COOK'S CORNER

Write to her at LindaCiceroCooks@aol.com.

Linda Cicero has been charmed and challenged by Cook’s Corner readers for 25 years. She began the column while food editor of The Miami Herald, and has continued it through family moves to Denver and Northern Virginia. ''I have no formal culinary training -- my college degree is in journalism -- but I came from a home where food was important, and by 13, I was cooking dinner most nights. Today, nothing makes me happier than gathering family and friends in the kitchen, reveling in the camaraderie as we chop and whisk away.''

Top Story

Cook’s Corner

Avocado the secret ingredient in silky vegan pesto

While I was visiting my daughter, a longtime vegetarian who recently went vegan, she served the best pesto pasta I’ve ever eaten. It was amazingly rich, and I could not believe it contained no cheese or heavy cream. The secret ingredient, it turned out, was avocado.

Cook’s Corner

Willard Scott’s brown-sugar pound cake a winner

Claire Miller lost a recipe she believed was from the Today Show for a brown sugar pound cake. Readers were quick to respond.
Cook’s corner

Making Chicken Divan with asparagus, not broccoli

Chicken Divan, basically chicken with almonds topped with a cheese and sherry-laced Mornay sauce served over broccoli, was first created in the 1930s in New York City, where it was the signature dish at the Divan Parisien restaurant. Since I never had the version at the Inca, the best I can do is adapt a favorite method of making the dish by substituting asparagus for the broccoli. If anyone has the authentic recipe I will happily pass it along. I found I actually prefer using asparagus, especially now when it is fresh and redolent of spring.
Cook’s Corner

Mercadito chef shares spicy short-rib recipe

With barbecue season upon us, chef Patricio Sandoval of Mercadito Midtown shares a recipe quite different from the usual carnitas. Succulent short ribs are slow cooked in a spicy “mole-Q” sauce, Sandoval’s take on traditional mole with a barbecue sauce edge. The restaurant serves the short ribs as a special with cauliflower and celery root puree and fried crispy leeks.
Cook’s Corner

Savory sauce distinguishes German stuffed cabbage

Heather Snyder, Seattle
Cook’s Corner

‘Fudgie’ request elicits two terrific brownie recipes

Diane Friedberg of Miami Beach asked if anyone had the recipe for brownies called Fudgies that her mother used to make from a Woman’s Home Companion cookbook she received as a wedding present in 1941. She remembered they were made with evaporated milk and had powdered sugar on top.
Cook’s Corner

Cook’s Corner: Finding a favorite dressing from Spiral

Kayla Friedman asked for help finding the recipe for miso salad dressing from the Spiral in Coral Gables, a pioneer health foods restaurant in the flower power era. Happily, many readers not only fondly remembered the restaurant and owner Mama Mango, but shared the recipe.
Cook’s Corner

Mystery solved: Pecan Crisps are deliciously nutty icebox cookies

Linda Michel of Perry, Ga., asked for help locating a recipe for cookies she tasted at a craft show that were called Pecan Crisps. She described them as “very thin with chopped pecans on top and very crispy, almost like a cracker. They were the color of honey and about 1/8 inch in thickness.”
Cook’s Corner

Margarita mix makes ‘outstanding and easy’ marinade for kebabs

Trish lost an “outstanding and easy” recipe from a magazine for kebabs flavored with margarita mix. Happily, reader Lauren Bracken had the recipe in her files.
Cook’s Corner

Brio shares recipe for popular penne pasta dish

It turns out you are not alone — it is one of the more popular menu items for the Northern Italian chain, which incidentally just opened its latest South Florida outlet at The Falls. I’ve adapted Brio’s recipe for home use.Q. I lost the recipe for tres leches cake that I cut out of The Herald many years ago. Is there a way to obtain it?
Cook’s Corner

Eat Well Foods founder shares beef bourguignon recipe

Mark Lew was only 36 when he had a heart attack followed by triple bypass surgery. A few years later, he had a stroke, and finally listened to what his doctor was saying about the importance of a healthful diet.
Cook’s Corner

Traditional hot cross buns full of fruit and spice

I rarely encounter hot cross buns the way I remember them, great yeasty yellow buns, highly spiced and chock-full of candied fruits and raisins. They were a memorable part of the Easter season in my childhood.
Cook’s corner

