With the Fourth Annual Seattle Cheese Festival taking place this weekend, the focus is, naturally, on cheese. Eighteen year old Kelsey Kozak takes cheese-making seriously. The Times offers up some accompanying recipes: Caprese Chopped Salad, Fondue with Beecher's Flagship Cheeses, and Five-Cheese Macaroni.

Nancy Leson lists places to get a true roasting chicken.

As people prepare for outdoor entertaining, wine expert Paul Gregutt makes Washington wine selections that can be mixed and matched. Also in wine, an answer to the question of whether the disappointment in $20-50 merlots is real.

Times restaurant critic Nancy Leson comes out of anonymity and announces a new blog to boot, All You Can Eat.

Yes, there are a lot of African-American chefs in Seattle. No, they don't all cook "soul food."

In the kitchen, make good use of Spring produce with recipes for: Marinated Salmon and Spinach Salad, Oven-Braised Cod with Leeks, Fennel and Peppers, Sautéed Artichokes with Crispy Garlic and Sage, Artichoke Bottoms, and Grilled Asparagus Salad.

Brian Carter blends a good bottle, and your petite Syrah questions are answered.

At the bar, shake up a Golden Orange Sake-Tini, Java Mojo and sip the Wine Pick Of The Week, a 2004 Torres Coronas Tempranillo, making sure to note How To ... Store wine better.

In the kitchen, the Seattle PI is quick cooking Quick Moussaka and seven different recipes, one for each day of the busy week, including Salmon with Lemon Olive Oil Sauce and Walnut-crusted Drumsticks. There's also a recipe for Catalan Fish Stew.

Ballerina Brunson doesn't give up good food for her art.

Convenience is, well, convenient, but it comes at a hefty price. Upscale markets like Whole Foods and Metropolitan Market in Seattle that provide prepared foods are charging an arm and a leg, but consumers don't seem to mind.

Crisco has gone the way of trans-fat free. Seattle Times provides answers to common questions about trans fats and recipes using the delicious, and now healthier, stuff: Classic Buttermilk Biscuits, Basic Pie Pastry, Apple Crumb Pie, and Currant Scones.

Out on the restaurant scene, everybody's favorite Chinese restaurant Doong Kong Lau heads to Central America and turns into El Salvadorean Mi Chalateca II.

Brrr...Baby, it's cold outside. The Seattle Times Food & Wine section says to stay inside and heat up the kitchen.

• From three cookbooks, one each about hot chocolate, potpies, and coffee cakes: Recipe: Ancient Aztec Cacahuatl, Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake, Italian Picnic Potpie, Extremely Flaky Sour Cream Crust, "Keep Your Heart Pumping" Hot Chocolate, and Turkish-Style Mocha.
• It seems the haute new trends for 2007 in the supermarket are all about service, local, and ethnic.
• The Taste of the Town is Italian, with a special nod to Enza Sorrentino who opened Sorrentino Trattoria and Pizzeria with her son.

There are a few articles in the Seattle Times' Food & Wine section this week -- restaurant Carmelita seems to be related to every other restaurant, experts offer tips on how to live a Champagne dining lifestyle on a beer budget, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia holds a Wine Festival -- but the real highlight of this week is pumpkins.

They're not talking about those hulking orange orbs that we use to carve Jack O'Lanterns. They are gushing over the much smaller Sugar Pumpkins, which are the star in a whole host of pumpkin recipes, from pie to soup: Flaky Pie Dough, Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie, Maple Pecan Topping, Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Curried Pumpkin-Peanut Soup. And to kick it all off? A cocktail of course -- the Pumpkin French 75.

I love hosting dinner parties, but know that it can be a highly stressful affair. Chefs offer a few tips to make it successful, including how to handle fussy guests, and offer recipes that keep the stress level low, i.e. that are relatively uncomplicated and can be prepared in advance: Herbed Lemon Orzo, Creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup with Chevre & Walnut Crostini, Spiced Chicken with Pears and Port, and Chocolate Espresso Martinis.

Pickiness isn't just the guests at your dinner party. The Times looks at pickiness in general.

As if the heavy stews and braises of autumn weren't enough, it's football season, which brings along with it lots of diet-killing "stadium foods." The Diet Detective offers tips on how to handle a giant plate of nachos.

These days, just about every organization has a fundraising event centered around food, but it all started with the Pancake Breakfast. The Seattle Times offers four recipes: Swedish Pancakes, Dutch Pancakes, Buttermilk Pancakes, and Blueberry Pancakes.

Two books are under review this week. A recipe for Slow-roasted Martini Shortribs comes from Kathy Casey's Northwest Table, and a quick review of Barbara Fairchild's behemoth The Bon Appetit Cookbook.

At the farmers' markets, broccoli rabe (rapini) is coming into season, and you can make a Rapini Frittata with Mozzarella.

You probably don't think much about what you use to peel your vegetables, but the Seattle Times puts vegetable peelers to the test, taking into account the lumps and bumps of different vegetabless surfaces. The recipes are for fruits and vegetables that will put your peeler to use: Fall Galette, Winter Mash, Seedy Potatoes, and Roasted Carrots with Citrus.

We've already mentioned that resaurants are pulling spinach from their menus, but the Times also answers some questions from readers about E.coli and other leafy greens.

