Some must-have recipes from new PEO cookbook

It's always fun to have an opportunity to celebrate a special event with family. It seems like our family looks for these opportunities wherever we can.

This week we will be celebrating some milestones in life. My aunt and uncle are celebrating their wedding anniversary. They have been loving and living together for 73 years. I only hope to live that long, and they have been married that long. My niece Christa also leaves for college and starts a whole new phase in her life.

Both are cause for celebration and tears of happiness. I hope these very special people have many more reasons to celebrate their lives.

I have a new cookbook to tell you about today. The Chapter LY P.E.O. of Cape Girardeau has assembled a very nice cookbook to help support the mission and work of their organization. Organized in 1869, P.E.O. or Philanthropic, Educational Organization, provides educational opportunities for women. The three-ring binder book is divided into eight categories with tabbed dividers for convenience and has an easy to read format. You will certainly want to add this book to your collection. I will pull a few recipes from the book to share with you today.

Mexican Coffee, submitted by Carol Wells

3/4 cup ground dark roast coffee, regular or decaf

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

6 cups water

1 cup milk

1/3 cup chocolate syrup

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place coffee and cinnamon in filter basket of coffee maker. Add water to coffee maker and brew as directed. In a saucepan, blend milk, chocolate syrup and sugar. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Combine milk mixture and brewed coffee; stir in vanilla. Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon. Makes six cups.

Pineapple Orange Sauce, submitted by Sue Evitts

1 can pineapple chunks

1/2 cup orange juice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted, optional

Drain pineapple, reserve 1/2 cup juice. Stir together reserved juice, orange juice, cornstarch, sugar, ginger, and orange peel. Stir in pineapple chunks. Cook until sauce begins to boil and thicken slightly. Stir in pecans. Serve over cake or ice cream.

Grape Toss Salad, submitted by Helen Miller

3 cups red seedless grapes

3 cups white seedless grapes

1 cup sour cream

1 cup pecans

3 tablespoons brown sugar

Wash grapes and put in bowl. Cover with sour cream, sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Before serving add pecans and toss together.

Lemon-Marinated Asparagus, submitted by Marilyn Huttegger

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke heart quarters, drained

1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimento, drained

2 pounds fresh asparagus

Garnish, lemon rind strips

Whisk together lemon juice and next five ingredients in a large bowl, add artichoke quarters and diced pimento and gently toss. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Snap off tough ends of asparagus, cook in boiling water to cover three minutes or until crisp tender. Drain asparagus, and plunge into ice water to stop cooking process. Place cooked asparagus in a large heavy-duty plastic zip-top bag and store overnight in refrigerator, if desired. Add asparagus to artichoke mixture, and gently toss. Cover and chill two hours. Garnish, if desired.

Baked Crab and Shrimp, submitted by Nancy Wilson

1 small red pepper, chopped fine

1 small green pepper, chopped fine

3 stalks celery, chopped fine

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine

1 pound crabmeat, imitation works well

1 pound medium shrimp, cooked, cleaned, tails off

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 cups herb seasoned stuffing

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix first 10 ingredients and one cup of stuffing. Put into ungreased two-quart casserole. May refrigerate overnight at this point by covering with plastic wrap. When ready to bake, mix topping ingredients by combining the remaining 1/2 cup herb stuffing mix, melted butter, and Parmesan cheese. Toss together and sprinkle over seafood mixture. Bake uncovered 40 minutes at 350 degrees, 50 minutes if it has been refrigerated. Serves eight generously. If you want to get fancy, you can scoop mixture into individual serving dishes and bake 30 minutes.

Orange Thyme Chicken, submitted by Dolly Jewel

4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon fresh Thyme leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix marinade ingredients. Add chicken and coat well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken, covered with marinade, on a baking sheet. Bake, basting occasionally, until cooked, about 30 minutes.

Key Lime Tart, submitted by Helen Hammond

For the crust:

3/4 cup flour

6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into *-inch pieces

Ice water

3/4 cup dry roasted, salted, macadamia nuts, chopped

Combine flour, sugar, salt; add butter. Mix until resembles coarse meal. Add one tablespoon ice water. Mix until moist clumps form. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, if dough is dry. Transfer dough to a floured surface. Gently knead in nuts. Press dough into bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Freeze crust 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line crust with foil, fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is cooked through and pale golden, about 10 minutes. Pierce any bubbles with a fork. Let cool completely.

For the filling: 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

2/3 cup heavy cream

5 ripe kiwi, peeled and cut into õ-inch thick rounds

Beat cream cheese, sugar, lime juice and zest in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat heavy cream in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into crust, smooth top with a knife and refrigerate until firm, at least two hours. Arrange kiwi slices in concentric circles atop filling, overlapping slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Can be prepared up to four hours ahead. Cut tart into wedges and serve. Serves 8.

There were so many great recipes in the book I could not decide which ones to share, so I resorted to my old faithful method of just letting the book fall open and pointing a finger to a recipe. I think it worked pretty well.

I'm all out of room, so until next time, have a great week and happy cooking.