke up along the river Rio Fuerte and Rio Chinipas.We cross the
long Santa Barbara Bridge over Rio Mina Plata and cut through several tunnels to switchback
via a section of rail. Slowly, high in the steep mountains of the Sierra Madres we reach the old
lumber town of Bahuichivo. Boys and young men line the sidewalk along the train and help
load our bags for tips as we disembark and pack into a dusty bus that will take us to the Hotel
Mision. Through narrow streets we grind then out to the valley for about eight miles to
Cerocahui.

This little town founded by Jesuits 300 years ago is seated in a high fertile valley of apple
orchards and some 4000 heirloom wine grape vines. The Hotel Mision next to the cathedral and
mission boarding school for Tarahumara Indian girls is Spanish colonial in feel with a main
lodge, tiny corner bar and a large dining room. The rooms, built as several haciendas situated
throughout the garden are spacious with muted décor. Smooth tile floors, wood beam ceilings,
and stucco walls painted white or soft terra cotta and ochre change color in the mountain light
during the day. At this elevation it gets very cold at night so wood is stacked next to the
woodstove for me to start a fire.

“Ride or hike?” We are gathered in the lobby’s seating area and our tour guide wants to know if
we are interested in seeing the Cerocahui waterfall “Huicochi” (wee-ko-chee).
“Ride, you bet,” I say along with three other adventurous souls who posses the strange
compulsion to ride a trail we have never been on and with horses we have never met!

“Juan” is waiting for us outside with his string of horses and his wiry dog Pepe. After sizing
each of us up he motions to the horse he wants us to mount. Maralyn, the President of
IFWTWA gets on Lirio, Frederica from the Washington Press Club gets Pepino, Kurt of the
Society of Professional Journalists is astride beautiful black gelding Lucero and I hop on
Conejo. The saddles are hard leather, very dark brown, the stirrups have heavy brush covers
and the reins are soft and thin. The horses wear unusual shoes that are flat. Juan points to the
stamped saddle mark on the seat and points up into the hills showing me where the local saddle
maker’s lives. As we walk the horses across the bridge over the river in the center of town, a
very loud diesel Chevy truck threatens to scare us all off the road.The horses with the exception of the black gelding Lucero are all on the small side. Juan says they are from southern Mexico not from around here. Indeed as we pass other horses in pasture these mounts seem more like ponies.

We make our way along the river along the steep sandy trail. The horses are sure-footed and
calm; not so the riders! Each time we crest to a part of the trail that seems to be too narrow and
inches from certain death, one of us lets out a wincing “oh God.” But the horses never falter.
They pick their way along the trail, through the stones and boulders in the fast moving river,
squeezing us through narrow rock openings and clambering up rocky ledges. Trying to cross
the river at one spot we have to dismount. The river is too deep and the horses have to be led as
we hop from boulder to boulder to the other side. Juan, who walks the entire trip in native
Tarahumara sandals of reclaimed rubber tire tread, constantly reassures us with “no probelma”
as Pepe his dog runs ahead of the horses to chase a longhorn cow or two off the trail.

After the long ride the box canyon narrows and then opens up. The good news? We are almost
at the waterfall. Bad news? We have to return the same way. Soon, we are rewarded by a long
horsetail waterfall carving through the rock outcroppings and splashing into pool of clear deep
green. But alas we can’t stay. It’s getting dark and there are margaritas waiting for us at the
hotel.
Travelers Guide
Airline: Aero Mexico: www.aeromexico.com
Complete Tours: www.mexicoscoppercanyon.com.mx
Copper Canyon Hotels: www.hotelesbalderrama.com
Train: www.chepe.com.mx
Tourism Office : www.ah-Chihuahua.com
Chihuahua City Hotel : www.sicomoro.com
The trail ride : available through the front desk at the Balderrama Hotel Mision. Plan to book
ahead so the horses are ready for you when you arrive. It’s approx. $20 American dollars plus
tip.

