I'd love to see your filling recipes. The Apple Crisp I make is a little different: APPLE CRISP (serves 6-8) 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 TBL flour 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 TBL grated orange zest 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I use more) 1/2 tsp nutmeg Pinch of salt 1/2 cup butter, melted 4 large tart apples In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, nuts, brown sugar & granulated sugar. Stir in the orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt, then blend in the butter. Lightly butter a 13x9" baking dish. peel, core & thinly slice the apples. Place the slices on the bottom of the dish & scatter the crumb mixture over the top. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45 minutes.~~The Maine Collection PEAR CRISP (serves 6) 6 ripe Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, sliced 1 TBL lemon juice 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats 1/2 cup brown sugar Place pears in a greased 2 qt baking dish. Toss pears w/lemon juice, cinnamon & nutmeg. In a bowl, combine flour & butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Add oats & brown sugar. Stir well; sprinkle over pears. Bake in a preheated 375° oven 20-25 minutes or until browned & pears are tender. Serve w/ice cream or whipped cream.~~Food for Thought RASPBERRY ALMOND SQUARES 2/3 cup blanched whole almonds 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar 1 egg, separated 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup raspberry preserves Using a processor with a steel blade, process the almonds until finely chopped but not powdered. Or finely chop in ablender or by hand. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar & brown sugar. Beat in the egg yolk & vanilla. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon & salt. Stir into the creamed mixture, blending well. Press the dough into a lightly buttered 14x11" jellyroll pan. Spread the preserves evenly over the top. Beat the egg white until frothy & brush over the preserves. Sprinkle w/the almonds & gently pres into the preserves. Place in the center of a preheated 350° oven & bake 30-35 minutes or until the edges are browned & the center is almost browned. Remove from the oven & immediately loosen the sides with a spatula. Let cool in the pan 40 minutes, then cut into squares.~~Our Town Cookbook APRICOT BARS 1 2/3 cups quick oats 1 2/3 cup flour1 scant tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 stick butter, melted 10 oz jar apricot preserves Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 15x10x1" jellyroll pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, salt & brown sugar. Add the butter & mix until crumbly. Pack 1/2 the mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Spread the preserves evenly over the mixture. Sprinkle remaining mixture evenly over the preserves & pat down gently. Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.~~Gator Country Cooks

darch --> If you didn't know, I came to cooking forum via the Kitchen forum. We just finished remodeling a 1948 adobe house in the SF bay area. With a lot of guidance from the folks in the kitchens forum, we ended up with soapstone counters and a vintage inspired tile backsplash. The breadknife is the offset breadknife from f.dick. Cheap enough and really really good. I use it for everything --> from crusty bread to cake :)

I'm just the opposite, actually. I really like meat and fruit together. It all began with the old Chicken and Apricot of how-many-years-ago! The combination still works well. Of course, pork with apple sauce has always been a winning combination, but you can use pears, rhubarb, peaches, raspberries or even passionfruit with equal success. I am reminded of my first husband, who was shocked and stunned the first time I served him a hot meat with salad on the side. Hot and cold together? NEVER! According to him. He died a tragic death soon after his 25th birthday, so he wasn't around to be subjected to my later culinary explorations. (I wonder what he'd have said if I'd served him flowers??) I guess, as with all things, it's what you're used to - but the meat/fruit thing really broadens your horizons in such a delicious way! Pork Chops with Rhubarb 500g rhubarb, cut into chunks 4 tablespoons butter 4 large pork chops 2 tablespoons flour salt and pepper 1 tablespoon honey pinch cinnamon 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Boil the rhubarb for 5 minutes, drain. Melt the butter in a frypan. Dip chops in the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, and fry gently in the butter until cooked through, turning once. Transfer to a serving dish and keep warm. Add the rhubarb to meat juices in the pan, stir in the honey and cinnamon. Cook gently, stirring frequently until rhubarb is tender. Serve pork and rhubarb together, each chop garnished with a little chopped parsley. (According to the sweetness of the rhubarb and your own taste, sweeten the rhubarb with more honey, or use Angelica stems, or sharpen it with a little lemon juice.) Raspberry Chicken 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup butter 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup raspberry vinegar 1/3 cup cream 1 cup fresh raspberries fresh mint sprigs, for garnish Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Fry 5 minutes on each side in melted butter. Remove chicken, add onion and saute until tender. Replace chicken, add vinegar and cook, covered, 5 minutes. Remove chicken; keep warm. Reduce heat to low, add cream and 3/4 cup of the berries; heat, stirring gently. Spoon sauce over chicken and top with remaining berries. Garnish with mint sprigs. Pork with Brandied Peaches 4 pork loin chops or steaks, excess fat removed flour, seasoned with salt and pepper 1 egg salt and pepper breadcrumbs oil for frying Secure chops in a round shape with toothpicks. Roll in flour, dip in beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs. Heat oil and fry chops until golden brown, turning occasionally. Serve with Brandied Peaches. Brandied Peaches: 150g can peach halves 1/3 cup brandy 4cm cinnamon stick Place peach syrup in a saucepan with the cinnamon, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon, stir in brandy. Add peach halves and heat through gently. Veal With Orange 4 veal steaks, 1cm thick 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 large oranges 2 tablespoons dry sherry salt and pepper Heat butter and oil and brown veal quickly on each side. Cook for a few minutes, then flame with heated sherry. When flames die down, place steaks on a warm dish. Add the juice of one orange to the pan, boil to reduce a little, season with salt and pepper. Peel and slice remaining orange and add to the dish. Heat through. Serve steaks garnished with orange slices and with sauce poured over. Mango Chicken (1) 1.5kg chicken pieces 1/3 cup oil 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 cloves garlic, crushed salt and pepper 1 cup mango slices Heat oil in frying pan; add chicken pieces and brown. Pour off fat and add soy sauce to chicken. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low until almost tender. Add mango and cook 10 more minutes. Heavenly Meatballs 250g chuck or blade steak 1 cup canned, drained pineapple pieces 1 large onion, 3/4 cup syrup from pineapple salt and pepper to taste 1 egg 1 dessertspoon cornflour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon sherry 1 tablespoon soy sauce snipped shallot greens Mince the steak and onion together, add salt, sherry and lightly beaten egg, form into balls and coat lightly with cornflour. Fry in deep, hot oil until browned. Pour off oil, add pineapple syrup and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in pineapple pieces. Mix together cornflour, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir into pan and simmer, stirring for 2 minutes. Add shallots and simmer another minute. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Must be a good year for Blueberries. Plenty available and good prices. After you make the BBCrisp and want to try something else, make this: BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK CAKE *** * 1 cup all-purpose flour * 1/2 teaspoon baking powder * 1/2 teaspoon baking soda * 1/4 teaspoon salt * 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened * 2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided * 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract * 1 large egg * 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk * 1 cup fresh blueberries (about 5 oz) Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. * Or 9inch square pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter berries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate. ***I changed the name to BB Breakfast Cake because I found it makes a tasty quick breakfast. After baking I slice it and keep in a Tupperware container in the fridge. Give a slice a couple seconds in the MW and it is gooood. I'm going to try Marygailey's BB Crisp. I still have a lot of BB's. Note to Self: put Mayo on shopping list, almost out; put VANILLA IC on same list. Sue