Q: Ten or more years ago, I ate at the Crab House in Boca Raton. One of the side dishes was the best rice I've ever eaten -- it had a sort of roasted pecan flavor. Any chance of getting the recipe?

Debbie Kitchens, Perry, Ga.

A: There are many variations on this theme, and since there no longer is a restaurant by that name in Boca Raton, I had to guess at how it was prepared.

Some cooks insist on wild rice, some use a blend of white and wild, others say only basmati or jasmine will do. Onion or leeks, garlic and bay leaf are often included. You can add sautéed mushrooms, carrots or another vegetable. I also love adding dried fruit such as cranberries, apricots or raisins. Seasoning is a matter of taste as well.

The best version I remember tasting was in Louisiana, where a dose of Cajun tri-pepper seasoning and thyme complemented the nuttiness of the pecans. This is a wonderful potluck dish, particularly if you use vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian.

Q: Some time ago, you printed a recipe for apple cake using a cake mix and canned apple pie filling with a crumb topping. It was one of my husband's favorites. I lost the recipe! Can you please reprint it?

Joan in Miami

A: Those ingredients are common in what is ingloriously known as a ``dump cake.'' It bakes up more like a crisp than a cake, and is delicious warm with ice cream or whipped cream. You can use any flavor cake mix and pie filling or fresh fruit tossed with sugar. My favorite is spice cake with peaches, mangoes or apples, but I'm also fond of chocolate cake mix with cherries. Some recipes only use one can of pie filling, but I find that skimpy.

Q: I'm looking for the recipe for blue cheese dressing from Len Berg's restaurant here in Macon. The dressing was a bright orange, almost like a French dressing, but it was blissfully blue cheese. The restaurant closed a while ago but we old timers still miss it.

Susan Kaplan, Macon, Ga.

A: I'd always thought this eccentric blend of French and blue cheese dressings was a Carolina thing. I've only encountered it at the home of a friend from the Low Country who told me she'd learned to make it from her grandmother. (She also confessed that when pressed for time she added blue cheese crumbles to Kraft Catalina dressing.)

The dressing is quite sweet, which makes a nice contrast to the tangy blue cheese. It is an acquired taste, but if you like your tea sweet and know what makes a good chess pie, you'll enjoy this dressing. I hope it comes close to the restaurant version you remember.

SLEUTH'S CORNER

Q: Please, please, please can you secure for me and many others the recipe for Corky's Thousand Island dressing? I have not been able to duplicate it either from scratch or by mixing bottled dressings.

Robin Steinmetz, Plantation

Q: While attending UM in the mid 1980s, my buddies and I would frequently have lunch at LB's Eatery, where Titanic Brewery is now. We would always start with the ``zucchini zips with dip,'' a simple but unique and tasty dish. We have often talked about how we have never again found anything similar. Can anyone help us with the recipe?

Ricardo Mayo Jr.

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