At most homes tomorrow, the game will be on, and we'll need sustenance and libation. We need what has become known as "dude food." Football food. Greasy, junky, fast-foody type stuff that tastes good when you're chewing it, but not so much later when you contemplate how much you ate. Stuff that, if you were to squeeze it with your hands, could be used to lube your car. What if instead of beer and wings, we all offered our guests some other tasty football food that is delectable but won't gross us out? Wait a minute! Hear me out ... I promise I won't try to shove some raw kale salad down your …

My love affair with Meyer lemons continues! This merits an exclamation point because we lemon lovers wait impatiently for the Meyer lemon crop, and when it arrives in winter in Southern California, we rejoice. Last year, tired after years of cadging Meyers from my Sunset Mesa neighbors, I planted a dwarf tree in a whiskey barrel. My first crop, on my still-spindly Charlie-Brown-of-a-tree, is an amazing 17 lemons right now! (again with the exclamation point, which you will understand if you are lucky enough to have a fruit tree of any kind in your yard) While I may still have to bum Meyer …

As we put the lid on 2011 and pop the cork on 2012, let's recall a few of the most delicious stories and recipes from this year. Grab a cool drink (how about this Blue Malibu Lagoon?) and reminisce with me through a year's worth of excellent food! Better yet, why don't we plan the weekend's meals using recipes from this column? Ready? Go! Saturday (today, New Year's Eve) Breakfast: Let's start with a Mango Orange Cream Power Smoothie from teacher Mary Tafi and a slice of Mushroom Quiche made by caterer Melissa Stein. Lunch: A cup of Stacey Harper's sweet potato soup paired with Michelle …

It was a recent Saturday earlier this month and dessert-maker extraordinaire Corinne Le was up to her eyeballs in chocolate chips. And powdered sugar. And flour, butter and about 30 other baking ingredients strewn about her condo kitchen in the hills of Pepperdine. Her husband Hung Le was phoning from Costco, where he and his son were laying in more supplies. Did she need the 4 1/2-pound bags of chocolate chips? Yes. Another call about 10 minutes later … did she need the quart of real maple syrup? Why yes, she did! Another five minutes ticked by … the next call was about butter. How many …

The tennis playing Crest Associates of Pepperdine University have the right idea about holidays and cookies. First, they gather each early December to play two hours of hard tennis, working up the kind of sweat that the less motivated among us might pay personal trainers to coax out. They follow that with a cookie exchange, in which each of them has brought a couple dozen cookies to share with the others. And to top it all off, the cookies are judged and prizes awarded by firemen from local station No. 88. Tennis, cookies and a hug for the winners from a hunky fireman? Scooore! The Crest …

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Case in point is Out of the Box Collective, a home-delivery service that brings carefully selected produce and groceries to your doorstep, accompanied by a meal plan and recipes to take you through the week. The brainchild of Malibu mom Jennifer Piette, the service is about a year old and gaining in popularity and subscribers. She began it because Piette was disappointed in the food quality offered in our supermarkets, and went in search of the local, traceable, sustainably produced, high-quality farm-fresh food she guessed was out there. …

Now that we have Thanksgiving under our belts, we naturally look ahead to the December gift-giving season. This holiday season, as you contemplate the sweet family, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, colleagues and helpers in your life, take your gift-giving to a new level: stay local. I'm suggesting you buy locally, from Malibu businesses, to support our micro-economy here and bolster the businesses that contribute to our vibrant community life. In many ways, Malibu has a small-town feel. Much of that comes from our distinct neighborhoods and our local business people who understand the …

The countdown is on for arguably the biggest food holiday of the year. What will you be making for Thanksgiving dinner? Plenty of people can tell you how to make your turkey, with well-known hotlines set up to answer your last-minute pressing questions and quandaries. But for me, the stars of the plate are all the side dishes. That's where the heat is on turkey day, and frankly, I wouldn't miss the bird if it disappeared. It would just mean more room on the plate for sides. In that spirit, I offer a selection of side dishes and desserts that I hope will float your Thanksgiving boat! Click the…

If you're looking for a Thanksgiving dessert, we have you covered, because pastry chef Kristine Bocchino is sharing her Blue Ribbon Organic Nut and Fig Tart. This one is a true winner, having taken a first-place ribbon at the Malibu Pie Festival (professional category). Studded with pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, almonds and bits of dried black mission figs, it also has a filling like a pecan pie. It's festive for a holiday meal or as a wonderful fall/winter season dessert. At Cal-Fresco at The Godmother, the restaurant she runs with her husband chef Chris Bocchino, she might serve it with a …

Nearly a dozen adventurous Malibu cooks gathered in the Pepperdine University campus condominium kitchen of Al and Jody Sturgeon on a recent Saturday. They came bearing bags of ingredients, nervously practicing their Spanish and with a curiosity and readiness to learn one of the most famous Peruvian dishes. Papa a la Huancaina is a delicious first course of boiled potatoes on a bed of lettuce in a rich, spicy chili-cheese sauce, served cold or at room temperature. The title means potatoes in the style of Huancayo, a bustling city in Peru's central highlands—the cultural and commercial center …

