The favorite recipes of celebrity cooks - Date With a Dish

Ebony, Oct, 2002 by Charlotte Lyons

Pineapple
Upside-Down Cake

  Butter
  Sliced, canned pineapples,
  drained
  Jar of cherries, drained
1 cup brown sugar
1 box yellow cake mix

Butter cast iron skillet. Arrange
the sliced pineapple on bottom of
skillet. Put a cherry in the middle
of each pineapple. Pour the brown
sugar evenly over pineapples.

Prepare cake mix as directed on
package. Pour cake batter over
pineapple mixture. Bake cake
according to direction on cake
package.

Yields 1 cake

Regina Belle

Regina Belle is a mother of five and has been married to former NBA star John Battle for 12 years. She cooks daily for her family and often tells the story about how her husband told her he could not marry a woman who can't make Sweet Potato Pie. Belle developed, along with her husband, mother and pastor, a "Feed the Homeless" program, which is hosted once a month at her church, Little Vine Baptist in Atlanta, which feeds 1,500 homeless people. The program began originally in Belle's home kitchen.

Regina Belle's Key
Lime Pie

2   short bread pie crusts
10  limes
2   cans condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup tequila or rum
1   medium egg
1   tablespoon vanilla extract
8   spearmint leaves

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the short bread crusts until
lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
Let the crusts cool for 20 minutes.
Combine the juice from 10 limes,
condensed milk, sugar, tequila, egg
and vanilla in medium mixing bowl
until well-blended. Pour mixture
equally into browned pie crusts
and bake for 20 minutes. Cool the
pies for 20 minutes. Garnish with
the spearmint leaves.

Yields 2 pies

Emmanuel Lewis

"Cooking is a hobby of mine. My mother is a great cook. My great-grandmother and grandmother were great cooks. When I would come home after taping Webster, I'd love to experiment in the kitchen, learning to cook all kinds of cuisines. I hope you enjoy my Seafood Delight."

Emmanuel Lewis'
Seafood Delight

1   medium onion, quartered and
    sliced
1   medium red and yellow bell
    pepper, seeded and sliced
    into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and
    cut into strips
1   yellow squash, sliced
1   carrot, cut into thin 2-inch
    strips
2   medium potatoes, peeled and
    sliced
    Seasoned salt and pepper to
    taste
4   tablespoons butter or margarine,
    sliced
    Red Snapper, Grouper or
    Mahi Mahi filets*
    Large shrimp
    Scallops
1   teaspoon dried thyme to taste
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
    Seasoned salt and pepper
1/2 medium onion, quartered and
    sliced
2   tablespoons chopped parsley
    Lemon wedges

Line large baking dish with foil,
leaving enough foil to seal dish.
Arrange the 1 onion, red, yellow
and green bell pepper strips,
squash, carrot and potatoes in bottom
of foil-lined dish. Sprinkle
with seasoned salt and pepper.
Place butter slices on vegetable
mixture. Season your choice of
seafood and fish with thyme, garlic,
seasoning salt and pepper. Arrange
seafood and fish mixture over vegetable.
Arrange 1/2 onion slices
over the seafood and fish mixture.
Seal foil. Bake at 350 degrees until
seafood and fish is done, about 25
to 30 minutes. Serve seafood and
fish on bottom with vegetables on
top. Garnish with parsley and
lemon wedges.