This is a nice autumn chicken dish from Hip Kosher, by Ronnie Fein. Chicken in the Pot with Pears, Dried Figs, and Cider 1 broiler-fryer chicken, cut into 8 parts; pat dry 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 large shallot, chopped 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger 6 chopped dried figs 1/4 cup golden raisins 1 tablespoon curry powder 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2/3 cups apple cider or home-style apple juice 2 pears, peeled, cored,and cut into large chunks Rinse and dry the chicken parts. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook the chicken, turning the pieces occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the skin is lightly browned. Transfer the chicken to a dish. Discard all but a film of fat from the pan. Add the shallot, ginger, figs,and raisins and cook for 1-2 minutes. Return the chicken and accumulated juices to the pan. Sprinkle it all with curry powder and cayenne. Pour in the cider. Turn the chicken pieces to coat them with the pan juices. Cover the pan,turn the heat to low-medium, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the pears and cook about 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice, couscous, or noodles. I am crazy about this salad. It would be nice in a fall menu. Keeps pretty well, so you can make it ahead, unlike most green salads. Kale salad For 4 servings 2 T olive oil 1 t lemon juice 2 t maple syrup 1 t Dijon mustard 1/2 t kosher salt Very scant 1/2 t red pepper flakes 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper 6-8 ounces kale (your favorite variety) 1/4 cup golden raisins 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts Whisk together oil, lemon, syrup, mustard, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a non-reactive bowl. You can do this a day ahead and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before adding to salad. Remove and discard the tough stems and center veins from the kale leaves (don't need to worry too much as you will be chopping it anyway). Cut the leaves crosswise into 1/2 inch wide strips. Put the dressing in your salad bowl and whisk well. Add the kale and toss to coat. You can either add the nuts and raisins now and toss (I do) or put the salad on individual chilled plates and sprinkle the nuts and raisins on top. And there is always this old favorite rice salad. Everyone always seems to like it, and the recipe serves a crowd (enough for your 14), and you can make it ahead. It's pretty, too. Rice Salad 2 boxes Uncle Ben's wild & long grain rice 1/2 c currants 1 can (minus a few you eat) honey roasted peanuts 2 peppers, one red & one yellow, diced 1 1/2 package frozen small peas (I just use regular size sometimes) 1 bunch scallions, chopped Cook the rice according to the directions for 2 boxes. I only use half of one of the seasoning packets. Okay to just use the peas frozen if you aren't serving it soon, otherwise thaw or cook a little and cool. When rice is fairly cool, mix with the rest of the stuff. Dressing (the recipe called for double the following amounts, but I thought it was way too much dressing -- I don't even use all of this half recipe) 1/4 c. honey 1/4 rice vinegar or white wine vinegar 1/4 oil (I used olive) 1 t. curry powder Mix, toss with salad, and refrigerate. Have fun!

Lisa, Some ideas from an "older" woman! Please take them in the vein they are offered, and do what you please. I'm not really that old, but I can get considerably grumpy at times, LOL. BTW, I just turned 50. The only baby showers I expect to be invited to anymore are for my son's wife if he ever has one, or one child of my very best friend. I know the idea of having the guests address their own thank-you envelopes is an idea that has taken off among the younger set - but seriously, as an "older person", I was shocked the first time it happened to me, and a bit offended, too! Reasoning - I've been invited, I've taken time to either make or shop for a gift, and the bride (in my case) or mother-to-be can't take enough time to write her own thank-you notes? Either thank me, or don't, but don't make me work for a thank-you note. I'd rather not have it. If you're going to be having a large number of older people, you may consider having (assigning) someone to fill out those envelopes, or have it done in advance, or just skip it. The older folks will be offended. And you or your daughter will all ready have the addresses if you've invited the people. Use a computer and print out the address labels in advance. Also, JMHO, favors are not necessary! I came for the party