LindaC has a good recipe, lots of people here like it. Some people use the cake recipe and skip the buttermilk glaze. I haven't used this recipe, but it gets rave reviews: Carrot Cake - Lindac 3 eggs 3/4 cups vegetable oil 3/4 cups buttermilk 2 cups sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 2 tsp Baking Soda 3/4 tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 TBSP of flour Buttermilk glaze 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup butter 1 TBSP light corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 cup softened butter 4 oz softened cream cheese 1 tsp vanilla 3 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp orange juice 1 tsp grated orange rind Preheat oven to 350 With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins. Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting. Buttermilk glaze: In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake Cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powdered sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake. Annie

I just made a batch - they are addictive little things aren't they. And don't chew on the side with the loose filing!! I got three tubs of them - one goes next door tonight for dinner, the other for Christmas Eve with the kids, and one for me. I used margarine - only because I tend to actually follow a recipe the first time. I imagine butter would work as well, since that's what I usually (once before) make carmel with. I mixed it in a big pot and used two cookie sheets with thay non-stick aluminum foil. I took them out every 15 minutes and turned the Cheetos over with two spatulas. When they were done, I took one pan out and put half on one of my many "spare" cookie sheets and spread them out. I put the rest back in the oven. That way they didn't cool off too fast. Once one cookie sheet was done - I took the two sheets cooling out onto the porch - it's cold out today and broke apart any that were still sticking together. I did the same for the second sheet in the oven, it worked well. Now, every cookie sheet I own is dirty - but not to worry, my 36" single bowl farm sink holds them all lying flat. They'll be clean and dry in a jiffy. I knew I got that sink for some reason! Have a wonderful Christmas.

Isn't it wonderful that we all can make our own choices according to our own tastes?! And no one is right or wrong. I laughed when I saw your list of pineapple and dairy mixtures, Linda...bleh! I wouldn't eat any of them. Back in the olden days when people actually ordered banana splits, the one thing I never could abide was pineapple sauce on the ice cream! And coconut cream isn't dairy in my book, but not really a Pina Colada fan either. But I do love a fresh, ripe pineapple! Maybe it is regional...where I live there are so many fresh, local ingredients, many from the sea, and a real foodie culture, so you're right....beef stew would likely not be served for a company meal (regardless of the fancy French name it could be called); crepes might be served, not as a dessert, but maybe as a main dish or breakfast. Not much flaming of food these days. Back in the 1970's when I lived in a more rural area where people raise their own beef, so they eat much more of it, beef stew might have been something we'd have eaten (but still probably not for a company meal). Come to think of it, that's when carrot cake was at its most popular in my cooking life, too. Likely not what you'd find around here these days. Things seem to be focused on lighter fare, fresh ingredients, more veggies, fewer sauces, etc. But I'm sure I'd enjoy a beef stew dinner with crepes for dessert, if I were your guest. I'd pass on the ambrosia!

Colleen, thanks for that reminder. I have squash in the fridge that I need to use up and I'm thinking maybe a custard type dessert, minus the crust. Grandma used to bake pumpkin pie in custard cups because I never wanted the crust, so I'm thinking that might be the way to use up that leftover squash. I used to use the Libby's recipe, but I've found a 4 egg pumpkin pie from Genius Kitchen and that's become the family favorite. I've also found that squash or sweet potatoes make a reasonable substitute, and so I quit growing pumpkins and use that space for something else, like butternut squash. I can purchase the "sugar pie" pumpkins at my local farmer's market, if I decide that's what I want. Since the "great pumpkin shortage" a couple of years ago, I quit using canned pumpkin at all. Annie