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Chocolate Snowball : This delicious frozen, dome-shaped dessert from a restaurant in Park City, Utah, can be made early to provide an impressive finish to any meal

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Times Staff Writer

Dear SOS: Please, do you have the recipe for the most delicious dessert, chocolate snowball, served at Car 19 Restaurant in Park City, Utah?

--PATTY

Dear Patty: This dome-shaped chocolate mousse (shaped so by baking it in a bowl) is an impressive dessert, which you can prepare ahead and freeze during the holiday entertaining season. CAR 19 CHOCOLATE SNOWBALL

3 (4-ounce) dark sweet chocolate bars

1 cup prepared strong coffee

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups softened butter

6 eggs

Whipped cream

Line greased 9-inch stainless steel bowl with foil. Grease foil.

Melt chocolate with coffee over low heat. Stir in sugar and continue to stir until dissolved. Whisk in butter in small pieces. When completely incorporated remove from heat and beat in eggs by hand or electric mixer until well mixed.

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Strain into prepared bowl. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour 15 minutes or until just set but still soft in center (mousse will firm upon cooling). Remove from oven and cool overnight in refrigerator. Remove snowball. Peel back foil and trim top until level with center.

Invert snowball onto serving platter. Cover dome with whipped cream rosettes piped from pastry bag using rose tube.

Note: Dessert will freeze well while still in foil and wrapped in plastic.

Dear SOS: In the old Los Angeles Times Home magazine in the early ‘60s, there was a recipe for a Burgundy stew in which green peppers and cherry tomatoes were added during the last 10 minutes of cooking. It had a terrific gravy and was beautiful to serve. Could your amazing research find it?

--DONNA

Dear Donna: The year was 1963 and it was called Beef Flambe Bordeaux. Flaming it at the table adds a festive touch. BEEF FLAMBE BORDEAUX

2 pounds round steak or sirloin tip

4 slices bacon

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup garlic-flavored wine vinegar

1/2 cup red dinner wine

1/2 cup beef consomme

2 tablespoons flour

10 to 12 tiny white onions, peeled

1 large green pepper, chopped

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup brandy

Hot cooked rice

Cut beef into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Fry bacon until crisp in large skillet or Dutch oven. Drain on paper towels. Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. Add beef in small amounts and brown slowly on all sides.

Combine bay leaf, salt, oregano, pepper, wine vinegar, wine and consomme. Pour over beef. Cover and simmer 1 hour or until beef is almost done.

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Thicken gravy with flour mixed with a little water. Add onions. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Add green pepper and mushrooms. Simmer additional 5 minutes, then add tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes. Test to see if onions are tender.

Ladle into warmed chafing dish and bring to table. Warm brandy. Pour over meat and carefully set aflame using long-handled match. Stir gently to mix brandy into sauce. Serve over hot rice. Makes 6 servings.

Dear SOS: Some time ago you printed a recipe for Lindy’s cheesecake. I’ve lost the copy cut from the newspaper. Would you please reprint it?

--C.T.O.

Dear C.T.O.: Much as we would love the original, we printed a recipe only for a Lindy’s-Type Cheesecake, which has a sweet dough lining and is quite rich, but divine. Here it is. LINDY’S-TYPE CHEESECAKE

1 cup sifted flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

Cheese Filling

Combine flour, sugar, lemon peel and vanilla in bowl. Make well in center and add egg yolk and butter. Work with tips of fingers until dough forms ball and cleans sides of bowl.

Wrap dough in wax paper and chill about 1 hour. Roll 1/3 of dough between 2 pieces of floured wax paper to fit bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Remove sides from pan. Place dough on bottom of pan and trim dough by running rolling pin over edge. Bake at 400 degrees 8 to 10 minutes or until barely golden. Cool.

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Grease sides of spring form pan and fasten to base. Roll remaining dough into 15x4-inch rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise. Carefully line sides of pan with dough strips, patching if necessary and pressing seams together. Pour Cheese Filling into crust-lined pan and bake at 500 degrees 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 degrees and bake 1 hour longer. Let cool in draft-free area. Remove sides of pan and chill 12 to 24 hours. Cheese Filling

5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

5 medium eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup whipping cream

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Combine sugar, flour, salt and orange and lemon peels. Stir into cream cheese until blended and mixture is smooth. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Blend in cream.

Dear SOS: My husband’s birthday is on Sept. 6 and he would love to have cioppino like the one served at a popular restaurant in San Diego.

--NANCY

Dear Nancy: Short notice does not allow time for us to request the recipe and we do not have the specific recipe on file. However, considering the urgency, how about this recipe for cioppino , which might please your husband as well. TONY’S CIOPPINO

2 onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon parsley

2 tablespoons oil

4 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

1 (1-pound) spiny lobster

1 (2-pound) crab

1/2 pound shrimp

1 pound sea bass or red snapper

Saute onions, garlic and parsley in oil in Dutch oven until onions are tender. Add tomato sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Cut lobster in halves lengthwise. Insert knife under back of top crab shell and pry it off. Crack claws and legs. Remove spongy parts under shell and wash body cavity. Shell and clean shrimp. Cut sea bass into serving pieces. Add lobster, crab, shrimp and sea bass to Dutch oven and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Serve at once. Makes 6 servings.

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