Fred Zackheim reminisced about the Tivoli Restaurant on Sunny Isles Boulevard, where he and his wife went on their first date 21 years ago.

``On the table when you sat down was a bowl of fresh vegetables with a yogurt mustard garlic dipping sauce. I have tried to recreate this dip with no real luck.''

Happily, Judy Feinman and Susana Brown responded with copies of the recipe clipped from The Miami Herald in 1984.

''The Tivoli Restaurant holds very good memories for our family,'' Brown wrote. ``We celebrated many joyous occasions there. I even rented the entire restaurant for the reception of our son's bar mitzvah.''

I've reduced the yield, but this recipe still makes quite a bit, so you may want to cut it in half. I used leftovers on baked chicken breasts -- just slathered it on for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

What makes the dip distinctive -- and pricey -- is Moutarde de Meaux Pommery Mustard. Available at gourmet shops and online retailers, it is considered the premier French mustard. Meaux, about 40 miles west of Paris, is the capital of the Brie region, and has been a center of mustard making since Charlemagne's time, when the king is said to have asked monks to cultivate mustard as an herbal remedy and to mask the taste of spoiled food.

Q: My aunt's mother used to make dulce de toronja, ''sweet grapefruit.'' It is made from the white skin of the grapefruit, and is sweet and bitter -- delicious. Would you or one of your readers happen to have a recipe?

Eva

A: I'm at a bit of a disadvantage because you don't say where your aunt's mother was from. I've had what was called dulce de toronja in Latin America. It was much like the candied grapefruit peel used in fruitcakes, and was sold as candy. If that's what you're looking for, there are readily available recipes for candied grapefruit peel.

I've read about a Cuban dessert called dulce de toronja that is like the more familiar guava shells in that wedges of candied grapefruit are served with slices of cream cheese. I could find no recipe in my cookbooks, so I got the one here from a friend's mother and translated it into more familiar terms.

If readers have further insights and other recipes, we'll be happy to pass them along.

Q:Help! I have been so irresponsible as to lose my Cow Pattie recipe. It was two big chocolate chip cookies smooshed together with a frosting center. And I need it ``yesterday!''

Ruth in Ohio

A: Unfortunately, there is no way for me to help with recipes needed ''yesterday.'' It takes a minimum of two weeks for me to receive a request, research and test a recipe and send it to editors, who then route it to a dietitian for nutritional analysis and put it in the newspaper. If you read Cook's Corner in a paper other than The Miami Herald, you can add at least another week to the process.

That said, here's a recipe to use next time you want to make Cow Patties. For those unfamiliar with the term as used in baking (and not for when your boot comes down in the wrong spot in a pasture), cow patties are big sandwich cookies.

While the request mentions chocolate chip, I've seen these made with all kinds of cookies. Whatever kind you choose, the filling recipe will hold them together.

SLEUTH'S CORNER

Q: Does anyone remember the pound cake made from the recipe on the butter flavoring bottle? I wish I had written it down but I guess I thought it would always be there. I don't think you can even buy the butter flavoring Mother used to use anymore.

Erin Keniston,

Huntsville, Ala.

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