Press Photo/Adam BirdKristine Bersche's easy bread salad

Kristine Bersche

A delicious alternative to traditional greens, Kristine Bersche's bread salad is fresh, tasty and colorful.

"It's so versatile," said Kristine, who owns The Green Life Market, on East Fulton Street.

"You can really make the recipe your own for a whole different taste."

Using organic vegetables, Kristine combines red onion, grape tomatoes and cucumbers with toasted Italian bread cubes and an herb-infused vinaigrette dressing.

Other vegetables can be added or substituted, as desired: "You can even add canellini beans," Kristine said.

Press Photo/Paul L. Newby IIJames Beeler's carbonara penne

During the holidays, it's great to have an inviting pasta on hand for guests. Even better is preparing the pasta ahead of time so you've already covered one task.

That culinary touch to make family and friends feel loved and welcome comes naturally for my dad, James Beeler. He works at the Hilton Scottsdale Villa and Resorts in Arizona and, because he is an accomplished chef, often assists the culinary staff during busy holiday periods.

Earlier this month, Dad prepared a carbonara penne with a bechamel sauce that can be frozen until it is needed. With 2 pounds of pancetta, 3 pounds of penne and 10 cups of bechamel sauce, the recipe makes enough to feed a hungry group of 20. Alternatively, it can be divvied up among three baking pans.

Press Photo/Paul L. Newby IIFlavor enhancer: Bar Divani co-owner Rimple Nayyar swirls a glass of wine to release its aroma.

Luscious. Domane Wachau 2002 "Terrassen" Wachau Riesling Federspiel delivers a wonderfully long finish. A gorgeous, generous glass of this lighter-styled Federspiel was a first for me -- a beauty to drink. Aha, I had better write that down. Otherwise I'll never remember it.

"Everybody should start a wine journal," said Dennis Moosbrugger, co-owner of Bar Divani, 15 Ionia Ave SW. "Because we're trying new wines all the time, we're always taking notes, did I like it, was it a good value, so we have a record of it."

Q: My allergy doctor put me on a yeast- and sugar-free diet. Do you have suggestions on what breads and other foods I can make or buy?

— J.F., Grand Rapids

A: I think you should clarify a few things with your doctor. First, is this a short-term or long-term restriction? For allergies, it only takes a week or two to see an improvement. Second, ask if you should expect to feel better or have reduced symptoms after a week or so. If you don't feel better, that's a sign you may have an allergy to some different food. Third, what do they mean by sugar-free? Does it mean just eliminating white sugar?

Here are some foods that should be OK based on a straight-forward understanding of your question. You should be able to include cornbread, tortillas, oatmeal, rice cakes, rice, matzo bread and pasta.

E-mail Vicky Ferguson: yourlife@grpress.com

The main problem in matching wines with holiday meals is that many of the dishes include sweet elements: turkey with cranberry sauce; sweet potatoes; ham with a fruit sauce; and more. These sweet components make serving a really dry wine, especially a tannic red, smack of gourmet murder.

Peanut butter cookies

Mike Mattson, of Grand Rapids, asked for a recipe for peanut butter cookies made with a yellow cake mix that was in The Press about 30 years ago. Mary Bennett, of Allegan, sent this recipe.

Download this recipe for a 3-by-5-inch card (PDF)

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 eggs
• 1 yellow cake mix (18.25 ounces)

PREPARATION: Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, stir together peanut butter, oil, water and eggs until smooth. Stir in cake mix. Drop by teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Nutrition information per cookie: 107 calories, 2 grams protein, 7 grams fat, 10 grams carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 18 milligrams cholesterol, 106 milligrams sodium

By Marge Biancke
News Special Writer

Q. I would like to try my hand in making fruitcake this year. I like the kind that contains dates and nuts rather than too much candied fruit. Can you help?   
- Jason

By Susan Barnes
The Ann Arbor News

If a Thanksgiving dinner, in your eyes, is incomplete without cranberry sauce complete with ridges from the can and you truly love the stuff, Happy Thanksgiving and bon appetit.

If, however, you inherited your canned sauce tradition and have simply gone with it for lack of a different vision, let me introduce cranberry chutney, a spicy fruit bonanza that goes beautifully with turkey, but can be used in other recipes as well.

Reward Time!

Last week I dropped a whopping 8 pounds, buying myself a reward after the 5-pound loss, per the advice of Dr. Judith Beck, author of "The Complete Beck Diet for Life" which comes out in January. So I figured, only 2 more pounds until the next reward.

Well, it took until Sunday to finally drop the next 2 pounds and get to my current 10-pound weight loss. I bought my reward yesterday afternoon.

I'm no Kalamabrew, but I do enjoy lifting a cold one every now and then and now and later and now and again and always and forever. Uhh...... oh yeah. So, when Budweiser recently flooded my precious interwebs with relentless advertising about their new American Ale, I became just the sort of lumpen dupe they needed to snatch up a sixpack and power their evil Belgian ways.