Carol Newman, of Crofton, Md., was searching for a beef ratatouille recipe that she said was in the manual that came with her Sunbeam Le Chef food processor many years ago. She said it was made with thinly sliced beef, eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini.

Barbry Hogue, of Bend, sent in the very recipe Newman was looking for from her copy of the 1979 Sunbeam Le Chef food processor cookbook. She said the booklet is still on her shelf after all these years and that she still uses the food processor.

Clearly, this was a recipe designed for the food processor. All the slicing and dicing can be done with the processor, and that helps make short work of the prep. However, the meat needs to be nearly frozen in order to get it to slice cleanly in the processor. I found it easier to slice the meat by hand with a sharp knife and then use the processor to slice all the vegetables quickly and uniformly. This is a very hearty and tasty dish — just be sure you allow enough cooking time, at least 2 hours, for the meat to get good and tender.

Recipe request

Brenda Stup, of Ellicott City, Md., would love to have the recipe for the blue cheese pate or terrine that was served at The Kings Contrivance Restaurant in Columbia, Md., perhaps 15 or 20 years ago. She said it was served as an appetizer with salad greens and maybe walnuts. She used to order it every time she dined there, but it is no longer on the menu.