From our kitchen

Southern Living, Oct 2000 by Hurst, Andria Scott

The Scoop on Mirlitons

Purchase mirlitons (also called chayote squash, vegetable pears, and mango squash) during the fall and winter months. Look for those with pale green or apple-green skin, although the colors can range from cream to dark green.

Choose very firm, unblemished mirlitons with skin that is fairly smooth to slightly edged, avoiding those with prickly skin. They range in weight from 1/2 pound to 2 pounds. The smaller ones are generally the most tender.

Cook mirlitons (they don't taste good raw) like you would summer squash. The fruit's firmer texture requires longer cooking times; however, the firmness makes it a better choice for stuffing.

Store lightly wrapped mirlitons for up to a month in the refrigerator. Don't discard the large edible seed. When boiled, it has a flavor somewhere between a lima bean and an almond. For mirliton recipes, see page 172.

On Tap

Whether you're pairing beer with food or simply looking for a good thirst quencher, here's help in making the selections. Assistant Foods Editor Scott Jones gets you cooking with beer (see "A Toast to Oktoberfest" on page 168). He has found that ales are more like red wines and lagers are more like white wines. While there's a broad range of styles between the two, ales and lagers dominate the market shelves.

Lagers are light and probably the most food-friendly style of beer at a tailgating party. Lagers have more carbonation than ales, so they are considered more refreshing thirst quenchers. They're great with spicy foods such as salsa and chips. Most of our basic American beers are lagers--ambers, reds, hocks, and pilsners.

Ales are usually robust, complex, and can be slightly fruity. Varieties of ales include barley wines, amber and red ales, bitters, pale ales, porters, and stouts.

Wheat beers, or weisen (as in Heffeweisen) are brewed with lots of wheat. They are unfiltered, full-flavored, fruity, and yeasty. These flavored beers don't fit into the ale or lager categories. Flavored beers come in a wide variety and can include everything from cherry and raspberry to chocolate. It's probably wise to buy these types as single bottles until you decide what kind you like.

Tips and Tidbits

* Several of our readers have been looking for ham-flavored bouillon or concentrate to add more depth of flavor to foods without adding fat or calories. The brands that we use for testing purposes are Goya and Knorr. You'll find these located near the chicken and beef bouillon in the soup or seasonings section of your local supermarket.

* We tried a new baking sheet by Doughmakers, Inc. that we like very much. This brand of baking sheets and pizza pans was developed by a couple of moms to yield baked goods that are "perfect every time." A pebbled surface allows excellent air and heat circulation and even browning. The pans are solid aluminum so they don't rust. Doughmakers' large variety of pan sizes means that you'll find something to suit your baking needs. Pans range in price from $10 to $25. Call toll free 1-888-386-8517 or visit www doughmakers.com.

Sold on Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes lend themselves well to almost every cooking method; however, microwaving the vegetable hinders them from developing their maximum sweetness.

These sweet spuds contain more vitamin C than white potatoes; but they have about the same calorie count. They also are a great source of vitamin A. Store sweet potatoes in a cool, dark place--but not in the refrigerator. Extra large sweet potatoes may be fibrous and stringy. For smooth pies and casseroles, run cooked potatoes through a food mill to remove the strings.

Andria Scott Hurst

AT MARKET

* Pick up some persimmons. If they're large and round with a pointed base, they are Hachiyas (Japanese persimmons). Hachiyas should be soft when ripe. The small, tomato-shaped ones are Fuyu. These are still firm when ripe. Whichever you see, buy a few to try. If they're not completely ripe, put them in the freezer. The cold makes them sweeter. Freeze whole persimmons or the pureed fruit for up to a year.

* Pomegranate seeds may be frozen up to a year. Extract the juice by cutting the fruit in half and squeezing it like an orange; or process seeds in a blender and strain the juice. Use the juice in salad dressings, sauces, marinades, and desserts.

* The large variety of pears gives you options-- soft, juicy, and mellow; crisp, juicy, and sweet; or hard, slightly dry, and tart. Peel pears for cooked dishes, because the skin gets tough and turns dark with heat.