to "shower" the mother-to-be with a gift, and I really don't want a "thing" to take away. A thing means I have to store it, or use it, or pitch it - in other words, it puts an additional obligation on me. And a favor that is a food item will be left by more than 1/2 the guests - been there, seen it happen too many times. Save the money and start a savings account, LOL. If you absolutely must do favors, please, an unscented candle (I have asthma), wrapped in the tulle with a ribbon, but I don't want to have to throw out a plastic safety pin, diminutive bottle or other "baby" thing. And I will throw them out, and so will your guests! But I could possibly reuse the ribbon. I find it wasteful of both money and resources to stick little plastic things on gifts. I much prefer to be provided with a beautiful chocolate truffle to eat AT the shower - and one is enough. I LOVE, LOVE the idea of a clothesline on the wall to pin the outfits on!! I think that's brilliant! I also think the decorated onesies are a wonderful idea! Also great is the idea of having guests sign or draw on a quilt block. Have them all over-sized, with the freezer paper already ironed on. Draw the border, so they don't go into the seam allowance. Have fabric crayons or pigma markers ready, as well as some ideas for simple drawings from coloring books, or a list of "baby sayings" for them to write. As to the games - I'm not hard of hearing, but I also have little tolerance of shower games. I would not participate in a measuring of the mother's belly. I was 29 when I had my baby, and I was horrified when people at work wanted to touch my belly - and work people threw me a shower. Fortunately my DH worked at the same place, and he stopped them from playing that game. LOL. They still made me a fricking hat from all the ribbons, and insisted I wear it for a photo. I didn't like that either, but tolerated it with good grace. Bingo might be tolerable. Understand, all of these shower games started when it was giddy 18 and 19 year old girls having babies, and the people who attended baby showers were all the same age, and the only older people were the mums and grandmums. Friends of the parents didn't usually attend. They showed up AFTER the birth with a lovely blanket or outfit, several days after Mother and baby were home. So I don't know how old your DD is, and you have to consider both her and the audience. I was a good 10 years older when I had my first than my mother was. My sensibilites and preferences were too. Shower food - crudite and dip, fruit and dip, finger sandwiches if you wish, cake, punch, tea and coffee. Maybe a truffle. Please take this in the way I intend it - tongue in cheek for the most part, but also trying to save you some money. I would concentrate on nice food and drink, no favors, only one game at the most. Sit around! Eat! Open presents! Nothing more is required of a good shower. Hoping I didn't sound too grumpy, LOL. Mary

Congratulations on your first grandchild - the first one is always so special! I recently found a recipe website that I like a lot and they happen to have a baby shower feature that you might find interesting. I'm not exactly certain what types of foods you might want, but here are some sandwich ideas I might choose for an afternoon baby shower. I love appetizer type foods and think they're always nice to have a large assortment at a party so I've posted some favorite recipes. Wizardnm/Nancy's Cream cheese filling for wraps 8 oz pkg. cream cheese 2 green onions (white part and about 1 inch of the green part) 2 tbsp. dry ranch dressing mix 2 to 3 tbsp white wine (optional) Combine all in a food processor and process until smooth. Spread a couple tbsp of mixture on each tortilla. Fill using leaf lettuce, sliced deli meat of choice. A great cocktail pinwheel can also be made using the above mixture and the following. Olive and Green Chili Blend ¾ C chopped green olives ¾ C chopped black olives 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chili's Combine the olives and green chili's. Spread a tortilla with the cream cheese mixture then spread with olive mixture. Roll up tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hrs or longer. Unwrap and slice into pinwheels about 1 inch thick. During the holidays I like to combine cream cheese with a bit of cranberry relish, spread on a tortilla and place deli thin sliced smoked turkey on it. Roll up and refrigerate as above. Yummy! (Nancy) CREAM CHEESE SANDWICHES Posted by: Lindac (My Page) on Fri, Aug 16, 02 at 12:35 8 oz cream cheese, softened, add 2 oz blue cheese,2 tsp w'shire, a rounded teaspoon chopped parsley, fresh if possible,2 T sherry ( dry or cream) and 1/4 cup chopped pecans. 