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I first tasted Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing at The Mustard Seed restaurant in Missoula, Mont. I can’t recall anything else from the menu, and I ate there often, but the salad dressing was memorable. I would go there just to have the salad. I’ve had this recipe for so long, there is no paper trail as to where I found it, but I’m glad I did. This delicious blend of fresh ginger, toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce fancies up almost any salad or vegetable, so you can use it to perk up a plain main dish. The one essential piece…

It’s just about 2012. About a year ago I called Brian to see if he wanted to go to lunch. We met at the Metropol Bakery down on Willamette St., had a quick visit and a sandwich. As ever, we made jokes about practically nothing and laughed. We had done that, off-and-on for about 37 years. The next time I talked to him, he was in Seattle, getting ready to photograph Bill Russell for Sports Illustrated, the next morning. It was the third to the last time I talked to him. When I look back at 2011, a lot of not-that-great…

"The Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas was one of the first cookbooks I bought; followed quickly by "The Vegetarian Epicure: Book Two." After I used both with some regularity for a few years, they slipped to an out-of-the-way spot on my cookbook shelf, barely noticed - except for twice a year. Right before Thanksgiving, and near Christmas or New Year's, I search them out for the Liptauer Cheese recipe. Of course, I often forget which book I use, because between the two books, there are three recipes for Liptauer Cheese. The preferred recipe is in the second book, and Thomas calls…

The first time I ate Shepherd's Pie was after a flight that had been delayed by snow. Gathered around the table at our friends' cozy house in the north of England, nothing could have been more perfect for that cold January night. Since then, our version of Shepherd's Pie that we call Reindeer Pie has become a winter staple. The recipe is a take-off on Rudolph Pie found in the book "Feast: Food to Celebrate Life" by Nigella Lawson. Shepherd's Pie is really supposed to be made with lamb and Cottage Pie with beef, but we won't quibble. Reindeer Pie isn't…

Mincemeat: The very thought of it is enough to make you shudder. What’s in there? And most importantly, does it really contain meat? The answer to the meat question is: It depends. It used to have meat because it was a good way to use up those leftover meat scraps and bits no one knew what to do with. I asked a group of women about mincemeat. One, originally from Wyoming, said her mother used to make it. When asked about the recipe, she said, “Well, first you have to get some venison.” A recipe that begins with the application for…