INGREDIENTS:

• 3 medium zucchini
• 12 small-to-medium tomatoes
• 1/2 of an onion (It will be sweeter with yellow, but red work just fine.)
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Thinly slice the first three ingredients.
2. In a flat casserole dish, first spread out the zucchini, then the onions, and finally, the tomatoes.
3. Pour the melted butter over all of the vegetables.
4. Sprinkle basil evenly over top.
5. Cover with foil, then cook at 400-degrees for 45 minutes.
6. Then, remove the foil, add the cheese, and return to the oven for 15 to 20 more minutes. The veggie bake will be done when the cheese is melted and the edges start bubbling.

THIN MINTS

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter or margarine until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until mixed well. Beat in egg and mint extract.
2. Sift flour, cocoa and salt together into a small bowl. Add flour mixture by halves into creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
3. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into two 1 1/2-inch diameter cylinders. Wrap each cylinder in waxed paper, and refrigerate 5 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thirty minutes prior to baking, place both cylinders in freezer.
5. Remove one cylinder at a time, and slice 1/4 inch thick pieces with very sharp knife. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Melt 1/4 cup butter or margarine and the semisweet chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Drizzle over warm cookies. Place on wire racks, and let cool until completely hardened.

TREFOILS

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar plus additional amount for topping
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

1. Cream butter and the cup of sugar together.
2. Next, add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt and baking powder.
3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes (or any shape for that matter), and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired.
5. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

SAMOAS

Ingredients:

• Tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Karo light corn syrup
• 1/2 of a 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups toasted coconut
• 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
2. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil for 3 minutes, while still stirring constantly.
3. Slowly pour in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228 degrees.
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
5. Spoon by tablespoonfuls into circular mounds onto buttered wax paper. Flatten slightly. With the end of a wooden spoon, poke a small round hole into the center of each cookie.
6. Cool completely.
7. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies. Let chocolate harden at room temperature.

ZUCCHINI BREAD

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

Directions:

1. Combine eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
2. Sift the flour, salt, baking toda ,cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda into the oil mixture.
3. Next, stir in your zucchini.
4. Grease two loaf pans and evenly pour your batter/dough into each one.
5. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Chef's secrets: If you don't have pumpkin pie spice readily available, you can substitute 1/2 tsp. cloves and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. To check doneness, stick a toothpick into the center of one of the loaves. If it comes out clean, your zucchini bread is done.

Mashed Cauliflower for Two

Ingredients

1 package frozen, organically grown cauliflower (or 1 small, fresh head cut into florets)
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted, sweet cream butter at room temp
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, warmed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper (or garlic salt & pepper) to taste
Any other traditional potato toppings like butter and chives to taste

Directions

Follow the directions on the package to cook the cauliflower, or if you are using fresh cauliflower boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain cauliflower and return to pan. Add the cream, butter, olive oil and blend with hand mixer or potato masher. Add vinegar and continue blending until it is a smooth, mashed potato texture. Like mashed potatoes you can play with the amount of cream to reach desired consistency.

I was really impressed with the way these turned out, and the white wine vinegar is a little secret adds an interesting kick of flavor (I started using it when making regular mashed potatoes). When mashed and blended right you wouldn't even know the difference between the cauliflower and potatoes if you hadn't cooked it. I have seen recipes where a little bit of mashed potatoes are added for texture, but these don't need no stinking dried potato flakes. Happy, healthy eating!

When I tried the signature polish dill pickle soup at The Fountain on Locust, it was love at first slurp. They use a potato base and fresh dill pickles to make the creamy and chunky soup and the combination of flavors reminds me of my favorite potato chip - Dill Pickle chips. The folks at The Fountain were gracious enough to allow our cameras to raid their kitchen to find out how they make their super soup - a customer favorite.

To learn how they make their Signature soup, click on [tab:trav_video] to watch General Manager Barb Schulz prepare a pot.

Polish Dill Pickle Soup

Ingredients

8 cups vegetable stock
4 cups cubed potatoes
4 coarsely grated dill pickles
1/2 cup milk
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 tbsp flour
10 tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with dill & a dollop of sour cream to serve

Directions

Combine vegetable stock and potatoes in a covered soup pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook covered over low heat until potatoes are soft. Do not over cook. Add pickles and cook 15 more minutes. Blend the soup with a stick blender to slightly smooth but leave chunks of potatoes. Heat butter and whisk in flour to make a rue. Add hot soup to rue then combine then add mixture to the soup pot. In a small bowl, beat milk and sour cream until smooth; stir in a small amount of the hot soup to temper. Slowly whisk sour cream mixture into soup. Add salt and pepper to taste; garnish with dill and sour cream to serve.

