Emeril's Crab & Wild Mushroom Cheesecake

This was my Savory Entry for the Recipezaar/Honda CR-V Contest...

Like the sleek Honda CR-V, this elegant hors d’oeuvre takes desire to a whole new level with head turning styling and sophistication. Premium options include succulent crab meat, silky cream cheese, sautéed aromatics, and smoky Gouda, all draped in an edible seascape. Serve with toasted baguettes and bubbly champagne...Go on, indulge!

Emeril's Crab and Wild Mushroom Cheesecake

Emeril's recipe also includes a recipe for a green onion coulis to serve with the cheesecake. However, we chose to garnish ours with chopped red onion, capers, lemon slices and green onions. Our seascape photo was printed onto edible frosting paper with edible ink.

Fine Cooking Waste Not Challenge: Asparagus, Fingerling Potato & Goat Cheese Pizza

For dinner last night, I made Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Artichokes and Lemon from Fine Cooking Make it Tonight. The dish was delicious, especially with baby Yukon Gold potatoes.

Our leftovers included about 10 baby Yukons, and a few pieces of chicken. We also had some leftover asparagus.

When surfing the net today for something to make for dinner tonight, I came across a recipe for Asparagus, Fingerling Potato & Goat Cheese Pizza! The opening line for the recipe: "It's the possibilities in that blank crust that make pizza so much fun" is so true, especially with so many combinations of leftovers for the toppings.

I used Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza dough (it is a "school night, after all) and carefully stretched the rectangular dough into a loosely round shape to fit on the pizza stone. I sauteed some garlic and shallots in a little olive oil and drizzled that over the dough. A layer of mozzarella cheese came next, followed by thinly sliced leftover Yukons. The asparagus was then tossed in a little olive oil and spread around. Other leftovers in the frig, including prosciutto, goat cheese and Parmesan, finished off my Pizza creation. The pizza was delicious and future possibilities are endless! Rice, pasta and pizza dough are great canvases for creating simple, but wonderful dinners out of leftovers.

Fine Cooking Make it Mini Challenge - Our Winning Entry: Mini Chocolate-Curry Cupcakes with Lemongrass-Infused Frosting

Congratulations to Denise, winner of the Make It Mini Challenge! Denise contributed several creative photos of treats she shrank down to pint size, including mini cinnamon rolls, tiny cannoli, and even BBQ salmon tacos. But it was her mini curry chocolate cupcakes with lemongrass frosting that most impressed us, for the innovative flavor combination and beautiful execution (though her adorable model didn't hurt either).

For her winning entry, Denise wins a prize package that includes a Fresh DVD set, a copy of my cookbook, The Food that You Crave, and a Kyocera ceramic knife, supplied by Cooking.com. Ellie Krieger, Contributing Editor, Fine Cooking