PIE CRUST

1. Make your usual pie crust, 2-crust version. Line pie tin, put in filling, and now it’s time to play. Roll out second crust and start cutting shapes – using cooky cutters or free form with a knife. At Thanksgiving, for instance, up at my son’s house I was stuck without “necessary’ equipment so I improvised, just carving out a leaf using one nearby as a model. First one doesn’t work? Pie dough is very forgiving. Roll it up and start again. Your “second chances” are infinite. You could also use something from a child’s coloring book for a pattern.

One idea – cut out 3 rounds for holly berries (use bottle cap or such if you don’t have small round cutter). Then use knife to cut out spiky holly leaves. Or use a Santa Claus cooky cutter. Place these on top of pie filling and bake away.

If you have time and inclination, when pie is baked and cooled, then use frosting to decorate your crust decoration. To save time, use those little tubes from grocery; no one cares how it tastes. Licorice for Santa’s belt, etc.

2. Using whatever you have for top crust – shapes, lattice or solid, apply egg yolk and then sprinkle w/ colored sugar.

3. Do usual only very different, i.e., make a pumpkin chiffon pie. At serving time, crumble candy canes and sprinkle on top.

CANDY CANES

Candy canes go so well with chocolate. You can make a chocolate dessert, like that instant pudding concoction, and then sprinkle crushed candy canes atop.

SWEET POTATOES

Make your usual sweet potato recipe and put it in Pyrex®. Then whip up meringue nice and stiff, with lots of sugar. Circle bowl with meringue, and then make dollops on top with peaks. Then you can (1) sprinkle it with colored sprinkles, or (2) in center put 3 maraschino cherries and some pineapple leaves, like holly. Or put marshmallows around rim and decoration in middle. You can shape pineapple leaves with scissors.

BOULE DE NIEGE

Some would suggest that very thrill of cooking is experimentation. So what’s big difference between oregano and cayenne pepper, anyway?

Then there are all those "quick" recipes to "serve your family" gracing pages of women's magazines. NO recipe is quick with Little Helper's assistance.

For benefit of parents everywhere, I have taken my favorite cheesecake recipe and translated it into parentease. The non-parent version is available in Cooking By The Book -- a free bonus I offer with every purchase of The Get Happy Workbook at http:/ hehappyguy.com/happiness-workbook.html .

Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake (Parent Version)

Mix one cup of ginger snap cookie crumbs and one tablespoon of olive oil. Add more cookie crumbs to make up for ones that disappeared about same time your Little Helper walked into kitchen.

Press crumby oil mixture ... "Sorry, Little Helper distracted me." Press oily crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan, and up around edges about one inch. Put it in refrigerator to cool – best to slip it in safely behind broccoli and that thing that's been turning blue for three weeks in case Little Helper gets inspired

Soften three bricks of cream cheese, ideally in microwave. If you can't separate cheese from Little Helper's hands, let her keep doing what she's doing until cheese is good and soft. Cream cheese with one and a half cups of pureed pumpkin, three large eggs, two tablespoons of cream, and one cup of brown sugar. Keep mixing until creamy.

Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you are fortunate enough to have help at this stage, you have three options:

1.Rename it " Harvest Pumpkin and Vanilla Cheesecake". 2.Try scooping out extra cup of vanilla Little Helper poured in for you. 3.Start over.