By Kara Kimbrough To borrow a phrase uttered by a friend this week on social media… “Don’t fight me about this!” The difference between her statement and mine lies in one key fact. She made the comment while posting photos of her already-decorated Christmas tree, thereby bypassing Thanksgiving. I’m here to make the argument that Thanksgiving and all its glory should be given its due. I feel it’s my job to share a few time-saving ways that might help you appreciate Thanksgiving before Christmas takes over our world. First, a segment on The Today Show on how to prep for Thanksgiving now caused me to rewind the DVR and take in some simple, but truly valuable tips shared by a cooking expert. Calling her list, “Thanksgiving Checklist 101,” she ran down a list of easy-to-accomplish tasks to make the big day a little easier: 1. Clean out the refrigerator and freezer, throwing out old leftovers and out-of-date condiments to make room for the good stuff to come. While you’re at it, give the shelves a thorough cleaning by scrubbing with a mixture of warm water and baking soda. OK, I added that last sentence, primarily because it’s something I really need to do. 2. Here’s a tip I thought was absolutely genius. Review your baking recipes and measure out dry ingredients, i.e., 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons baking powder, etc., Then store each pre-measured ingredient in a separate airtight clear containers Use a Sharpie to label each container with the ingredient/amount. Stack the containers in a clear box labeled “Thanksgiving baking,” set aside and you’ll be ready to go when it’s time to bake. 3. Make ahead more than you ever thought possible. Items like cranberry sauce, dressing and mashed potatoes can be made now, providing extra time for the turkey and last-minute baking nearer to Thanksgiving. Pour cranberry sauce in a clear, airtight container, label and place in the fridge. Dressing can be stirred together and frozen in a tightly-covered baking dish, then defrosted and fully baked just before the main meal. Mashed potatoes can be completely cooked before being frozen in a flattened Ziploc bag until the big day. I saved the best for last: pies. I recommend baking your own, especially if adequate preparation and baking time exist. However, sometimes additional guests arrive or there simply isn’t time for pie-baking. That’s where store-bought pies come into play. After doing a little research, I can attest that supermarket pies are more than acceptable for this important pie-specific holiday. Many bakeries and delis sell delicious fresh pies, but for this taste test, I concentrated on frozen varieties. Marie Callender’s Lattice Apple and Southern Pecan Pies are heavy favorites among everyone that sampled a variety of pies for my pie taste-testing session. I purchased both pies and for comparison purposes, Mrs. Edwards Pecan Pie. The unscientific taste test was unanimous. Marie Callender’s pies are quite simply, really, really good. First out of the oven was the lattice apple pie. With a crunchy, sugary crust and dense filling of thick chunks of apples and the right amount of spices, it was the best frozen pie I’d ever tasted. Placed in your own pie plate, it could pass as homemade. Likewise, Marie’s pecan pie lives up to its own billing as a pie “brimming with a sweet and luscious filling topped with plenty of crisp pecan halves and pieces in a flaky, made-from-scratch crust.” Mrs. Edwards’ version was acceptable, but lost votes due to a so-so crust, semi-soft whole pecans and a gelatinous caramel filling. Other frozen varieties food reviewers gave high marks are Whole Foods’ Vermont Mystic Apple Pie and a Marie Callender’s pumpkin pie, which I didn't include in my test. Next week I’ll share a few classic recipes as well as tips on, from personal experience, how to cook Thanksgiving dinner and live to tell the tale. If you’re still determined to bake your own pie, send me an email and I’ll share my grandmother’s unparalleled recipe for Dutch apple pie. Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer from Mississippi. Email her at kkprco@yahoo.com.

