Mary Alice Powell shares her favorite recipes

Lemon Ambrosia Pie.

Barbecued Beef and Three-Bean Baked Beans on the picnic table.

Today's recipes are more than just favorites from my recipe file at the Farm House at Posey Lake. Each represents the person who shared the recipe.

I like to try new recipes for desserts and main dishes, but there are always those that we remember and have received compliments for. They go together easily because we are familiar with them and keep the ingredients on hand "just in case."

It's a pleasure to share my old favorites with you. They prove I am far from a fancy cook, but prefer standards with a twist, such as the potato salad or the chicken lasagna. It was also just plain fun to have the photos taken at my home to give readers a glimpse of life at Posey Lake, which is grand until it's time to weed the nine gardens or mow the two acres of grass.

I have enjoyed being back with you on The Blade's Food Page, but as they say, all things must come to an end. One more week after this one, and it's over and out.

Bon appetit to each of you; the Blade's new food editor, Dan Neman, will start work July 19.

VIEW RECIPES:

Posey Lake Specials

Summertime Gazpacho and Hungarian Spinach Salad.

Here's the rundown from the Farm House memory book.

BARBECUED BEEF: This is a great year-round recipe but especially good in summer. The recipe is from the late Donna Morgan, food editor of the Salt Lake Tribune. The five pounds of meat makes a lot of barbecue, but it freezes well. Yes, it takes a lot of time, but it's worth it.

SUMMERTIME GAZPACHO: When Ohio and Michigan tomatoes are ripe and wonderful, this is a staple in the refrigerator. The recipe is from Janet George, who directed the cooking classes at Gourmet Curiosities in Toledo. I always make a batch to take to Fifi Berry in Toledo because she never liked the cold tomato Spanish soup until she tried this one.

HUNGARIAN SPINACH SALAD: This refreshing salad isn't really of Hungarian origin, but I call it that because I first ate it at a gathering of Toledoans at the home of Kathy and John Brezvai, who are "across the lake." It's pretty, with green apple slices, golden raisins, and walnuts, and you make the dressing. Elizabeth Toth brought the salad, and she got the recipe from Cathy Kertesz. The group gets together each summer at the Brezvais for Hungarian turkey.

Chicken Lasagna and Bacon-Olive Potato Salad.

BACON-OLIVE POTATO SALAD: Jerrie Jump Jerome of Toledo brought this unusual potato salad to an Adrian High School class potluck at my home several years ago, and I have kept the recipe taped to the inside of a kitchen cupboard door for easy reference. Olives give it a little zip, bacon adds nice flavor. Be sure to heat it just warm enough so the cheese melts but it doesn't get too hot.

CHICKEN LASAGNA: Many years ago this was the main dish at a Toledo Woman's Club lunch, and Katie Early, the cook, was kind enough to give me the recipe. Guests won't believe the delectable sauce is made with canned soups. Make it a day ahead and refrigerate if you wish.

Lemon Ambrosia Pie.

LEMON AMBROSIA PIE: Now here's a lush light dessert for summer that I first ate in Seattle. When the hostess gave my friend the recipe on my behalf, she made her promise never to give it out. But you know how that goes. The crust is meringue, which was temperamental in last week's heat wave. The cooked lemon custard filling is mellow and who can go wrong with a whipped cream topping; real whipped cream of course.

THREE BEAN BAKED BEANS: My cousin, Joyce Greulich, of Orange City, Fla., brought these baked beans to a family reunion at the Farm House several years ago. She deemed them so good she made them at her sister's home in Adrian. The recipe calls for Canadian sliced bacon, which is costly and not as thick as it used to be, so I substitute bacon.

Mary Alice Powell is a retired Blade food editor.

Contact her at:

mpowell@theblade.com