Thanks for all the tips. I just finished decorating the cheesecake with strawberries -- they are overlapping circles of strawberry halves. I loved the idea of the cut-outs for the pies, but since I don't have any letters (except my kids refrigerator magnets ;-) -- ), I just a heart in the top of a couple of the pies. (The cook-off is at a church with the name "heart" in it ) - a little corny to make the hearts so I only did a few. The pies are in the oven. I also grabbed a couple of bandanas we had in the dress-up box to see what I can do with those. Now, I only have to worry transport ... thanks for all the ideas! I'll let you know how it goes.

This is overwhelming. I've read through the recipes - wow - so many yummy burgers to try - esp. Mexican burger, chicken, tuna, and a good old-fashioned classic cheeseburger has never looked as good as many of the ones right here. Here are the recipes for the Pacific Rim Burger and Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro. My motto is "you can never be too rich, or have too much cilantro." By the way, this is my third time trying to post this - the internet has disconnected midway. So third time's the charm: Pacific Rim Chicken Burgers With Ginger Mayonnaise Recipe #65297 This recipe came from Kristine Snyder, Kihei, Hawaii, and was the $25,000 grand prize winner in the National Chicken Cooking Contest. by Sharon123 4 servings 25 min 15 min prep 1 1/4 lbs ground chicken 2/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 green onions, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon asian hot chili sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce 4 teaspoons honey 4 hamburger buns with sesame seeds, split and toasted 4 leaves red leaf lettuce 1 cucumber, peeled,seeded,halved and thinly sliced lengthwise Ginger Mayonnaise 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger 2 teaspoons lime juice 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt MIX chicken, panko, egg, onions, cilantro, garlic, chili sauce and salt in a large bowl. With oiled hands, form into 4 patties. Mix together teriyaki glaze and honey in a small bowl. In large nonstick fry pan over medium high heat, place 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and cook, turning and brushing with teriyaki glaze, about 10 minutes or until done. PLACE burgers on toasted buns and top with lettuce, cucumber and Ginger Mayonnaise (recipe follows). Garnish with additional cilantro and cucumber slices. Ginger Mayonnaise: MIX 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish, 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 clove garlic, minced and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. My notes: omit the salt. The teriyaki sauce already has plenty. And one cup of teriyaki/honey mixture is way more than you need. I used less than half. The recipe also makes more ginger mayo than you need, but it's delicious on fish and other things. Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro: 2 lbs. waxy potatoes (like red bliss) scrubbed kosher salt 1/2 cup evoo 1/2 tsp. fine grated lemon zest 3 tBS. lemon juice fresh ground pepper 1/2 cup lightly packed chopped cilantro 2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced (or 1 shallot minced) Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of salted water. Then lower to simmer. Cook, partially covered, until tender when piecered with a fork - about 25 minutes. Drain and let cook slightly. While the potatoes are warm, slice them about 1/4 inch thick (no need to peel, but discard pieces of skin that come off on their own). Put half the potatoes ina large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon zest and juice, 1 tsp kosher salt, and several grinds of pper. Drizzle half the dressing over the potatoes. Add the remaining potatoes to the bowl, drizzle the rest of the dressing, and toss gently with a large rubber spatula to combine well. Add teh cilantro and scallions and toss gently again. Taste and add more salt as needed. serve warm or at room temperature. I better submit this before it disappears. Thanks Michelle for putting this together. Lynn. PS okay I'm tempting fate by continuing to type, but I have to mention that the idea of having oil on your hands when forming the chicken patties was fabulous. It gave the patties just enough oil to bind them and protect them in cooking. Anyone else ever heard of this technique?

Even after living in Texas for 30 years, I still enjoy my Yankee chili over Texas chili. Surprisingly, a lot of my Texas friends have given my chili "thumbs up"! YANKEE CHILI SOUP 1 ½ to 2 pounds ground beef or ground pork or ground veal or a mixture of one, two or all (I like to use about 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork) 1 whole sweet yellow onion coarsely chopped 4 to 6 cloves of garlic finely chopped 2 large cans chopped tomatoes 1 or 2 cans Rotel tomatoes & green chilies 2 cans red kidney beans (drained) 1 large jar of Spicy V-8 juice ¼ cup cumin ¼ cup chili powder 1 whole jalapeno or can use any dried hot pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, either flakes or ground Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste Olive Oil Heat olive oil in a large pot and put in the yellow onion and cook till tender, then add the garlic and cook for just a few minutes so it wonÂt turn brown and burn. Put this onion-garlic mixture aside into a bowl. Then add the ground beef or ground veal to the pot and brown. After it has browned, add the onion-garlic mixture into the ground beef, stir and then add the remainder of the ingredients. Heat over a medium burner until it is hot and then turn down to medium low or low and continue cooking. The longer it cooks, the more flavor it has. In fact it is best if refrigerated overnight, and then reheated the next day either on the stove or in a crock-pot. Serve with crunchy French bread. This will serve about 8 large bowls of chili. Linda

I dunno, Francy, I just wipe with a sponge and blue dawn -- but the best is plain old BAKING SODA. Sprinkle it on the counter, take a damp sponge and wipe, no problem-o. Lightens the stone right up and you cannot get more eco-friendly than baking soda. I'll try to take a picture after the pizza we are having tonight drips oil all over the counter - LOL. Will post later. Where in the Bay Area are you???? I get out there to teach once in a while.