“I hate this, I don’t want to have to go thru this!” Don’t blame you for feeling that. But sometimes, maybe you need ‘this’. Maybe, it’s going to prepare you for something that is coming your way, years from now. Or just maybe, it is to shape you into becoming a better person. Truth is, your Creator knows you, and knows exactly what’s needed in your life. But let’s face it, most of us human race members are self-oriented and really despise hurting. We detest not having things go exactly the way we want them to go. Totally dislike when certain people don’t act and react the way we want them to. Somehow, we seem to feel that we should be treated special, and all bad stuff should stay the heck away from us. And we are extremely glad to voice our opinion of how unfair it is when something bad does happen to us. But when hurtful things happen to someone else, somehow that doesn’t cause us near as much heartburn. When a barely tolerated co-worker suffers unfairly, some will react with, “That’s okay with me. After all, they deserve it, the way they always act around here.” And if a neighbor suffers thru a horrible event, “Well yeah, that is a tough one. But, ya know, what goes around comes around. They probably needed to come down a peg or two, always behaving like they own the world. Guess they’re gonna see life from us regular people’s level now.” And yes, if a beloved friend has a tragedy happen in their life, then friends and neighbors will rally around them to help and console…for a little while. “But, after all, life must go on, and everyone has to get back to normal sooner or later.” Want an example that people are naturally self-oriented? Easy. Just watch and listen to a baby. Concern for his exhausted Mom is not anywhere on the radar of that infant. He just insists on being fed when he feels that first pang of hunger. And if he wants a clean diaper, that baby will let whoever is in earshot know it – loudly. If he is lonely, or sleepy, or angry, then he will demand that someone in his universe fix it. We humans are probably the most automatically self-centered creatures ever made. Oh, we can overcome that inborn ‘Me first and always’ instinct, but that is definitely not our go-to attitude in life. Yep, we are born totally fixated on ME. We have to be taught that others deserve our love, care and respect, just as much as ourself. And that teaching is supposed to begin with parents training their kid to be unselfish and kind. And then training continues, with life applying its firm hand of discipline to our stubborn and self-centered backsides. And if parents neglect to do their job? Never fear, often life seems to take over and do double-duty to make up for them.

The Department of Homeland Security is hosting a free webinar for those interested in serving. The webinar will be held on November 15 from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm. Please pass this along to anyone who may benefit from this opportunity. Interested individuals can register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DHSisHiring-Nov15.

By Bob Garver NOTE: This film is available in both “Subbed” (Japanese spoken with English subtitles) and “Dubbed” (English spoken with no subtitles) versions. This review is based on the Subbed version. This past weekend was a slow, awkward one at the domestic box office. With surefire hit “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” opening next weekend, not many new releases were eager to step up and do well for exactly one weekend before getting obliterated. “Black Adam” continued its reign in the #1 spot, while horror movies fell like rocks into Charlie Brown’s trick-or-treat bag now that Halloween is over. Things were so bad that niche anime “One Piece Film: Red” was able to come in at a relatively strong #2. Unlike that “Dragon Ball” movie from a few months ago, I had never even heard of this franchise before I learned its movie was getting a wide release. And unlike that “Jujutsu Kaisen” movie from earlier this year, I’m not particularly happy to have been introduced to it. The film takes place in a world overrun by pirates. The government and military have vowed to wipe out the pirates, but otherwise they do nothing to help victimized civilians. Pop star Uta has heard the pleas of the masses and has agreed to perform a free concert to give everyone a reprieve from pirates and misery. Good-hearted pirate Luffy and his crew attend the concert, and it turns out that Uta and Luffy grew up together, mentored by wise pirate “Red-Haired” Shanks. Uta is happy to see Luffy again after all these years, but she’s not happy that he’s still a pirate, good or otherwise. Moreover, she has a plan to make sure that everybody gets to enjoy the concert forever and never have to worry about pirates, corruption, work, school, or sadness ever again. Of course, anybody who wants to shield the world from life like that is going to be a villain. Uta’s plan is basically to trap the population in a sort of dream world while their unconscious bodies wither and die. It’s up to Luffy and his crew, and later Shanks, to stop her. The government might also intervene by blowing up the entire concert, but hopefully it won’t come to that. Maybe Uta can be convinced to snap out of her derangement herself, as we learn more about her motivations and tragic past. One thing’s for sure, whatever happens, we’ll get lots of that confusing anime-style fighting where impacts and damage are assigned seemingly at random. There were things I liked about “One Piece Film: Red.” Uta is a sympathetic character and her songs are beautiful. Villain songs are usually my favorites in Disney musicals, and here we get at least two, maybe more if you retroactively count early ones before Uta’s heel turn is official. And some of the comedy works, in that manic-anime-energy sort of way. But then there’s the biggest detriment to the film, which is that it’s just so darn confusing. The cast is top-heavy on characters, Uta’s plan is convoluted, and the action is near-impossible to follow. I couldn’t even tell if a certain character was alive or dead at the end. Nor do I have any idea why the film is called “One Piece Film: Red.” I assume the “Red” refers to Shanks and his hair, and it is undeniably a film, but otherwise I haven’t the foggiest. Yes, I’m coming into this movie without a lick of knowledge about “One Piece Film” lore, and established fans will probably get more out of this movie than I did, but I can’t say that I found this to be an effective entry point into this series. There’s an effort being made here, but for a non-fan like me, there’s a headache-y quality that the film never quite manages to shake. Grade: C “One Piece Film: Red” is rated PG-13 for violence, suggestive material and language. Its running time is 115 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