Each year, Marcia Nix, who teaches third grade at Webster Elementary School, looks forward to the fall and pumpkin season. She relishes the chance to work pumpkins into her lesson plans, whether it be pumpkin facts or doing a math unit featuring pumpkins—or perhaps learning about the history of jack-o'-lanterns. For the more than 10 years that she has been teaching there, Nix has made an annual ritual of making her Pumpkin Fluff, a lightly sweetened treat that is so easy to make, children can do it in the classroom. It is made with a couple ingredients, stirred together quickly and served …

It's the first Friday in October, near lunch time, and Michelle Jackson is busy setting up the panini press in Theresa Rubin's fourth-grade classroom at Webster Elementary. From her magic bag of tricks, Jackson pulls a loaf of bread, tubs of fresh basil pesto and sun-dried tomato pesto, a squirt bottle of olive oil, sliced turkey and sliced Swiss cheese. As the panini press heats, voila! Next, she pulls out a lovely bowl of fresh cut fruit, bags of baby carrots, corn chips and fresh guacamole. Her son Travis, who is a student in the classroom, and his friend Carson Baer, help set them up on…

If you are a student at Webster Elementary School, Thursday is your best day. It's "soup day," and life is good. Let's face it—all is right in the world when there is soup involved. On soup day, someone's mom has commandeered a humongous stockpot and a burner, and has spent the morning cooking up a big ol' pot of something warm, delicious and comforting in the cafeteria, and then stayed around to ladle it out at lunchtime. There is eager anticipation on Thursdays, and the children crowd around the soup station, barely waiting for their turn in line to grab their cup. This isn't official …

Grab your fork and mark your calendar because the 22nd annual Malibu Pie Festival will take place next Saturday, Oct. 15. In the meantime, maybe you had better log some mileage on the track and get a few thousand sit-ups under your belt, just to make sure you have room to sample the wares.  Hosted by the Malibu United Methodist Church in the church courtyard at 30128 Morning View Drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Pie Festival is one of the delicious harbingers of fall for the city. It is a day to relax, have some fun chatting with neighbors, listen to the bands play in the warm Malibu …

When Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald Sterling bought the six-acre Vital Zuman organic farm in late 2010, and then an adjacent 9.8-acre parcel (known as the DeWind property) in May of this year, many residents feared the immediate demise of their favorite organic farm. Alan Cunningham, the farmer who is known affectionately as Vital Zuman, is here to tell you the farm is not only still open, but thriving. "The farm is open almost every day of the year," Cunningham said. "That's the biggest part of our mission—to keep a real agricultural property open to the public. The …

Tucked into the back of the Malibu Racquet Club, the Godmother of Malibu Cafe is Malibu's hidden gem. Quiet except for the soft thwack of tennis balls from nearby courts, and shady from the market umbrellas overhead, this comfortable, intimate, al fresco patio cafe is an oasis of sorts. Here, you can shed the cares of your day as you relax into the comfortable chairs, contemplate the peaceful hills, listen to the light splash of a new fountain and tuck into one of their specialties. The three most popular items on the lunch menu are the Tomato Bisque Soup, the Salmon Wrap and the Salmon Salad…

Malibu resident John Liu is like an artist as he makes his locally famous mac 'n cheese. Graceful at the stove, he leans in frequently to adjust the flame. With a sure, confident hand, Liu swirls butter in the pan until it melts, stirring in flour to make a roux. In goes the milk, enriched by some cream—just enough, according to Liu's eye. He flings in some seasoning, then the grated cheeses—gruyere for flavor, cheddar just because. He stirs it into a thick, fragrant sauce into which he folds cooked elbow macaroni. A quick bake in the oven, topped by his signature crushed Parmesan potato …

When Marcia Moore serves you lunch, your taste buds sit up and take note. In May, she was one of the cooks on the Malibu Cook's Tour, an annual event that showcases fabulous local kitchens and features a different menu at each stop. Moore made and served lentil salad, eggplant caponata, a little green salad and a charming cream cheese blueberry tartlet to finish. It was all vegetarian and all delicious. I lingered there far longer than I was supposed to.   I was dreaming about her lentil salad the other day when it was too hot to make a complicated meal. I just wanted those lentils on a bed …

What are you doing on Monday for Labor Day? Why not take a picnic to the beach or Legacy Park and enjoy the splendiferous scenery Malibu has? While we all are familiar with the beach, and probably have our own particular stretch of sand we prefer, I still think not enough people take advantage of Legacy Park. It really is a lovely place to stroll, contemplate nature and count your blessings. The large, tiled reptilian sculptures are charming, the natual plantings inspire us to think about what Malibu might have been like long ago, and it's fun to find the names of family and friends among the…

A winter break vacation to Mexico for Pepperdine University students and friends Amir Savar, 23, and Mario Andrighetto, 21, was wildly productive. Not only did they get some R&R, they also hatched a business plan. "Our concept was that we tried to think of what Malibu doesn't have," Savar said. "It doesn't have cheap food (except for fast food), and it doesn't have gourmet bagels. We thought, 'That's it!' Savar was an English major and graduated in May. Andrighetto is a marketing major about to start his senior year. Now, the two are partners in Malibu Bagel Co. Rather than a brick-and-…