Adapting Rosa Mexicano’s Passover lamb

Rosa Mexicano, the Mexican food chain with locations in Mary Brickell Village and South Beach, is once again celebrating Passover by melding Jewish tradition with current culinary trends in Mexico. Monday through April 2 you’ll find menu choices that include matzoh balls made with poblano pepper, chipotle or marrow and tomato-jalapeno. Entrees range from veal shank with sweet oranges and chiles to lamb stuffed with quince and pomegranate.
Cook’s Corner

Make-ahead French toast ideal for houseguests

Hope P. asked for make-ahead recipes to make for cold-weary visitors coming for extended stays. We’ve received a few recipes to share, starting with Susan Barnes’ make-ahead French toast.
Cook’s Corner

Dad’s ‘money sauce’ a highlight of Keys fishing trips

Q. I am hoping you have an idea how to make the “money sauce” my dad used to make on fishing trips to the Keys. All I remember is it took fresh limes and butter and he’d pour it over any fish we caught. This goes back more than 50 years. My dad never cooked except on those trips, but it was the best dish I ever had.
Cook’s Corner

Cake-mix-based cookie recipe endlessly adaptable

Q. I lost a recipe for a chocolate cookie made with a devil’s food cake mix. Into the center of each ball of dough you seal a Junior Mint candy. They were absolutely delicious.
Cook’s Corner

Onetime Marcella’s baker shares garlic-roll recipe

We heard from several readers with fond memories of the garlic rolls at the late, legendary Marcella’s in North Miami. They were soft, yeasty and pleasantly afloat in a buttery, parsley- and garlic-infused oil.
Cook’s Corner

Tunnel of Fudge cake still a Bake-off favorite

Q. I was pleased to see the recipe in your column for coconut tunnel Bundt cake. I have been trying with varied success to make the Tunnel of Fudge cake that used to come as a boxed mix. Can you please print a recipe? It is my son’s favorite.
Cook’s Corner

Chicken recipe a 1982 Calle Ocho contest winner

D.D. Long asked for help finding the recipe for a dish her late mother made with rice, chicken, bacon, corn, peas and more that was layered and baked as a casserole. I couldn’t find a version that appeared in The Herald, but provided one translated from Spanish.
Cook’s Corner

Oh Hank makes good substitute for Oh Henry bars

Q. My favorite candy bar has always been Oh Henry, but I can’t find it anymore. Last week I was at a potluck at our church and one of the desserts tasted almost like an Oh Henry, but it was a bar cookie. I never figured out who brought it but I knew I could ask you and you’d find a recipe for me. I have been following your work for many years but never had a question before. By the way, I am from Chicago where the Oh Henry was first made.
Cook’s Corner

Arroz Campesino a variation on Cuban favorite

Q. My mom used to make a dish called Arroz Campesino from a recipe she clipped from The Herald. She’s been gone since 1988, and I lost the recipe. It contained white rice, chicken, chicken broth, bacon, canned corn, tomato sauce, peas, peppers and onions. It was definitely not arroz con pollo. It was layered and baked as a casserole.
Cook’s Corner

Frozen Key lime pie to warm hubby’s heart

Q. I had frozen Key lime pie at a holiday gathering. The hostess said she was sworn to keep the recipe secret. Do you have one? I’d like to make it for Valentine’s Day as my husband loved it.
Cook’s Corner

Sassy, jelly-sauced meatballs a classic

Q. I misplaced a recipe my mom had from The Miami Herald. It had three ingredients: Meatballs, grape jelly and one other item. Do you still have it?
Cook’s Corner

This Swedish meatball recipe has pioneer roots

Q. You write about foods from many countries. We are from Minnesota, where the Scandinavians have holiday traditions like lutefisk and lefse plus Swedish meatballs. Would you know someone who can help us with recipes now that we live in Hollywood?
Cook’s Corner

Going Greek: Leg of lamb in paper, brie in phyllo

R. T.’s mother used to make a leg of lamb baked in a paper bag for Christmas Eve. He believed she brought the recipe with her to the United States from her native Greece.