Q: Pardon me for bothering you again but I haven't heard back about my request in February for the recipe for the brisket at Epicure in Miami Beach. I am an older person and live far away, and it is becoming very difficult for me to get there.

Bertha Niven,

West Kendall

A: We appreciate patience from readers with pending recipe requests. Much as we'd like to, it's not possible to fulfill every request, nor to respond to them personally.

When a request arrives for a recipe from a restaurant, market or bakery, I send an inquiry asking if the chef is willing to share. Even if the answer is yes, the process can take months as we adapt the recipe for home use and send it on for nutritional analysis. Unfortunately, in many cases the answer is no, or there's no reply at all.

Epicure, which has provided many lovely recipes for Cook's Corner readers over the years, no longer responds to requests. But don't despair. Despite its strange ingredients, the brisket recipe here is my favorite and has been a hit with the many readers who have tried it since we first published it in 1995.

It's from a butcher shop in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, called Mister Brisket whose owner, Sanford Herskovitz, not only gave us his recipe, but a primer on the cut:

• A brisket is composed of two parts, the point and the flat. Looking at the fat-covered side of the meat, the point looks like a hump. The flat looks flat and sits under the point.

• A whole brisket is best for ``taste, tenderness and texture,'' Mister Brisket told us, though most supermarkets sell prepackaged first-cut brisket (the flat portion only). This cut ``has a tendency to turn out shrunken and dry because it lacks the fat,'' which he leaves on for cooking and removes before serving.

DELICIOUS DIP

At my Great Aunt Thelma's 90th birthday celebration -- she's a leap year baby, so she's had only 22 actual birthdays -- my second cousin Heather gave me an onion dip recipe I knew Cook's Corner readers would love. It tastes so good it will never get past the diet police, but it's a great indulgence. I might add a few drops of hot pepper sauce or some stone-ground mustard next time to take it up a notch.

Q: I've misplaced my recipe for Turtle Cake. You start with a chocolate cake mix.

Gina Hodson

A: I first made this back in the 1960s. It's a sweet, chocolate and caramel overload that's easy to make. What's not to like!

CORING PEPPERS

Beth Gledhill of Macon, Ga., sent two great tips after reading our recipe for jalapeño poppers. (Find it at MiamiHerald.com/food; click Recipes and scroll down.) She lightens them up with low-fat cheese such as Laughing Cow, chopped mushrooms and vegetarian sausage. And instead of buying a special ``chile twister'' tool, she ``figured out years ago that my rounded, pointed-tip vegetable peeler works perfectly to core and remove seeds and membranes from the average size jalapeño.''

MAKING FRUIT PIE

Nell Carlton, an Alabama reader, writes that using tapioca as a thickener for fruit-pie fillings makes them glossier and more flavorful because it holds more juice than cornstarch.

For those unfamiliar with tapioca, I'd add that it has no flavor. You can sometimes find instant tapioca. If your store only carries tapioca pearls, simply grind them in a food processor to a fine powder. When you make your filling, stir the powder into the sugar first to prevent lumps, then add the fruit. You need to cook the filling and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes before pouring it into the crust to bake.

SLEUTH'S CORNER

Q: The Rock Beach Grill of Pembroke Pines had the best clam chowder I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, it has closed. Is there any chance of getting the recipe?

Kathleen W.