Recipes

Pea salad recipe - I need your help. In 1968, I received a pea salad recipe from a woman I knew in the military when my husband was stationed at Castle AFB in Merced. I have lost the recipe and am hoping someone else has it.

Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian. It usually involved Birkenstocks, lentil loaf and an agenda.

At heart, a quesadilla is pretty much a Mexican grilled cheese. Take a tortilla, stuff it with something savory, add some cheese, fold it in half and toast it. It's also pretty delicious.

The fish stays moist and looks lovely when presented in this light broth. To complete the meal, it would be easy to toss in a small amount of blanched fresh peas, snow peas or haricots verts.

Any kind of figs will work in this recipe. If the figs are small, you may want to cut the pancetta into smaller pieces. You may also use Parma or serrano ham, or bacon.

In a large bowl, combine the ground sirloin and ground chuck. Mix it together, being careful not to overwork the meat

Recipe from Alison Ladman of the Associated Press

Recipe from the Associated Press.

Prep time: 2 hours, including refrigeration time for chicken (some overlap with cook time)

A good appetizer any time of year.

In a food processor, combine the parsley, oregano, mint, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the red wine vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and the lemon zest and juice.

Use black or green figs, as you like. If using dried figs, soak first in hot water to soften.

Stephanie Witt Sedgwick, a free-lancer for the Washington Post, says all-American potato salad – loaded with mayonnaise, sour cream and diced, hard-cooked egg – used be her standard.

Spring is the perfect time to make this dish; it's when locally grown celery shows up at farmers markets. Regardless of the season, use the freshest celery you can find – and don't be shy about adding lots of parsley to finish. From Emily Horton.

Dan Gannon goes about his work as a farmer as if his feet are planted firmly in the 19th century.

While many people are chomping at the bit to bite into their first sun-ripened tomato, herb lovers aren't looking that far ahead.

I was hoping someone had the recipe for the brown enchilada sauce served at Pauncho's, Kico's, Luis's Jr. and La Mission. I think all of these restaurants are related in some way and maybe they all use the same recipe. It's the best sauce for enchiladas. Thank you.

Butter lettuces are a great match for this tart dressing, but anything in the chicory family – escarole, curly endive, frisée – would also pair well.

This Guy Fieri recipe remains one of the longtime favorites on Johnny Garlic's menu. It's just so darned cute – and tasty, too. Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri and the Food Netw

This knockout shrimp cocktail is another Guy Fieri favorite at Johnny Garlic's. The bright-red chili threads and odd-looking lotus root slices (the eye-catching garnish with holes) make for a dramatic presentation. Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri and the Food Network.

"Top Chef" watchers: Think all the way back to Season 9. The cheftestants were hot and grumpy in Texas. Paul Qui won, and one chef seemed to get off more ornery one-liners than the others: Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia in Louisville.

Buggy Whip dressing- When my favorite steakhouse, the Buggy Whip, closed last year, I was devastated.

Inspiration to use empanada dough for this indulgent, free-form tart comes from Southern Latina cookbook author Sandra Gutierrez. It's flaky, easy to manipulate and buttery. You can substitute two ready-to-use rounds of pie dough for a super-quick and easy ham and cheese tart.

Time for a confession. As a child, I never once celebrated Mother's Day. My parents thought the holiday was nothing more than a cheesy excuse to sell greeting cards, and who was I to argue? But after I became a mother myself? Oh. My. God.

Opulence is the theme of the day with this decadent combination of smoked salmon, tarragon and heavy cream.

This is an easy crust for novices because it's made in the food processor. Shortening does not melt as readily as butter and makes for a more forgiving dough; here, a combination of the two is used.

Don't let the lighting procedure in this recipe scare you. It is dramatic and you'll find it fun once you've tried it.

This salad is a great use for leftover chicken, and it makes a wonderful dinnertime salad on a hot summer day. The recipe is from the California Fresh Apricot Council.

Apricot tart brûlée from the Los Angeles Times.

The best way to serve cobbler is warm from the oven with a splash of cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

These skewers, which work as starters or a light meal, take advantage of apricots' ability to complement savory foods.

Recipe from Catherine Enfield, whose blog, Munchie Musings (www.munchiemusings. net), is a partner with Sacramento Connect.

About five years ago, I found a rub recipe in The Bee for pork spareribs. It was called "Ray's rub for ribs." I think Ray lived in El Dorado County. I have since lost the recipe and was hoping someone else saved it. Thank you.

This carrot cake is redolent of almonds and lemon, without the usual cup or so of oil that many American carrot cake recipes call for. If you use yellow carrots, it's exceptionally pretty.

A lunch or light supper dish that's a favorite of cookbook author Deborah Madison.

To add a little heft while keeping things meatless, cook a cup of small pasta shells in boiling salted water, then drain them and add to the peas.

Green and white, sprightly and clean, this is a rustic dish that can practically be a meal. Reserve the spinach crowns to use in another dish or steam them, dress them with olive oil and pile them over the rice. If you prefer brown rice, try brown basmati. Forbidden black rice is another delicious alternative.

Sacramento Bee photographer Hector Amezcua shares his tips for making red and tomatillo salsa. "My family calls the red salsa 'salsa ranchera,' " he said.

Recipe from Emeril Lagasse at www.foodnetwork.com.

Here's the go-to recipe for guacamole by one of Sacramento's most popular proprietors of tacos, Lisandro "Chando" Madrigal. He recommends using Roma tomatoes, which are less juicy than others, for this recipe.

Here's a typical carne asada marinade used by Lisandro "Chando" Madrigal, the proprietor of Chando's Tacos, when he's grilling at home.

Gnocchi pasta can be found in three sections of the grocer – the freezer section (along with the frozen ravioli), the pasta aisle (where they are packaged in shelf-stable containers) and alongside the fresh pasta in the refrigerated case.

It doesn't get much more springlike than a grill, a bunch of asparagus and a light lemony dressing. And this dressing is lemony: Add more olive oil if you wish to tone down the tartness.

In a large bowl, combine a hefty pinch of salt, some black pepper and the lemon juice.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Coat the rack with cooking spray.

To make a fromage blanc Bavarian, first you need to make the fresh white cheese. Commercial fromage blanc also is available from such sources as Sonoma County's Cowgirl Creamery.

This Bavarian (actually a variation on cheesecake) can be made in one deep 6-inch springform or similar cheesecake-style pan or, as the student chefs demonstrated in Robert Mason's class at the Institute of Technology, with 4 individual pudding molds. The student chefs also made their own fromage blanc (see recipe at left).

My relationship with my pressure cooker has been a rocky one. I blame the way we met.

We received a wide variety of bread recipes that call for beer as an ingredient. Elaine Snell of Fair Oaks shares this recipe, which contains jalapeño and pepper Jack cheese, giving this bread a little kick.

Most folks know Memphis for its barbecue and Philly for its cheesesteaks, but how about Nashville and its hot chicken?

Starchy, crunchy and flavorful, fried rice is a deeply satisfying dish no matter what you add to it. And you can add just about any vegetable or protein you care to name, fresh or left over.