8 oz cream cheese, 2 tsp grated lemon rind, 2 tsp rosemary, chopped fine and a couple of squeezes lemon juice to make it spreadable. Cream cheese with a can of tiny shrimp, drained and seasoned with grated lemon rind and horse radish. Date nut bread spread with cream cheese. MARILYN'S HOLIDAY DEVILLED EGGS Pink and Blue for this shower, I would think! Posted by: DanaIN (My Page) on Sat, Jul 5, 03 at 10:04 Place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Cover completely with water and add a large amount of salt, 2 tablespoons and about 1 tablespoon vinegar. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, keeping covered and allow to sit undisturbed for 25 minutes. Drain water and plunge eggs into ice water. If coloring eggs, for each color bring about 2/3 cup of water to a boil. stir in about 1/4 teaspoon vinegar and food color as desired. Carefully drop in cooked egg white and leave it in the water until it reaches the color you want (color will become more intense out of the water). Drain well on a rack until cool, fill as desired. Also, I got my egg plate at Walmart for about $3 I think! If you be sure to put a few drops of vinegar in your hot water with the food color, you will get darker eggs. Cool completely before peeling and remove yolks. Mash yolks and stir in other desired ingredients (Miracle Whip, mustard, pinch of sugar). Fill eggs (using a pastry bag) with yolk mixture and garnish as desired. Posted by: cookingrvc (My Page) on Sun, Nov 7, 04 at 12:49 Had a lot of eggs in the fridge, and a fair amount of cheese, so I put together a crustless quiche in a 13x9 pan. This one was good, I must say. They key is finding the perfect ratio of eggs to cream, which I think I've nailed. As long as there are 1 1/2 cups cream (I guess you can use milk, although I haven't used it straight yet) to 4 large eggs, it is foolproof... Measurements are approximate. I just make sure that the fillings substantially fill up the baking dish before the liquids are added. Can make ahead and refrigerate. Remove from fridge and let sit for 30 minutes before heating in 200° oven for 30 minutes. Large Quiche 4 1/2 Cups cream 12 Eggs Salt & Pepper 1 lb bacon - crisp 1/3 lb ham (I had sliced, but you can get the ham slabs and cut into cubes) 1 large onion - chopped 8 oz swiss - grated 4 oz. goat cheese - crumbled 5 oz. cheedar - shredded Preheat oven to 350° Mix eggs, cream, salt, and pepper - set aside Fill baking dish with fillings. Pour egg mixture over filling. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until center is set. "Sweet Sausage Puffs" Vivian31 1 pkg cocktail sausages 1 can (10) biscuits Preheat oven to 350 Roll biscuits flat, cut into quarters, roll 1 cocktail sausauge into it and seal edge. Please seam side down in a greased baking dish. Sauce: 1/2 c. butter 1 c. brown sugar 1/2 cup fine chop pecans 2 tbsp. water Melt butter, add brown sugar, pecans, water, bring to boil. Pour over top of sausage rolls and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. PARTY SHRIMP SPREAD Posted by: Ruthanna (My Page) on Mon, Oct 7, 02 at 17:07 2 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese 1 cup cocktail sauce 1 1/2 cups (1 lb.) cooked baby shrimp 1/3 cup chopped green onions 1/3 cup chopped green pepper 1/3 cup sliced ripe olives 1/3 cup diced fresh tomatoes, drained 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and/or mozzarella On a pizza pan or large, flat round tray, spread the cream cheese evenly. Spread the cocktail sauce on top. Sprinkle the shrimp, green onions, green pepper, olives and tomatoes onto the cocktail sauce. Distribute the Parmesan cheese evenly over all the other ingredients so it looks like a pizza. Cover and chill until serving time. Serve as a spread with crackers. Posted by brenda55 (My Page) on Thu, Dec 28, 06 at 15:37 I know, most are familiar with the cream cheese topped with the Raspberry Roasted Chipotle Sauce. I was served a recent appetizer where the cream cheese had actually been blended with the Raspberry Roasted Chipotle Sauce and then topped with toasted pecans. It was very good and relatively quick and easy

I know it is somewhat starchy too, but halved, baked acorn squash would be good. Bake upside down till the last 20 minutes, and fill the cavity with butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper and a dash of cinnamon and return to the oven. Acorn squash are so nice in the fall. How about an easy apple crisp for dessert with a scoop of ice cream on the side?