RECIPE: Ceviche mix to de camarón y pescado: Mixed shrimp and fish ceviche
Chef Victor Samaniego of Balderrama Hotels graciously provides his authentic recipe for you.
Serves 4-6 as hors d’oeuveres

• 250-grams cleaned shrimp, cut in little cubes ( just over 1/2 pound)

• 250-grams of cleaned fish, no bones, in little cubes

• 3 pcs. of “salad tomato“, little cubes

• ½ white onion finely cut in cubes

• 1 cucumber, seeded and cut in small cubes or slices

• 2 “Serrano” peppers, cut fine, include a few seeds

• 15 stems and leaves of fresh coriander( cilantro) finely cut

• 10 small lemons or enough fresh lemon juice to cover (Mexican Colima lemons are tiny)

• Salt & pepper to your taste

On a crystal plate or shallow bowl place fish and shrimp, add salt and black pepper and lemon
juice. Let it marinate for 5 or 10 min.( no longer). After the shrimp and fish are “cooked” by the
marinade, add the vegetables cut in pieces to garnish and arrange along the plate . If you desire,
you can add clam juice to your taste.
(photography by KWWinner)

Butte Creek Mill’s Bob Russell grinds it out

Butte Creek Mill’s stone ground mix; delicious pineapple muffin high in fiber

Bob Russell had a perfectly good life in toney Lake Oswego. He also had a huge collection of antiques- and “corporate uniform”neckties. But when Bob and His wife Debbie found an old mill along Little Butte Creek in Eagle Point, Oregon, the world changed for them.

Falling in love with the lifestyle along the Little Butte, a salmon tributary to the Rogue River, Bob and Debbie purchased the mill, a house across the street and an old cheese factory next door to the mill for an antique store. And Bob got rid of all of his neckties!

Bob greets me with a big smile from the flower-lined front porch of the 136 year old mill. “It’s the only grist mill in Oregon still grinding flour,” Bob tells me and the couple gathered in the entryway as he offers us a tour of the mill. He recites some history as we queue up behind him and waddle like ducklings behind Bob down the narrow stairs to the basement. “From as far back as1872 and far afield; farmers pulled their wagons filled with grain to the mill to have their flour ground. Every seventh bag of flour belonged to the miller as payment, to sell in the adjacent Butte Creek general store. Even the Klamath Indians came walking 90 miles from Fort Klamath to trade berries and leather goods for flour.”

At Butte Creek there is no water wheel. To our puzzled group Bob explains,” Butte Creek Mill is not a water wheel operated mill, rather the water in the millrace flows into a penstock twelve feet deep, where its weight provides pressure to activate the turbine that runs the wheels, belts and pulleys. This movement also turns the large millstones that grind the grain. “ Fearing he may lose us- he points to each part as he progresses through his delivery. Collectively, the lights turn on in our brains.

Clambering behind Bob again we stop in front of massive French buhr stones that still grind the grain today. Bob flips a switch and slowly the behemoths come to life. “ The sound of the working mill was very quiet,” his eyes twinkling as he continues,“ today we underplay the green power thing here!” Ad then he flashes that smile of a man who has found his passion in life.


Visit Bob and Debbie, antique store, and Mill store with it’s extensive collection of old food cans and bottles and purchase their scone mixes, pancake mix, fresh stone ground grains and much more at www.buttecreekmill.com . From the website click on a you tube version of Bob’s famous mill tour.
Here is a recipe for some delightful muffins found right on the back of Butte Creek Mill’s Bran Muffin Mix. But you’ll have to send for the mix! It contains all the wheat bran, stone ground whole wheat flour, wheat germ, buttermilk, baking soda, spices and salt you need. As it says on the bag, “ they’re addictive!”

UPSIDE DOWN PINEAPPLE BRAN MUFFINS

Make the bran muffin mix and stir in 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (juice drained and pressed out) omitting the raisins the mix calls for. Instead of mixing the 4 Tablespoons Honey the mix calls for add 4 tablespoons melted butter to it. Spoon the honey/butter mixture into the muffin cups to cover the bottom. Spoon muffin batter into cups to almost full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until done. Serve upside down.

Eat locally;Fresh food is best: fruit salad recipe

Eat locally;Fresh food is best: fruit salad recipe

Where does your food come from? Journalists and social experimenters Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon tell us, “ when the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles. . .instead of paying the true cost of our food choices up front, we buy our food cheap and pay the hidden environmental and social price later as a society .”

You may have heard about some form of the “100- Mile” rule. The premise is that we should eat only what is grown around us within a one hundred mile radius. Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon have been writing about their experiences being on the “100- Mile Diet” for one year at www.100milediet.org. Worth checking out their journal and stories online or purchase their book for a fun read with a serious message “Plenty- One Man, one woman and their raucous year of eating locally.”