The Fountain on Locust has a variety of interesting and unique dishes besides their dill pickle soup, including a peanut soup and a grilled cheese sandwich that is all grown up. They are located at 3037 Locust Street in Midtown and they open Tuesday through Saturday at 11am.

JAMBALAYA

Ingredients:

• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 cup lean ham, diced
• 1 cup chicken, diced
• 1 large onion, shopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 cups of beef bouillon
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• 1 pint oysters

Directions:

1. In Dutch oven, sauté sausage, ham, chicken and vegetables in oil for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and rice, then bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Add oysters with liquid, stir and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Chef's secret - My fam substitutes shrimp for the oysters. You put them in when you would normally put the oysters in, and you cook them a short time until they change color.

Purple, green and yellow beads not included.

A pile of crispy chips smothered in cheese is enough to call a dish nachos, but when it's Super Bowl Sunday an extra punch to that plate of tortilla chips is necessary roughness. Whipping up a plate of the chicken nachos from Pujols 5 for your Super Bowl soirée is sure to kick your spread up a few notches. To see the Executive Chef at Pujols 5 put together the restaurant's hit appetizer check out [tab:trav_video]. Here is the basic step-by-step instructions for making their nachos:

Ingredients

Refried black beans
Tortilla chips
Roasted corn salsa
Dominican Chicken (similar to this recipe, but leave out the rice)
Shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
Optional: pico de gallo, sour cream, green onions, roasted hot salsa, jalapeños.

Directions

Spread black beans on bottom of plate, add tortilla chips. Top with chicken, corn salsa, and cheese. Put in microwave for 4 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Pop in the toaster oven (if you have one) for an additional minute. Top with whatever you like. Chef Casillas recommends pico de gallo, sour cream, black olives, green onions and a side of roasted hot salsa. Add jalapeños if you wish.

While we don't have the instructions for DeeDee Pujols' chicken recipe we do know that her secret spice is an achoite powder that you can get from a Mexican grocer. Happy snacking!

Which is why I take my healthy cereal in the form of these Raisin Bran Muffins. They're so simple that even I can make them, and I have yet to meet someone who doesn't love them. Ladies and gentlemen, mix your muffins!

Ingredients:

• One 15 oz. box of Raisin Bran cereal
• One cup Crisco
• Three cups of sugar
• Four eggs
• One quart of buttermilk
• Five cups of flour
• Five tsp. of baking powder
• Two tsp. of salt

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together. (Cereal, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.)
2. Mix eggs, Crisco and buttermilk all together in a separate bowl.
3. Take both mixtures and combine.
4. Now that the batter is made (really tough, huh?), store it in a sealed container in the fridge.
5. When you're ready to make some muffins, fill a greased muffin pan two-thirds of the way full with the muffin batter. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then enjoy! This recipe should make five dozen muffins.

"Chef's" secrets - These muffins keep incredibly well. A week later, they'll be just as moist as the day you made them. The batter also keeps well. If you don't want to make all five dozen at once, because let's face it, muffins are better fresh and warm, keep the mix and make a few at a time. Also, to make your muffins a bit more raisiny, feel free to add another half cup of raisins into the mix. That's what we do.

After graduating from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, St. Louis native Billy Parisi returned home to begin his culinary career. The 1999 Eureka High School graduate earned his culinary stripes within two short years serving as Sous Chef at Cardwells and moving on to Executive Chef at Wildhorse Grill and Gerard's in Des Peres. Parisi was quickly becoming known as one of the rising stars on St. Louis' food circuit. He decided to leave the local restaurant biz though and headed to Mizzou where he completed a major in communications and a minor in Spanish, but he stayed in touch with his culinary roots by frequently cooking at the university's Alumni Club (where he also won the title of "Iron Chef Missouri") while attending classes.

What do you do with degrees in food and communications? It seemed a no brainer for Parisi and fellow Mizzou grad Thatcher Kamin. In December 2008 they decided to start the website FixMyRecipe.com, where users submit those recipes that need some fixin'. You know those recipes, the ones that could be great if... Parisi accepts recipes kitchen cooks all over, when he feels like he has the recipe fix he and Kamin film a webisode when Chef Billy demonstrates the fix and they put it up on their site. Parisi says, "I enjoy this so much because it combines my two loves, cooking and communications."

Parisi and Kamin run their company and the site from Chicago, IL but they are getting national attention since launching a "widget" that media companies are putting on their websites. While FixMyRecipe.com is getting a lot of the attention, Parisi is involved in other media ventures as well. As the Executive Producer at Chicago based Taste Media Group, he has also had a chance to work on videos and commercials with client such as Bebe women's clothing. For a quick intro to what FixMyRecipe.com is all about and to see what Parisi has been up to since leaving our neck of the woods, check out [tab:video].

Instructions
1.    Soak four 12−inch bamboo skewers in water 10 minutes; drain.