With Rosh Hashana starting at sundown on Friday, the staff digs into their archives and offers a recipe for a honey confection caled Teyglakh.

In drinks, the Wine Adviser could rattle off names of Washington Wineries for Merlot, but the one that sets the standard is Abeja Winery. Fremont Oktoberfest kicks off this weekend, offering over 70 microbrews on tap.

Think walking the fair grounds for five hours is enough to burn off that funnel cake? Maybe. If a funnel cake is the only thing you eat. See just how many calories all those deliciously deep-fried fair foods have, and how many calories you're really burning by strolling from food stand to food stand.

Gravenstein apples are at their peak at the farmers' markets, and Pork Cutlets with Apple Dijon Sauce are a good way to use them.

If you've got a glut from your garden, start preserving, or share with your neighbors.

Autumn brings on the new releases from boutique wineries around Washington. And if you went away for summer vacation and want to bring some wine back, here are a few good tips for shipping wine.

We're a little late this week with the roundup of the nation's newspaper food and dining sections, but better late then never, especially when the Seattle Times is featuring huckleberries. The recipes this week are: Apple Huckleberry Pie with Spiced Crust, Pan-Seared Chicken Breast with Huckleberries, Blue Cheese & Port Sauce, Huckleberry Compote, Kirsten's Favorite Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Huckleberries, and Huckleberry'cello (like limoncello, but with huckleberries). While you're in the kitchen, make a Focaccia with Grapes and Gorgonzola, and take note of tips for making a good home-style paella.

Out and about, there's the Puyallup Fair, events at the Pike's Place Market, and if you ever find yourself in Portland, Oregon, Walking Tour of Portland offers one called Epicurean Excursions. It's a good way to get a feel for the city. The article also offers resources for other types of foodie tours of Portland, as well as in other cities.

In wine, the real winemaker might not be on the label, and the Wine Adviser wants Chardonnay's fruit to stand on its own.

One editor and mom rejects "healthy" school lunches in of favor of a little fun.

Infused oils and flavored oils can go beyond the simple salad dressing: Grilled Blood Orange & Ginger Pork Tenderloins, Ensalada de Mango (Spicy Mango Salad), and Recipe: Chicken Braised with Tomatoes and Fig Vinegar.

Oysters and clams are still suffering through the last legs of summer. Shellfish producers can't wait for the cooler waters of autumn.

A new taste sensation, vine-dried raisins, might bring on a new breed of grape-snobs.

In drinks, Maximilien makes a French 75 (Cognac and Champagne), Sauvignon Blanc deserves some praise, and how to keep an opened bottle of wine "vibrant."

On the way to the beach, restaurant critic Nancy Leson makes a pit stop at Ranch House BBQ, notes that Bambino's East Coast Pizzeria will be another addition to the Seattle-as-pizzatown sweepstakes, and praises the fancy cocktails at Stix Billiards & Brewhouse.

They may be hurting in Genoa, Italy, but Seattle gardens and markets are bursting with basil. Recipes are for: Recipe: Fillet of Beef with Pesto, Recipe: Tomato and Pesto Farrotto, Recipe: Pesto Sauce, Recipe: Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto, and Recipe: Tomato Soup with Pesto.

Since it's still hot outside, throw together a "fool" for dessert: Recipe: Berry Ginger Fool and Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Fool with Mocha Affogato.

Borrowing from Europe, dining at a communal table is gaining popularity with restaurateurs, but how do the customers feel?

We've gotten the warnings about oysters from the Pacific Northwest, and we also know the old saying that we should only eat oysters in months that have the letter "R" in them (summer months), but thanks to FedEx, calendar be damned! Restaurants can ship oysters from colder climates to anywhere, even here, southern California. The Los Angeles Times' West magazine lists five places where you can kick back at the raw bar and enjoy the slippery little suckers.

• Ocean Avenue Seafood - 401 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 394-566, www.oceanave.com
• Brophy Bros. Restaurant and Clam Bar - 119 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara, (805) 966-4418, www.brophybros.com
• Bluewater Grill - 630 Lido Park Dr., Newport Beach, (949) 675-3474, www.bluewatergrill.com
• Kendall's Brasserie - 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-7322, http://www.musiccenter.org/restaurant.html#KENDALL'S%20BRASSERIE
• King's Fish House - 100 W. Broadway Ave., Long Beach, (562) 432-7463, www.kingsfishhouse.com

Having a dinner party? Make sure you do your homework, since it seems like there isn't a single person out there who doesn't have some sort of dietary restriction, whether it's self-imposed like veganism, or a product of nature, like allergies.

It may seem like the days are getting shorter, but be not fooled. Summer is still going strong, and in some places, might extend well into October. If that's the case, you need a few new recipes to add to your repertoire to take advantage of the late summer produce: Bread, Tomato, Basil and Cucumber Soup, Asian Flank Steak Salad, Peanut Dipping Sauce, Pan Bagnat with Tuna, Tomatoes and Olives, Zucchini Trifolati and Spaghetti with Raw Tomatoes and Arugula.

At the Farmers' Markets, Northwest apricots are perfect, and a recipe is for a Chilled Fruit Salad with Watermelon Syrup.

Out on the town, the Fresh Cocktail at Boka Kitchen + Bar is made with Plymouth Gin, cucumber, mint and lime juice, and there's a lot of new restaurants popping up all over the city.