Well, actually, they ain't OUR recipes, but we DID give these folks some awards. See, in a sad attempt to get some kind of response from The Listener ©, Bones D'Ivory and I had these recipe contests. These are the wons that one.

Our most recent recipe contest resulted in the usual finish: one entry, one winner. And that winner is JONNA RAMEY of Salt Lake City, Utah. I sampled this pound cake, and it rocks. (No Mormons were harmed in the creation of this recipe). And now, heeeerrrreee's Jonna!

Hi Smitty, Here is the best, most fail-safe pound cake recipe I know. I've used it for years. It's from Maida Heatter, the goddess of baking.

East 62nd Street Lemon Cake

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound (1 cup) butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup milk

Finely grated rind of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9x3 1/2 inch tube pan and dust it lightly with flour.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Grate lemon rind and set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs individually, scraping the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula to keep mixture smooth.

On lowest speed, alternately add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the milk in 2 portions, scraping the bowl with the spatula as necessary and beating only until smooth after each addition.

Stir in lemon rind.

Turn batter into prepared pan. Level top by rotating pan briskly back and forth.

Bake for 1 hour. If you use a convection oven, test at 45 minutes, it could be done.

Let cake stand in the pan for about 5 minutes and then cover with a rack and invert. Remove pan, leaving cake upside down. Place over a large piece of aluminum foil or wax paper and prepare glaze.

Glaze

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

The glaze should be used immediately after it is mixed.

Stir the lemon juice and sugar and brush all over the hot cake until absorbed.

Let cake cool completely.

Use two wide metal pancake turners or a cookie sheet to transfer it to a cake plate.

Do not cut for at least several hours (for glaze to percolate throughout the cake).

>> printer-friendly version of this recipe <<

The winner of the contest was the only person who entered...ANGELO ROSSI of Woodside, California. My unindicted co-conspirator Bones d'Ivory and I made it, ate it and declared it the best. Hey, what else could we do?

Ms. Stachs Peach Cobbler Shuffle (Key of B) Recipe deluxe!!

CRUST

The crust is made first so.... start with

1 &1/2 cups of regular flour,

3 teaspoons of baking soda

and 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

Sift this together 4 (FOUR) times then add

1 (one) cube of unsalted butter or margarine,

(Smitty sez: Nobody in my house had ever heard of a "cube" of butter, but by checking similar cobbler recipes, we determined it to be a stick or 1/2 cup)

soften and blend this into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. Now add 1/2 cup of milk to the mix & blend together. This is the all important crust so take care to follow this recipe to the hilt....if it appears too dry add a little more milk.

(Smitty sez: "Is your butter too hard, daddy?" Here's a neat trick I learned from Nathalie Dupree. Preheat the oven to 425 like it'll say below. Put that stick of butter in the 9x9x2 pan you're gonna make this thing in, and stick it in the preheating oven. Keep an eye on it, and two things'll happen. Your butter will soften, and your baking dish'll be greased up. Easy, huh? Hey, who loves ya?)

PEACH COBBLER

Next, use a 9" X 9" X 2" deep, baking dish for cooking purposes. You will need 6 or 7 whole peaches, drop the peaches into boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Next, pour cold water over the peaches and peel the skin off of the peaches. Now you must slice the peaches and place the slices into the buttered (PAM works too) baking pan. Depending on the sweetness of the peaches use anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar and sprinkle the sugar over the peaches. Now sprinkle 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over the peaches. Next use approx. 3 - 4 shakes of Nutmeg...do not go crazy with the Nutmeg boys..you know 3 -4 pinches..this is where we separate the men from the girls!!

Next, melt 1 to 2 Tablespoons of butter and pour the butter over the peaches.

PUT THE TWO TOGETHER

Spoon the flour mix over the fruit. It is O/K to leave open spaces between spoonfuls. Sprinkle 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and a dash of Nutmeg over the top of the crust and now you're ready to cook.

COOK IT NOW!!

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees and place the cobbler in the oven. Watch the cobbler and when it starts to turn brown, turn the oven down to 375 degrees & cook for 35-45 minutes or until it bubbles all the way around the sides of the baking dish. Cool it off and serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream or whipping cream and there you have it....enjoy!!

Bones & I thank Ms. Stachs, as I'm sure Angelo Rossi does, for this fine cobbler recipe. I found the crust to be a touch salty, but that's just me. Every thing else was terrific. Bones' was worried about the amount of nutmeg when he read the recipe, but since he tasted it he has found religion.

Our evaluation: a winner! (Well, duh.)

That's right! We have a winner! And once again in true Blues Caravan fashion, the winner is the only person who entered: KEG ALEXANDER of Berkeley, California. Hooray for Keg, and thanks for this fine recipe from North Carolina.

Before we get to the recipe, let me say that in a way, Bones D'Ivory and I are oddly relieved that Keg's was the only entry. Since there was no competition, we didn't actually have to go and make this stuff. I mean, I'm sure it's delicious, but we just didn't have the guts to deal with the guts. Maybe you do. Let us know.

And now...

Hey Smitty Ray!

I've had good luck with this anti-vegetarian stuffing recipe from North Carolina (y'all come!). Hope you like it.

SAUSAGE MUSHROOM STUFFING (for Turkey):

Ingredients:

1 lb. bulk sausage

1 turkey gizzard, liver, and heart

2 cups finely chopped onions

1 T. garlic

1 tsp. marjoram

1-1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms

2 cups bread crumbs

2 eggs beaten

1 cup parsley

Directions:

Break up sausage in deep skillet and brown slightly. Trim tough membranes from gizzard, liver, and heart. Chop soft parts finely. Add to sausage. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are wilted. Stir in marjoram and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand briefly. Add bread crumbs and eggs and stir. Add parsley, salt 'n peppa. Makes 6 cups (enough for 14-lb. turkey).

Holler y'all come!