2.    Meanwhile drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine pineapple juice and hoisin sauce in small bowl. Place steaks in food−safe plastic bag. Pour 1/4 cup hoisin−pineapple mixture over steaks; turn to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes to 2 hours.

3.    Alternately thread pineapple chunks, bell pepper pieces and onion wedges onto skewers. Place in glass dish; brush 1/4 cup hoisin−pineapple mixture on kabobs. Cover and marinate in refrigerator up to 2 hours.

4.    Remove steaks and skewers from marinade; discard marinade. Place steaks and kabobs on grid over medium, ash−covered coals. Grill steaks, covered, 10 to 14 minutes until steaks are medium rare to medium doneness and vegetables are crisp−tender, turning occasionally.

5.    Meanwhile combine remaining hoisin−pineapple mixture, apricot preserves and lemon juice in small saucepan; cook and stir over medium heat until hot. Serve steaks with kabobs and sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro.

So, because I'm really in the Christmas spirit today, I'm now going to share my family's secret hot fudge sauce recipe with you. We're talking about a recipe that my mom has been making and handing out to our friends and neighbors for over 20 years. People love it so much that she even gets requests for this sauce year-round. It took a lot of convincing on my part because my mom wasn't exactly "willing" to part with her recipe, but after convincing her that none of you would publish it once you figured out how incredibly amazing it is (she might kick my...), I now give you:

THE HOLADAY FAMILY'S SECRET HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Ingredients:

• One package of Ghirardelli chocolate chips (the Semi-Sweet ones)
• Two 14 oz cans of Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
  
• Two sticks of butter
• 2 1/2 cups of light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Fill the bottom pan of a large double boiler up half way with water, and put on stove top, which should be set to "3."(If your stove has 10 settings. If not, adjust accordingly. Work with me here - I'm writing this from a non-cook's perspective.)
2. Dump all the ingredients in the top pan of the double boiler. Literally.
3. Heat while stirring with a spatula until all of the butter and chocolate chips are liquified. This should take about 15 minutes.
4. For the next half hour, let sauce thicken. Continually stir the liquid with a wire whisk, and keep on the same heat setting. If you see a crust on the top of your fudge sauce, you're not stirring it enough.
5. Let the sauce cool for about ten minutes, or until it is easy to handle.
6. Ladel sauce into pretty glass jars. (Makes 10 small jars or 6 large jars.) NOTE: Leave lids off the jars for a couple of hours until the sauce is almost completely cool. Otherwise, you'll get condensation in your fudge, and nobody wants that.

This sauce is best enjoyed if you heat it and drizzle it over peppermint or vanilla ice cream. Or you can do what I do and eat it out of the jar with a spoon. You're choice, and you can thank me later.

• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 4 slices sweet onion (1/2-inch)
• Vegetable oil
• 8 slices Swiss process cheese food
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Dijon-style mustard
• 4 crusty rolls, split, toasted
• Romaine lettuce
• Tomato slices

Method

1.  Lightly shape ground beef into four 3/4−inch thick patties.

2.  Brush onion with oil. Place patties in center of grid over medium, ash-covered coals; arrange onion around patties.

3.  Grill, uncovered, 13 to 15 minutes to medium (160°F) doneness, until patties are not pink in center and juices show no pink color and onions are tender, turning occasionally.

4.  Season with salt and pepper after turning. About 1 minute before patties are done, top each with 2 cheese slices.

5.  Combine mayonnaise and mustard; spread on top halves of rolls. Serve burgers and onion in rolls with lettuce and tomato.

We all know that drugs are bad (mmm...kay) but evidently many of us are partaking in the illegal use of margarine in our humble state on a daily basis. A 19th century Missouri law makes it illegal for yellow colored margarine to sold in the state. I feel the need to confess my crime; as evidenced by the picture at the right I am a daily yellow margarine user. Luckily for me, a Missouri lawmaker recently announced that she is making it her mission to strike this law from the books in 2009. If she succeeds we can breathe a sigh of relief as we will no longer need to be closet yellow margarine users.

I knew the political process was important for some reason or another (I probably should have paid more attention in that civics course), but this really shows me that the lawmakers are on my side.

Here is a recipe that gives a St. Louis original treat a face-lift that has the added benefits simplicity, using easy to find ingredients, and won't monopolize your evening.

St. Louie Gooey Butter Cookies

Ingredients

8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package yellow cake mix
1/4 cup confectioner's or powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the cream cheese and butter in a medium sized bowl. Add egg and vanilla to creamed mixture. Add cake mix - stir until well blended. Roll dough into 1" balls and then coat the balls in powdered or confectioner's sugar. Place dough balls 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks. (Makes about 30 cookies).

Got a cookie recipe you want to share? Feel free to leave it in the comments.