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I'm going to give everybody until 5 p.m. today to enter the contest to win Alton Brown's book, "Good Eats: The Early Years." The winner will be announced on this blog on Monday.

Until then, I've got a few fun recipes to share. These were the three winning recipes in a contest held at Washington and Lee University in Lexington. W&L spokeswoman Sarah Tschiggfrie tells me this is the sixth year they've had a "Recipes from Home" contest for first-year students and their parents. This year, the contest drew 75 recipes. The winning recipes were served at the college's Parents and Family Weekend Luncheon last Saturday.

I remember being a homesick transfer student at Roanoke College, so I can imagine how wonderful it would be to see one of my mom's signature dishes piled up on the plates of my fellow students.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

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New York Times blogger Bruce Buschel has posted his second 50 rules for the waiters and waitresses at his restaurant, which is scheduled to open in Bridgehampton, NY in the spring.

He clarifies a bit more in the opening sentences that this list might not need to be followed to the T by all restaurants because, let's face it, there are lots and lots of different restaurants. I believe personally that what he is advising on is service for fine dining restaurants, but that doesn't mean all restaurants cannot take something away from the list.

Once again, do you guys agree/disagree with anything in particular on this list?

51. If there is a service charge, alert your guests when you present the bill. It’s not a secret or a trick.

52. Know your menu inside and out. If you serve Balsam Farm candy-striped beets, know something about Balsam Farm and candy-striped beets.

53. Do not let guests double-order unintentionally; remind the guest who orders ratatouille that zucchini comes with the entree.

54. If there is a prix fixe, let guests know about it. Do not force anyone to ask for the “special” menu.

55. Do not serve an amuse-bouche without detailing the ingredients. Allergies are a serious matter; peanut oil can kill. (This would also be a good time to ask if anyone has any allergies.)

56. Do not ignore a table because it is not your table. Stop, look, listen, lend a hand. (Whether tips are pooled or not.)

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Amazon.com

Has this geeky Food Network star's television show really been on for an entire decade? Dang.

It's hard for me to believe (then again, I'm not his biggest fan), but it must be true, because they just put out this fat, hardback book commemorating the 10-year anniversary. It's a highly amusing book, jam-packed with recipes, pictures and stories about the first years of the show. In fact, each early episode has its own chapter in this book, "Good Eats: The Early Years" by Alton Brown. The book jacket even turns into a fold-out poster.

Want it? Leave a comment on this blog entry and I'll do a random selection at the end of the day tomorrow.

Every year, "Peanuts" character Linus waits around for a Great Pumpkin who never shows. This year, grocery store shoppers were almost in a similar predicament.

Fortunately, the Great Canned Pumpkin Shortage of 2009 was over before panic and dismay began to set in. After all, what would Thanksgiving and Christmas be without a golden brown slice of pumpkin pie?

At the risk of sounding too maternal, I will say that this little scare creates a perfect learning opportunity -- in the absence of canned pumpkin, one can still create a delicious pie with just a few tricks and tips.

First, the lowdown on the shortage.

Click here to read the rest of the column.

See steps for turning a whole winter squash into pie filling, as well as a squash custard pie recipe, here.

Those of you who keep a close eye on The New York Times site may have noticed that one particular business blog, "You're the Boss," recently racked up more than 1,000 comments in a short period of time - so many comments that they closed the comments after only a couple of days.

The topic? "100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part I)."

It seems this blogger, Bruce Buschel, is in the process of opening a new seafood restaurant and has been blogging about his experiences along the way. He devised a list of 100 service rules for his new staff and posted just half of them on his blog. The result, as I said, was astounding. Most people felt that Buschel had pretty much hit the nail straight on the head.

I'm going to paste the rules below. Please read them and tell me if you agree with them or not. I agree with almost every one, with the exception of a few that I think would make the server seem a bit impersonal and cold. But I think these skills are sadly lacking in lots of local restaurants. Is there a restaurant in all of Southwest Virginia that gets all (or most) of these things right?

From "You're the Boss":

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

2. Do not make a singleton feel bad. Do not say, “Are you waiting for someone?” Ask for a reservation. Ask if he or she would like to sit at the bar.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

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From the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service Web site: A New York company called Fairbank Farms is recalling more than a half-million pounds of ground beef feared to be tainted with e.coli. There is some concern that the product could be responsible for illnesses in the New England area.

I've skimmed the list of stores that carry Fairbank Farms beef and it does not look like we have any of those stores in The Roanoke Times coverage area. In fact, the only store names I recognized were Trader Joe's and Giant. But for the full list, click the link above.

