1 lb Brussels sprouts; Fresh

Beer; Any Brand, To Cover 1/2 ts Salt

2 tb Butter

Trim and wash sprouts. Place in a medium-size saucepan and pour enough beer over them to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Add more beer if needed, as liquid evaporates. Drain; add salt and butter. Serve hot.

3 Cucumbers; unwaxed

1 T -Salt

-Cold water 1/2 c -Water

1/3 c Carrot;grated

2 Scallions; sliced thin

1 Garlic clove; minced

1 ts -Salt

1/2 ts Red pepper flakes

1/2 ts Cayenne

Halve lengthwise, seed and cut cucumber into 1 inch pieces. In a bowl, toss the cucumber with 1 Tbsp salt and let it stand for 15 minutes. Rinse the cucumber under running cold water and in a bowl combine it with 1/2 cup water, grated carrot, 2 scallions sliced thin, 1 minced garlic clove, red pepper flakes and cayenne. Let the mixture stand, uncovered at room temperature stirring several times, for at least 3 days, transfer it to a jar and chill it. The pickle keeps several days. MAKES: about 3 cups

2 1/2 lb Baking potatoes

1/3 c Butter

1 c Finely chopped shallots

2 tb Flour

1 1/2 c Cream

1/4 lb Sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 ts Salt

1/4 ts Cayenne

1/2 c Dry sherry wine

2 Egg yolks; beaten

Cut and cook potatoes as in above recipe. In a skillet, melt butter and saute shallots. Stir in flour and cook 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. Add cream and stir until thickened, then add the mushrooms, salt and cayenne and cook for about 3 minutes. Beat sherry and egg yolks together and quickly stir into the hot mixture. Put the potatoes in an ovenproof baking dish, and pour the Thermidor sauce over potatoes. Bake at 300 for 20 minutes to heat thoroughly. FROM: CAROLE ROCK (TSTW72B)

4 md Beets with greens

2 lg Potatoes

4 Garlic cloves

3 tb Oil

1 Lemon; juiced

Salt and pepper; to taste Remove greens from beets. Cut greens into 1-inch-thick slices and boil until wilted and tender. Drain thoroughly and set aside. Boil beets until completely tender. Drain, then cover in cold water to cool. When cooled, slip off roots and skins. Meanwhile, boil potatoes in their skins until tender. Drain, cool thoroughly, then remove skins. Cut peeled beets and potatoes into bite sized chunks and place in mixing bowl with cooled greens. Mince or press garlic, then combine with oil and lemon juice. Season dressing with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then toss with beets and potatoes. Serve chilled with crusty bread. Copyright 1994 Karen Mintzias May be freely copied and distributed without changes.

Pace Picante Sauce 1/3 c Mayonnaise

-OR 1/3 c Light mayonnaise

2 tb Tomato paste

2 tb Sugar, or less

1 tb Sweet pickle relish

1 lb Crab meat or imitation crab

-meat, cut into bite-size -pieces 1/4 c Thinly sliced or chopped

-ripe olives or pimiento- -stuffed green olives, as -desired 4 Ripe avacados

2 Hard-cooked eggs, sliced or

-cut into wedges (opt) For dressing, in small bowl, comebine 1/3 cup of the Pace Picante Sauce, mayonnaise, tomato paste, relish and sugar; mix well. In large bowl combine crab meat, olives and 3/4 cup of the dressing; mix gently to avoid breaking up crab meat. Cut avacados in half lengthwise; peel and discard pits. Spoon additional Pace Picante Sauce onto 4 serving plates; top each with 2 avacado halves and fill indentations with crab meat mixture. Serve with remaining dressing and additional Pace Picante Sauce. Garnish with eggs, if desired.