In between thumbing through pages of mouthwatering recipes in some of my cookbooks, the books I like to read are the ones that belong to my children.

At least once, if not twice a month, we pay a visit to Seymour Library. I feel a bit silly admitting this, but I enjoy the children's room just as much as the kids do. Sometimes I wish I could start at the very beginning with the As and work my way through to the Zs with all the books they have shelved for children. As much as I try to tell myself that you can't judge a book by its cover, the first thing that determines whether I might choose a certain book are the illustrations.

My kids have their favorite books, and seem to know exactly where they are located. Even though they might have previously checked the book out 10 different times, they still continue to bring home the same favorite over and over again.

I can't blame them though. Just glancing through some of the books brings back so many wonderful memories of stories I enjoyed reading when I was a child. I loved "Make Way for Ducklings." I thought it was a very special book as it had a gold seal on it, which turned out to be the Caldecott medal. I always enjoyed any of the books by Dr. Seuss. The Richard Scarry books were another of my favorites, mostly because of the illustrations.

On our bookshelves I still have some of the books from when I was a child. To this day I still look forward to finding "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree" on the shelf, carefully turning the aged, cracked cover, and sharing the story with my children.

Some other favorite stories of mine were any of the Little Golden Books, "Charlotte's Web," "The Boxcar Children," and the stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

There are plenty of books that my children really enjoy reading with me. My daughter has just started the Junie B. Jones series. I love reading these stories to her, because Junie B. reminds me so much of my daughter.

Then again, so do the Olivia and Eloise books. Try putting those three girls together in one book.

My youngest loves anything with cars or trucks, but his favorite by far is anything that involves Thomas the Tank Engine. I know when he takes that huge collection of stories off the bookshelf we are in for a long night of reading.

My oldest is at the age where he enjoys his own personal favorites. But every once in awhile he'll find that old copy of "The Puppy Who Wanted A Boy" and he still remembers when his dad and I would read it over and over to him. Now we read the Harry Potter books, and share some of our favorite parts of the novels. Unfortunately, he is very good at telling me what is going to happen before I have even reached that chapter in the book.

It won't be long and we will be making another glorious trip to the library. They each have their own library card, and they load the books into their backpacks. I told them they could only check out as many books as they can carry.

They see so many books they want to read that the kids find themselves cramming as many as they can into the backpack. After checking the books out, it's time to try and drag their bursting backpacks out the door without struggling.

Once we're outside, they always ask me if I will carry their bag for them.

Why not enjoy a good book with a child. After all, we're in the midst of National Children's Book Week.

Next week we'll be busy in the kitchen with some little chefs enjoying our annual turkey talk from tots.

In the meantime, if you have a favorite holiday recipe that you would like to share with our readers, please send it in. Your recipes, requests for a certain dish, and comments are always welcome.

Just write to:

Jennifer Henry

"Mom, What's for Dinner?"

c/o The Citizen

25 Dill Street

Auburn, NY 13021

Or send them via e-mail to: momwhatsfordinner@yahoo.com.

Thanks to Jeanne, Ruth, Diane, and Blanche for some of their favorite Thanksgiving meal ideas.

Here's a favorite from Jeanne Galbally of Auburn. A tasty idea to dress up that butternut squash.

Baked Squash and

Apple Casserole

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash

2 apples, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cold margarine

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Pare, seed, and cut squash into small slices.

2. Place squash and apple slices in a 7 x 11-inch oblong baking dish.

3. Blend the brown sugar, margarine, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.

4. Distribute the mixture over the squash and apples. Cover and bake in a 350-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Ruth Goldman of Auburn loves to prepare this dessert for her mother, who is still young even at 101 years old.

Ruth's Pumpkin Mousse Cheesecake

Ingredients:

4 ) 8 ounce packages cream cheese

1 ) 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons brandy

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs

1/4 cup half and half cream

1 cup canned pumpkin

Crust:

1 cup gingersnap crumbs

3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

1. Prepare the crust by combining the melted butter and crumbs. Press mixture into a 9-inch, well-oiled springform pan.

2. In a blender beat the eggs, cream cheese, and sugar well.

3. Add the maple syrup, brandy, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the cream and pumpkin. Blend until mixture is very smooth.

4. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake in a 350-degree oven for one hour. Let cool and refrigerate overnight before releasing from

the springform pan.

5. Decorate with several pecan halves around the top of the cake.

After everyone has had their fill of turkey, you may want to think about using some of the leftovers to make this delicious soup recipe courtesy of Diane LaRue of Auburn.

Cream of Turkey

Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mushroom slices

3/4 cup chopped green pepper

3/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup flour

2 cans (14 ounces each) chicken broth

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup milk

2 cups long grain wild rice, cooked

1 ) 1/2 cups cooked turkey, cubed

1 ) 8 ounce container soft cream cheese

Directions:

1. Cook and stir the mushrooms, celery, and green peppers in the margarine until tender.

2. Mix the flour and broth together until blended. Add the flour mixture to the vegetables and cook. Stir constantly until the mixture boils and thickens.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in the milk, cooked rice, turkey, and cream cheese. Stir until well blended. DO NOT BOIL.

Blanche Volbrecht of Auburn shares her favorite grape pie recipe that was a recent request from some readers.

Grape Pie

Ingredients:

3 cups Concord grapes

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 recipe plain pastry

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Slip the skin from the grapes. Place the pulp in a saucepan and reserve the skins.

2. Bring the pulp to a boil. Put it through a sieve to remove the seeds.

3. Mix the skins with the flour, salt, lemon rind, and sugar. Mix in the pulp.

4. Place the filling in the pie shell. Pat in butter.

5. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

Here's a tasty dinner idea for those busy nights

Easy Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper

3 - 1/2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce, any flavor

1/2 cup water

1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated tortellini or ravioli

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef with the onion and garlic. Crumble, and drain off grease. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Stir in the pasta sauce and water.

3. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the pasta evenly on the bottom of baking dish. Spread sauce and meat mixture evenly over the pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.