MISSISSIPPI Declaration 17621 (Disaster: MS-00148) Incident: JACKSON WATER CRISIS occurring: August 30, 2022 & continuing in Hinds County, Mississippi; and the contiguous Mississippi counties of: Claiborne, Copiah, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, Warren, and Yazoo Application Filing Deadline: June 14, 2023 Disaster Loan Assistance Available: Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period. Credit Requirements: Credit History – Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to SBA. Repayment – Applicants must show the ability to repay the loan. Collateral – Collateral is required for all EIDL loans over $25,000. SBA takes real estate as collateral when it is available. SBA will not decline a loan for lack of collateral, but SBA will require the borrower to pledge collateral that is available. Interest Rates: The interest rate is determined by formulas set by law and is fixed for the life of the loan. The maximum interest rate for this program is 3.040 percent. Loan Terms: The law authorizes loan terms up to a maximum of 30 years. SBA will determine an appropriate installment payment based on the financial condition of each borrower, which in turn will determine the loan term. Loan Amount Limit: The law limits EIDLs to $2,000,000 for alleviating economic injury caused by the disaster. The actual amount of each loan is limited to the economic injury determined by SBA, less business interruption insurance and other recoveries up to the administrative lending limit. SBA also considers potential contributions that are available from the business and/or its owner(s) or affiliates. If a business is a major source of employment, SBA has the authority to waive the $2,000,000 statutory limit. Loan Eligibility Restrictions: Noncompliance – Applicants who have not complied with the terms of previous SBA loans may not be eligible. This includes borrowers who did not maintain required flood insurance and/or hazard insurance on previous SBA loans. Note: Loan applicants should check with agencies / organizations administering any grant or other assistance program under this declaration to determine how an approval of SBA disaster loan might affect their eligibility. Refinancing: Economic injury disaster loans cannot be used to refinance long term debts. Insurance Requirements: To protect each borrower and the Agency, SBA may require you to obtain and maintain appropriate insurance. By law, borrowers whose damaged or collateral property is located in a special flood hazard area must purchase and maintain flood insurance. SBA requires that flood insurance coverage be the lesser of 1) the total of the disaster loan, 2) the insurable value of the property, or 3) the maximum insurance available. Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Mississippi's General and Special Election Day is less than a week away. The November 8 ballot features congressional, state judicial, and school board races, in addition to a handful of special elections. To familiarize yourself with the upcoming election, all congressional and state district races can be viewed on the Secretary of State's website. For a sample ballot specific to you, contact your local Circuit Clerk. Polls for the November 8 Elections will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Any voter in line at 7 p.m. is legally entitled to cast a ballot. Several counties have changed polling places since the 2020 elections, so we strongly recommend voters verify their polling place with their local Circuit Clerk before Election Day. Problems at the polls observed by State observers or otherwise reported to our Elections Division will be referred to the authorities, including the Attorney General’s Office or the appropriate District Attorney’s Office. As a reminder, the Secretary of State’s Office has no enforcement authority over election-related issues. Primary and General Election Day Reminders In-Person Absentee Voting Deadline: The last day to absentee vote in-person is Saturday, November 5. Circuit Clerk Offices will be open from 8 a.m. to noon. Mail-In Absentee Voting Deadline: All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by November 8 and received by county Circuit Clerk Offices within five business days of November 8 in order to count. Voter ID Affidavit Ballot Deadline: Voters who cast an affidavit ballot by reason of voter ID must present an acceptable form of photo ID to their Circuit Clerk's Office by November 15. Polling Place Location: Please contact your county Circuit Clerk’s Office or local Election Commissioners to verify your polling place. Voter Photo ID: Voters are required to show photo identification at the polls. A voter without an acceptable form of photo identification is entitled to cast an affidavit ballot. Click here to view a list of acceptable photo IDs. Campaigning: It is unlawful to campaign for any candidate within 150 feet of any entrance to a polling place, unless on private property. Loitering: The polling places should be clear for 30 feet from every entrance of all people except elections officials, voters waiting to vote, or authorized poll watchers. Camera Phones: Voters are prohibited from taking pictures of their marked ballot.

