The Savoury Bread Pudding was the most fun I had with any of the recipes. I prepared it for the Annual Ground Hog Day Martini Bowl (bowling and then a post-bowling martini party! – hey! What else do you have planned the weekend before Ground Hog Day???). It was put out on the second round for the buffet, and not surprising, everyone thought – "oh, bread pudding… dessert!" Instead, they were surprised with this pudding’s savoury, rich warming flavors… . And, apparently delighted by the thought that bread pudding isn’t just for dessert anymore.

I used good sourdough bread, and portobello, shiitake and cremini mushrooms in the filling. For my seasonings, I used the thyme, but only 1-tablespoon of sage and then added one tablespoon of finely chopped rosemary. I do like that combination. I hand grated the Gruyère, using my Cuisipro double-edged hand grater. This is the third Cuisipro grater I’ve gotten by Accutec (my sous chef is one of their distributors). They are incredibly easy to use, they go right into the dishwasher, the blades are sharp and this particular one does double-duty grating in both directions.

There are so many terrific things that come out of this recipe, I’m not sure where to begin. First, the sauté of leeks and mushrooms with Madeira is so lusciously intoxicating and aromatic. I would use this recipe as a guide for any kind of savoury side dish – as an accompaniment to garlic mashed potatoes, or beef, or to be added and used with a Mushroom Vinaigrette over a white, mild fish, such as halibut.

To test for single-serving portions, I placed the pudding in 7-ounce ramekins, and baked for about 40 minutes. Once the cheese was melted and browning on the top, I checked for doneness with a cake tester. The Savoury Bread Pudding with a salad tossed in a hearty dressing would be a delicious meal. And, the best discovery of all, the pudding reheated and served beautifully.

To reheat, I first brought the pudding to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then covered, I put it back into a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. I removed the aluminum foil, and finished cooking for about another 15 minutes until the cheese bubbled and begin to crisp again.

In a completely different kind of dish, bubbling cheese and a crispy topping made the Deluxe Mac 'n Cheese so appealing, I understood why the authors called it an "adult version." Kraft Macaroni and Cheese this is not. This dish is all about the subtle goodness of real cheddar cheese, and the balance of a well-seasoned dish.

I used standard elbow macaroni and Montgomery Cheddar for the base. Using an old French country loaf that I have been saving in the refrigerator for breadcrumbs, I tossed chunks of the bread, along with the herbs, aged Parmesan that I had grated, and pine nuts into the food processor. I whizzed that all up to make the crumb topping, and rather liked the result. It left little chunky bites of pine nuts, which I thought was more appealing than the whole nut the recipe suggests. Best part of this all was that I had far more topping than I needed for the dish, so I popped the extra into the freezer. It went double duty a week or so later as the crusted topping for my Chilean Sea Bass.

After I indulged, I took the Mac ‘n Cheese into my office. Everyone said the same thing. "This is more of an adult version." And then they ate it ALL.

My final recipe for the Edition was the Sensitive New Age Sloppy Joe. This is a phenomenal recipe in that it serves as a delicious, magnificent platform from which a lot of cooking will come.

First, the recipe calls for firm tofu, pressed. While no instructions are given for "pressing" the tofu, I used a method Judy Rodgers teaches in her Zuni Café Cookbook (incidentally, a must have for your cooking library). Line a sieve or colander with a dampened and wrung-out cheesecloth. Place the colander in a bowl, then place the tofu into the colander. Bring the ends of the cheesecloth up over the tofu. Place a plate on top and weight with a heavy can. Refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.

Well, I didn’t have 8 to 24 hours to press my tofu, so I followed the above instructions, only used my heavy copper pots as weights. I let the tofu press while I set all the other ingredients in place. While there was still some moisture in the tofu, I proceeded with the recipe, and let the tofu cook for the entire duration of the cooking process, until the moisture had evaporated, and the tofu was browned as called for in the recipe.

Having done that… unless I was serving this meal to a vegetarian, I wouldn’t use the tofu again. But, I wouldn’t hesitate to use ground beef, ground turkey, ground veal, ground pork… any kind of ground meat would marry deliciously with this recipe.

As for the 2 cans of pinto beans? Again, for a vegetarian meal, great. But next time, with the addition of meat, I’ll stop after one can.

The sauce is PHENOMENAL. It is exactly what I think I want to taste when I taste a "sloppy joe." A little heat (I used 2 jalapenos, instead of the 3 called for), but not so much that the sweetness and smokiness of the sauce is masked. This dish was too good to share! I enjoyed it open-face over toasted sourdough bread; I ate it for lunch over a salad with some shredded cheese and lime tortilla chips, for a sort of taco salad; and twice for dinner -- once served over brown rice, and then again, served over a baked potato.

I would make the sauce as a barbque sauce for ribs and for chicken; as a base for a Mexican-styled rice, and certainly for pork barbque. If you hail from Pittsburgh, and are addicted to chipped ham, THIS is the sauce for chipped ham barbque sandwiches.

I love recipes that inspire my creativity, and with the continued deluge of precipitation and cold weather, what else is there to do? These recipes have all found a permanent home in my recipe collection, and with their component parts, a permanent home in my cooking repertoire. I hope they have found a similar place in yours.