A lighter take: Smoky chorizo and corn chowder recipe

Smoky corn and chorizo chowder can be customized with a variety of ingredients. Here's my take (with homemade cheese bread) on the original recipe from McCormick.comLapsang Souchong is a tea whose smoky quality is so potent that you can smell it through an unopened  plastic-covered box – even when each tea bag is enclosed in a sealed packet.

While it is an acquired taste as a tea for drinking, its smoked essence makes it a perfect source of natural smoked seasoning. The tea is a wonderful enhancement for chowders and other soups.

Earlier this year, I fell in love with McCormick's recipe for corn chowder with smoked tea and chorizo. The recipe calls for 7 ounces of diced chorizo to be browned in 2 teaspoons of oil, but slow-cured, hard Spanish chorizo is fatty enough to do without the added oil. The chorizo's rendered fat can also sauté the onions in this recipe.

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St. Patrick's Day recipe: Chef Kevin Dundon's easy potato bread 'farls'

Triangular potato bread 'farls' from "Kevin Dundon's Modern Irish Food" Need recipes for Irish soda bread, Irish stew, scones and numerous traditional mashed potato dishes — from the easy potato bread triangles known as “farls” to Colcannon with cabbage or “champ” with onions? How about beef and Guinness pie?

If you're looking for St. Patrick's Day recipes for traditional Irish foods, you’ll find them all in “Kevin Dundon’s Modern Irish Food” (Octopus, $24.99). Of course, the chef from County Wexford puts his spin on tradition, and he includes dishes of international influence such as gratins and curries.

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Fresh cranberry holiday celebration punch recipe

Family friendly winter sangria punch

12 ounce bag fresh cranberries (tested with Ocean Spray brand)

1 cup granulated sugar

6 cups water

Juice from 3 lemons (about 3/4 cup)

3 cups grape juice

2 cups spiced or plain apple cider (tested with Trader Joe's spiced apple cider)

1 apple, washed, cored, thinly sliced

1 pear, washed, cored, thinly sliced

1 orange, washed, sliced into wheels

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How to use a can as a ring mold to beautify salads and desserts

A raw salad of marinated beets, green beans, pecans and feta shaped by a can. (Photo by Kimberly L. Jackson)Layered salads and desserts presented in an attractive round stack on the plate are often created with ring molds in various sizes. These tools can be purchased from well-outfitted kitchen supply stores, but chefs often use alternatives such as assorted widths of PVC pipe that have been cut to appropriate lengths.

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Delish: Just Four Ingredients Fast!

"Just Four Ingredients Fast!"What if every recipe could have just four ingredients?

It could happen for those consulting the recipes in “Just Four Ingredients Fast!” from the editors of Delish magazine. Easy options cover breakfast through dessert with lots of salads, a few soups, blended juices or smoothies, and many imaginative entrees included.

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