Falling back to Standard Time early Sunday morning remains a good reminder to check your smoke alarms and change batteries. "There were 84 fire deaths in 2021," Chaney said. "In 41 of those fires, there were no working smoke alarms in the home. That's 48 percent. I believe many of those lives could have been saved if only alarms had been in place. If you need an alarm and can't afford one, please call your local fire department." Remember to: Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button. Make sure everyone in the home understands the sound of the smoke alarm and knows how to respond. Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old. Replace the smoke alarm immediately if it doesn't respond properly when tested. Smoke alarms should be placed in every sleeping area and common hallways and on every level of the home. Should a fire break out in the home, have an emergency evacuation plan for the family to follow and have a designated meeting place for all family members. Once everyone is outside the burning home, call 911 and don't go back inside the home under any circumstances.

Open enrollment through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace runs November 1, 2022 through January 15, 2023. Five health insurance companies will offer plans in Mississippi. They are Ambetter from Magnolia Health, Molina Healthcare, Vantage Health Plan of Mississippi, and UnitedHealthcare. Cigna also joined the Marketplace in 2022. "Carefully review the options available to you and in your area," Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said. "Make sure that the plan you are considering provides the coverage that you need. While low monthly costs are attractive, you also need to consider copays and deductibles that you may have to pay later. Check with the provider to see which facilities are in-network." Mississippians can see plan options, monthly premiums and more by visiting www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/ You may contact the Mississippi Insurance Department with other insurance-related questions by calling 601-359-3569 or emailing consumer@mid.ms.gov

Governor Tate Reeves today announced that the Mississippi License Tag Commission is accepting design submissions for the state’s next official car tag. The submission process opened today, November 1, 2022. Proposed designs must be submitted by the end of the business day on November 30, 2022. All designs can be emailed to licenseplatedesign@dor.ms.gov for consideration. “Mississippi is filled with talented artists and designers. We’re opening the submission process to take in inspiration from across Mississippi for our state’s next car tag,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “I look forward to seeing the range of submissions from Mississippians and finding a great-looking new plate that represents our state whether you’re going to work or taking a trip cross-country.” The following are the requirements for design submissions: Proposed designs must be submitted by end of business day on November 30, 2022. Design must be emailed to licenseplatedesign@dor.ms.gov to be considered submitted. Design must be submitted in Adobe Illustrator (Ai) format. Design must be readable with a light-colored background design with dark-colored alphanumeric characteristics for plate numbering. Design must be limited to a maximum of 3 colors. Design cannot contain expressions that are considered obscene, slandering, insulting or vulgar. Design cannot contain any copyright images. Each submission is required to provide name, address, and phone number of designer. The designer selected will not receive any compensation. Participants must be Mississippi residents. Designer of the winning design must execute a release of any rights to the design. Changes to the design may be made to meet the required specifications and may contact interested parties for further information. Plate size will be 6” exact x 12” exact as it is today. All license plates will utilize an embossed (raised) alphanumeric character set which will be positioned as referenced immediately below: The upper region of the plate between the bolt holes is reserved for the jurisdictional name to be printed (Mississippi). The lower region of the plate between the bolt holes is reserved for the county name. In this example, LAUDERDALE. The lower right corner of the plate is reserved for the validation sticker. The requirements for the submission and more information may be found here.