Eating locally has great benefits to you and the world. There is less transport so there is less fuel spent. Less fuel, less impact on the environment. Buying locally supports the local farmer who in turn can grow plant varieties that may not travel well but are delectable and more nutritious. “100-mile” food retains vitamins, can be eaten at it’s nutritional peak and most likely is untreated (to maintain a saleable condition). In Alisa and J.B.’s own word’s they “ stopped eating apples that tasted like cardboard from season- less supermarkets, canned for the winter and prepared everything from scratch.” They suggest that even if we can’t do things like find a source of ground wheat, a sugar plantation or a citrus grove near us to sustain this type of life choice, perhaps by hosting a potluck “100-mile dinner” with friends you could draw attention to the benefits of a local in-season diet. During an Oregon summer that should be easy.

Our local crops just reaching market are strawberries and lettuce. Rhubarb and asparagus, the gifts of early spring, are still in the marketplace. Over at Thompson Farms, Larry Thompson told me that he and his longtime ( 20 years) farm manager Julie Pauls have opened the stands in Boring at S.E. 242nd at Bohna Park Road, and Sandy HWY 26 at the east end of town, with the first strawberries and an assortment of tender lettuces. Proud of the fact that they don’t use any fungicides and pestisides. He is fond of saying, “it is well known if you eat locally grown produce, it is much healthier for you.(Our) Produce is cut or picked that morning, goes right into homes right away and as you know there is a big difference in flavor ( and nutrition).” Web site: www.thompsonfarms.com . Check Thompson Farm’s crop update line at 503-658-4640


Liepolds Farm’s berry stand located at the crossroads of SE Kelso Road and SE Richey in Boring is set to open soon so best to keep an eye out. Other farms in the vicinity like Schedeens are listed at www.Tricountyfarm.org. ;you can find out from this farmers cooperative site which of their member farms has what and when all over the state . Call their “Ripe and Ready” line at 503-226-4112 and find out when Olsen Farms in Damascus has their Hood Strawberries ready. Sandy Farms can be reached at 503-668-4525 and will have berries. Call local Bushue Family Farm and see what they have ready at 503-663-6709.


Here is a salad, elegantly dressed our local fruit, candied local hazelnuts, and local honey!

FRESH FRUIT SALAD with Lemon Dressing and Hazelnuts

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8
4 to 6 cups fresh seasonal fruit ( berries, peaches, nectarines apples etc. )
Prepare fruit by washing, cutting into serving sized pieces if required. Arrange on platter ( dip apples in lemon juice until ready to plate) on fresh lettuce. Serve the Lemon Dressing on the side.

Lemon Dressing

1/2 cup whipping cream
1 8- ounce cup lemon yoghurt
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon orange liqueur ( Grand Marnier )
Or orange juice concentrate
In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks from. In another bowl, whisk together lemon yoghurt, honey, and orange liqueur. Fold in whipped cream. Chill. Just before serving fold in 1/4 cup Hazelnut Praline.

Hazelnut Praline
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts ( skins rubbed off)

Place sugar and orange juice in a one quart saucepan and swirl to dissolve sugar. Boil until the mixture turns medium caramel color, about five minutes( don’t leave stove). Stir in nuts and rapidly pour out onto a buttered baking sheet ( use a foil-lined buttered sheet). With a knife spread as thin as possible. The mixture will harden as it cools. When cool, break into 1/4 inch pieces or place in food processor to chop.

Two low-fat dips with unique crudites

Two low-fat dips with unique crudites are summer delight

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It's the middle of summer and most are settling into a more relaxed schedule . The heavy drapes on the windows have been long since been tossed open and the heavy foods of past seasons, discarded.

We are circling our lawn chairs around the barbecue and bellying up to the bar. Appetizer and snack bar that is.

Summer veggies are in all of the farmers markets. Pick some up as the Europeans do; just for now, just this meal. Go beyond blanched broccoli and carrot and celery sticks. Try tender, whole baby peas in the pod, sliced jicama and diakon, blanched cauliflower or baby romaine hearts as scoops. Arrange them on individual plates for easy nibbling as a prelude to your grilled meal. Texture and vitality await. Here are two options for low-fat dips that provide enough punch to get your family or guests through to the entree.

Mom's cottage cheese dip

• 1 small container cottage cheese ( large curd lower-fat)
• 3 Tablespoons cut chives or any fresh herb that marries well with garlic
• one fresh, large minced clove garlic
• dash of Tabasco ( optional)

Put all in blender, whirl until smooth and serve in small dip bowl with crudites or chips.

Piquillo pepper dip

• 1- 10 ounce jar Piquillo peppers, well drained
• 1 clove garlic
• sea salt to taste

Put all in blender, whirl until smooth and serve in small dip bowl.

Baked Apples with Brandy

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Pour a snifter of this sophisticated brandy from Brookings,Oregon and enjoy!

