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Pumpkin time

For pumpkin lovers, there may be nothing better than a simple slice of a great pie. With rich, velvety custard filling baked atop a flaky, golden crust, a great pumpkin pie is a thing of sheer beauty, a perfect way to show off the very best the squash has to offer.

Then, of course, there are the leaden hockey pucks that pass for pies at way too many a holiday gathering. Thick, dense filling - either cloyingly sweet and spiced to the hilt, or dismally bland - baked atop a crust that's about as easy to gnaw as a Frisbee and just as flavorless. They're enough to make any pumpkin lover cry.

Don't turn up your nose at canned pumpkin. Canned foods often get a bad rap, but canned pumpkin can work well in many recipes that call for a puree. Granted, canned pumpkin can't compete with the depth and complexity of flavors of a carefully grown and ripened heirloom squash. But it is readily available and consistent in flavor, texture and moisture content, whereas actual squash varies.

Busy cook

A telling thing has been happening during Lucinda Scala Quinn's fall book tour for "Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys": Food prepared for the photo sessions goes missing.

"Food stylists would tell me, 'I made the Shrimp Scampi (Page 173) and refrigerated it. Someone in my house must have eaten it,'" Quinn says. Maybe that's because her food looks great, both in the book and on the plate - like the way you would want to eat it, she says.

Quinn's bio lists her day jobs: vice president and editorial director of food and entertaining for Martha Stewart Omnimedia; a weekly radio show on Sirius; co-hosting the "Everyday Food" cooking series on PBS; guest appearances on the "Today" show and "The Martha Stewart Show." But her real-life gig as mom and co-kitchen director in her family's Upper West Side apartment in Manhattan is the one she holds most dear and the one that prompted the book.

Local event

Sofia Restaurant in Margate will host a $25 wine tasting on Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to benefit the Atlantic City Ballet. Call 609-822-9111 for more information.

Cool evenings

When the weather starts to cool, soup for dinner is a natural. Paprika gives corn chowder a slightly smoky flavor, while crushed red pepper infuses it with heat. A garnish of thinly sliced scallion adds crunch. Serve the chowder with a toasted baguette and tossed green salad.

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