By Bob Garver Oh, go ahead and go for it. Depend on someone else to make you feel worthy, important and likable. Hang on to their every word and gesture as indications of whether, or not, you deserve to take another breath of air on this planet. Ignore the fact that they have their own issues in life that color their thoughts and reactions at any given time. Discount that they may simply be having a bad day and can’t give you what you are wanting. Disregard the words of the Bible that plainly tell you, ‘God made you. He loves you. He likes what He made, and He wants to help you become an even better you.’ Finito. Finished. Class over. You can bomb any relationship successfully. If you have a poor self-image, then secretly, you probably don't like you too much. If all you see is an ugly slimy toad in the mirror, then it’s difficult to believe that someone else doesn't. And anything someone says to you is likely filtered through that invisible screen of self-dislike. So what you often hear is distorted into rejection or condescension. Husband: “Do you think my dad liked his gift I gave him?” Wife: “He seemed to like it just fine, dear.” But through his filter the husband hears, “It was okay, I guess. Not “Oh, yeah!” or “He really loved it!” Anyone wanna guess what comes next in that difficult conversation? Or the same self-image issue can create neediness. Ever heard the endlessly tiring, "Do you think I did good? Do ya love it? I was good at that, don'cha think? Huh? Huh?" People tend to get just a tad frustrated with always having to feed a bottomless hungry hole, even though they truly do love that needy person. Wife: “Did you enjoy the dinner I made for us tonight, honey?” Husband: “Of course I did. You always make good meals.” Her filtered version? “Oh, sure, it was fine, like you always make. Not anything outstanding, though.” And the needy cook, who is wearing her heart on her sleeve, feels dismissed. She may angrily accuse him of taking her for granted. Because feeling criticized or neglected can lead to striking out verbally at the one you believe is rejecting you - or outright sulking. And if the cook is passive /aggressive, ‘burned-whatever’ may be served for the next meal. Whichever occurs, you can bet there will be miscommunication and arguments. Good advice? Take a different class. Named LOVE YOURSELF 101. Learn to accept you with all your weaknesses and failures, but refuse to stay where you are. Do what you need to do to become a believer in you. Find a good counselor to help you with your issues. Start reading and trusting your Bible, where you’ll read that God finds you wonderful. That He only wants to train and teach you to become an even better version of you.

By Bob Garver Good for “Ticket to Paradise,” keeping its #2 spot at the domestic box office over Halloween weekend despite the challenge of so-called “scary” movies. It really speaks to how poorly the horror slate was handled this year when every Halloween-friendly release loses out to not only the second weekend of the undeniable blockbuster “Black Adam,” but the second weekend of this innocuous romantic comedy as well. Unfortunately, “Ticket to Paradise” isn’t much better at being a rom-com than those other movies are at being horror. George Clooney and Julia Roberts respectively star as David and Georgia Cotton, the divorced parents of Lily (Kaitlyn Dever). Lily celebrates graduating from law school with a trip to Bali, where she falls in love with local seaweed farmer Gede (Maxime Bouttier). Barely a month later, Lily has decided to marry Gede and move to Bali permanently, effectively ending her legal career. David and Georgia fly to Bali, ostensibly for the wedding, but really to try to break Lily and Gede up. They both made a huge mistake rushing into marriage when they were younger, and they don’t want to see Lily fall into the same trap. In fact, their own marriage was such a disaster (aside from producing Lily) that they now hate each other and can’t stand to be around one another. This being a comedy, various circumstances will force them to be around each other for nearly the entire runtime. David/Georgia adventures include a turbulent plane ride with Georgia’s dopey pilot boyfriend Paul (Lucas Bravo), having hotel rooms right across from one another, a caper to steal Lily and Gede’s wedding rings, swimming with malicious dolphins, helping with a seaweed harvest, a night of beer pong, going back and forth on their feelings toward the wedding, and of course gradual hints that they might be right for each other after all. And they do it all while bickering with perfect chemistry. Not “perfect” as in actually funny, but in the sense that Clooney and Roberts are clearly professional actors who know how to play off their scene partners. No couple in the real world is this much in lockstep (a word David loves) even if they’re partners for life, and we’re supposed to believe these two detest one another? So many tired rom-com cliches are present: the wisecracking best friend (Billie Lourd) with no real purpose in the story, a chatty third wheel (Genevieve Lemon) on the plane, baffling-to-David language and cultural barriers, a drunken spending-the-night mixup, an embarrassing injury to Paul that makes him look less desirable, women successfully building a fire while the men fail at hunting, things going wrong in the leadup to the wedding, a potential deal-breaker at the wedding itself, and so on. I’ve