MMWinner

Baked Apples

All those apples left over from your Halloween apple bobbing contest? Try a simple baked apple with a twist. In Scotland they fill the apple with currant jelly. In France a bit of Calvados apple brandy poured over a raisin and bread crumb stuffing while baking is a dramatic ending to a meal.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we can use fresh apples right from the tree and any of the brandies made by Clear Creek Distillery or the family operation Brandy Peak distillery in Brookings, Oregon. Their Marc Brandy Muscat has a beautiful bouquet of citrus and cloves and they finish it in French oak barrels. Better to just offer a wave over the apple of this special brandy and pour yourself a snifter to enjoy with the baked apple!

Scottish Baked apples

• one apple for each person
• redcurrant jelly

Cut out the core of each apple and place on baking sheet. Fill the center with the jelly and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Apple is done when it is just soft.

Pumpkin upside down cake recipe

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Our summertime favorite pineapple upside down cake has gone the way of the lawn chair by now; forgotten in a dark corner. But for those of us that love the simple- for- company- cake; here is a fall version sure to please the hostess and those watching the waistline. Fruit purees are substituted for the butter and much of the sugar. Made in the oven it's even easier that the traditional one.

Pumpkin upside down cake

Ingredients:

• butter flavored PAM spray
• 2 Tablespoons apricot puree(use baby food)
• 1 1/2 cups drained crushed pineapple
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 15 pitted red cherries
• 15 pitted prunes
• 1 box Betty Crocker Lemon Sweet Rewards cake mix or other lower- fat lemon cake mix
• 2 tablespoons prune paste ( available in finer stores in the specialty section or whirl up 4 or 5 more pitted and stewed prunes in a blender until very fine.)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 6 egg whites
• whole walnuts
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons of dark rum ( flavoring may be substituted)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of a 13 x 9x 2 inch high baking pan with the PAM. Spread apricot puree evenly on bottom of the pan. Spread the brown sugar , pineapple, cherries, and prunes over the puree.Top with whole nuts.

In a bowl mix the cake mix, applesauce, prune paste, pumpkin,egg whites and 1/2 cup water. Mix for 2 -3 minutes. Pour batter over the fruit mixture in pan and bake for about 45 minutes. When cake is done, cook on rack for 10 minutes. Then place a tray over the pan and invert cake on to the tray to serve. Do not wait until cake cools to invert. Sprinkle liberally with rum or rum flavoring.

Serves 12

Kurt's baby backs with Asian BBQ sauce

Kurt's baby back ribs with Asian BBQ sauce

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No matter the season we've got a barbecue recipe for it! Based on ribs tasted at the 10th anniversary of the Ko Olina Taste at Kapolei in Hawaii recently, these Asian BBQ Baby backs are succulent slivers of falling- off- the- bone pork with a slight kick. I think my husband Kurt's rendition has the all of the fire and the caramelized goodness Chef Matt Small of Haleiwa Joes created.

Using the baby back cuts guarantees tender BBQ. The sauce is multi-layered flavors that marry well . Using local Huckleberry or Marionberry honey gives these a decidedly Northwest flavor. Try these for your next football gathering!

Kurt's baby backs with Asian BBQ sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 pounds of baby backs (serves four people)

Directions: Wash and pat dry ribs. Cut ribs into serving pieces. Place into large Pot, cover with water and simmer 45 minutes. Drain . Pour BBQ sauce over ribs and grill.

The sauce

Ingriedents:

• 2 cups of sherry wine( the good stuff)
• 2 cups local honey
• 2 star anise
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 8 cups soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 5 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sambal oelek ( Viet. chili sauce) or Sriracha Hot Chile sauce
• 1 1/2 cups peanut oil

Directions:

Mix all together. Best made a day ahead. May freeze extra ,as it makes a large batch.

Charleston Cookie a chocolate lovers delight

Charleston Cookie Company had a sweet surprise for me on our" IFWTWA 2010 Conference" cruise in the Caribbean recently. Returning to my stateroom after a late night of wine, stellar food and song I noticed the perfectly packaged cookie on my pillow tied with a bow and a note that said " Sweet dreams."

I'm addicted to chocolate but I am discerning. I pulled off the gold ribbon and took a small bite. The cookie was a soft chocolate sandwich of cake-like circles stuffed to it's edges with a ganache- type smooth chocolate filling. Although it was the wee hours, I immediately call the steward for a glass of milk. Somewhere in the south Atlantic near the Bahamas in my cozy Eurodam stateroom I sipped a cold glass of milk with a perfect cookie. Some things are just classics.
Visit www.Charlestoncookie.com for product line and availability. <>