We've been talking lately about the safety of ground beef here on the old Fridge Magnet blog. Find a link to a New York Times story here, and information about grinding your own beef at home here.

www.myrecipes.com

I had little or no exposure to Brunswick stew before I met my husband, which is a bit surprising considering that it is a Southern specialty and I'm a Southern gal. But I think this stew is more common in barbecue country because it is traditionally served as a side dish with barbecue, and Roanoke and the Alleghany Highlands really aren't "barbecue country," in my mind.

Most folks suspect the hearty concoction was invented in Brunswick County, Virginia and named for that place. Down near the border of North Carolina - now that's probably closer to barbecue country. It was invented by hunters who traditionally used rabbit, squirrel or chicken in the mix.

My husband just loves Brunswick stew, so I thought I'd try to make a pot of it for the first time last night. I chose a recipe from "Joy of Cooking: All About Soups & Stews." My only complaint with this recipe is that it called for waaaaaay too much chicken. Even bone-in, five pounds of chicken is too much. I also chose to pull the meat off the bone near the end of the cooking process. I'd just rather have tender chunks of chicken in my stew than have to cut it away from the bone in my bowl.

So, you might say I stuck with tradition and made this with bone-in chicken and barbecued pork, but broke from tradition by removing the bones before serving. I also left out the lima beans (gasp! I know, not traditional) because I didn't want to see the sad little pile of them that hubby would no doubt collect in one corner of his bowl. I added some Great Northerns instead because I would have at least missed the texture.

Let me know what you think if you try this recipe. And also let me know if you think you've got a better one, because I'm not wedded to this one.

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Sometimes on a Monday moaning - er, morning - a person just needs a little positive reinforcement. I got mine in the form of a photo of my tiniest fan. Apparently, my friend Beth's daughter, Hayden, decided to pick up the most important section in the paper last Wednesday. See what she is reading? Hahaha...

I'll be back later with a Brunswick Stew recipe that'll feed the entire neighborhood. I know it'll be feeding us for the rest of this week!

PLEASE keep those ideas for "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" coming (blog post below)! Meanwhile, I have big food news out of Maryland -- the 30th Annual National Oyster cook-off has ended and several people went home with shiny silver trays and big grins on their faces. I know Maryland is not super local to Southwest Virginia, but the winter holidays are probably one of the biggest oyster-eating seasons in these parts, so maybe you guys will enjoy these recipes.

Jackie Hardin of Galena, MD won Grand Prize with her Oyster Tacos with Chipotle Cream Sauce. Your first reaction may be similar to mine - oyster tacos? But they actually sound pretty good - fried oysters with a cornmeal coating served in soft taco shells with slaw and the sauce. If you like oysters and you like fish tacos, this might be a neat twist.

Other winners were Jim McDuffie of Durham, NC, with his Outer Banks Poached Oysters on Smoked Pimento Cheese Grits with Fried Green Tomato Croutons, Brendan Cahill of Lusby, MD with Beach House Oysters with Sherry and Loic Jaffres of Leonardtown, MD with Oysters Bourguignon in Puff Pastry.

I'm going to share a couple of these recipes with you now. I'm trying to figure out if the rest are available online somewhere or if you have to write in to the Maryland Department of Agriculture to buy the cookbook. As soon as I hear back from the PR lady, I'll let you all know.

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Guy Fieri/www.foodnetwork.com

"Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" is my favorite show on the Food Network. Even if I've just consumed an entire turkey and a pie (which I've never done before, but I'm just saying), I would probably still have to go find a snack while watching D, D & D. It just makes me so hungry.

Every greasy spoon visited by host Guy Fieri has obviously been highly recommended by the locals, and always has at least one really good signature dish. Fieri spends time back in the kitchen while the chef or head cook shows him how they make those signature dishes. Usually, it's a lengthy, from-scratch process. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone start by throwing a frozen beef patty on the grill or hauling out cartons of ready-made stock, but then again, I don't watch every episode or I'd weigh 400 pounds by now.

Every time I do tune in, I wonder what greasy dive Guy Fieri would find worth visiting in Southwest Virginia. Would he love watching the guys at Texas Tavern making a batch of chili? Drool behind the scenes at Short Sugar's Bar-BQ in Danville? Moan with ecstasy while devouring a plate of biscuits with sausage gravy at The Roanoker? Do any of those places even qualify as diners, or drive-ins, or dives? What does?

I posted this question over Twitter and Facebook last week and got some interesting suggestions about where Guy should go in Southwest Virginia. Read on for the list so far. Please keep adding to it, and if we can come up with a solid suggestion or two, I will send them to Mr. Fieri.

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