been hearing people say that this modest hit has “revived” the romantic comedy, and while that isn’t quite true (“Licorice Pizza”), it has revived the kind of romantic comedy that people cite as an example of why they don’t like romantic comedies. I’ll say this for “Ticket to Paradise,” it makes Bali look really nice. I’m sure this movie will be a great boon to the island’s tourism industry. No doubt the location shoot endeared Clooney and Roberts to this project, because it sure wasn’t a sharp, challenging script. If you’re the kind of person that considers beautiful scenery to be a good reason to see a movie, this is probably a good choice for you. But if you need more than a gorgeous island and A-listers coasting on their effortless charm, get a Ticket to something else. Grade: C- “Ticket to Paradise” is rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief suggestive material. Its running time is 104 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

By Kara Kimbrough I got a little feedback – make that pushback – from last week's suggestion to make your own chicken and beef broth. I’m not sure I adequately explained how easy it is to simply let pour everything in a stockpot and let the ingredients boil while doing other things. And, the beef stew made from my homemade beef broth was delicious, although lighter in color than normal. I attribute this to the lack of brown dye most likely used to give commercial beef broth its rich brown color. But enough about broth. This is an easy sell: I want to convince you to make your own dips. Before you swear allegiance to your favorite container of French onion in the dairy case, hear me out. Making your own dip is infinitely easier and less time consuming than broth. Using a food processor or blender reduces the time to literally minutes once the ingredients of choice (and not tons of sodium and other unpronounceable powders found in commercial dip) are added. Even stirring by hand is an easy chore that results in a smooth, creamy dip filled with ingredients you actually select and about which you feel relatively good. Finding a recipe-sharing internet site on which participants regularly ask for helping in cooking almost anything caused me to start making my own dips in earnest. After someone asked for “everyone’s favorite homemade dip," literally hundreds – possibly thousands – of recipes were contributed to the post, each one sounding better than the last. Warm feta dip with artichokes, "most popular vegetable dip from the 70’s," loaded crack bacon and cheese and family favorites like, “My mama’s favorite shrimp dip” and hot crab dip from a Marylander (the crab capital of the U.S.) poured in. It was almost impossible to choose just one for an event at which I was instructed to bring “some kind of dip.” After copying and pasting the list into a document I saved in my computer files, I watching an Instagram video of someone topping a dish of hot pizza dip with slices of pepperoni cut and shaped to resemble a jack-a-lantern. The dip was the hit of her family’s pumpkin-carving party. Even better, she allowed her young children to partake of the dip since she knew the ingredients and felt good about allowing them to partake along with the adults. Halloween has passed, but fall festivals and other fall events, including tailgating, will be around at least until Thanksgiving. Making a hot baked dip makes more sense than summer's chilled ones. However, I would never shun any type or variety of dip. I sampled a few found on the recipe site and am passing on the recipes for three that stood out. Besides serving as a dip, they perform triple duty as a spread for crackers and a burger or sandwich sauce. And even better, they tasted much better than French onion in a carton. Hot Crab Dip from a Marylander 8-ounce cream cheese ½ cup mayonnaise ½ cup sour cream 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (use name brand) 2 tablespoons chopped green onions 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon lemon juice Several teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning (use more or less according to taste) ½ teaspoon dry mustard ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use more or less according to taste) 1 pound fresh lump crab meat (no substitutions or it won’t be good) Heat oven to 375 degrees. With a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until soft, then add all the other ingredients (except for crab meat and about ¼ cup of shredded cheese). Hand stirs in the crab; reserve the remaining cheese. Pour everything into a 9” skillet or baking dish, sprinkle reserved cheese on top and bake 25-30 minutes. Serve hot with sliced baguette or crackers. Best Vegetable Dip from the 70’s 1 cup sour cream 1 cup Miracle Whip or favorite mayonnaise 1 package Knorr vegetable soup mix 1 teaspoon dried parsley (adjust to taste) 1 teaspoon dried parsley (adjust to taste) Mix ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours. Serve with chopped vegetables or crackers. California Party Dip 1 14-ounce can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 cup mayonnaise ¾ cup chopped Roma tomatoes 1 teaspoon dill weed or lemon dill 1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Place in shallow baking dish. Bake 35-45 minutes until heated through and lightly browned. Serve with crackers. Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer from Mississippi. Email her at kkprco@yahoo.com.