Recipes are addictive. I guess that goes without saying, but since my first recipe magazine clipping in high school, I have become addicted to the "sport" and have recipes in about every category you can imagine that have been collected over the years.

There are reasons why some recipes are special. While cookbooks can be compilations of recipes with specific themes, the wonderful thing about clipping recipes from newspapers and magazines is that you never know what kind of recipe you will read until the pages are turned and the column is read. And recipes given to you have special meaning in that there is usually a story behind it.

Having worked in the food biz for my entire adult life in institutions and hotels like the Ritz-Carlton, I've known chefs that are quiet and unassuming, others that make coming into work truly a delight, and still others that have been known to throw a few pots and pans around the kitchen in an attempt to scare off anyone in a waitstaff uniform. So, while 'chef' is a term that may be generic to an outsider, each definitely has his or her own personality.

It's the same with recipes; a recipe entitled "Chocolate Pudding Cake" can have a very different theme or meaning coming from the West Coast as it does coming from the East. I've had the opportunity to see the differences in recipes having lived in the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, and in the South East.

My favorite recipes, though, come from those old community cookbooks that seem to pop-up everywhere from every organization or church in the country, because they always seem to have the most unusual combinations of common ingredients (like pineapple in cookies). Another reason I love those types of cookbooks, especially the older ones, is that the recipes have been tested many times over and include some forgotten recipes that can't be found in newer cookbooks. When I lived North Carolina, one of my favorite columns in the Charlotte Observer was Helen Moore's column since she had access to all those recipes a cook just can't find anymore, and home cooks would trust her to pass along treasured recipes and to help with troubled ones. (She's no longer doing her column, sadly, but I have many clippings that I've kept of my favorites.)

I've included some of my favorites over the years that I've used at home on this website. Some of these recipes come from my own recipe box, some have been given to me by friends, family or fellow chefs, some are from beloved old cookbooks and still others adapted from the many, many clippings that I have. Some of the recipes are professional recipes when I worked for the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, where I joyfully created all their wedding cakes until the birth of our first daughter. And, yes, there are many recipes that you'll only find here from my many tests of finding the best recipe in a category - or adapting a recipe to the ingredients that I have on hand (which sometimes yields wildly different outcomes from the original).

Each recipe is unique and lovely in its own way. Add a few to your "sporting" collection. If you try one that you especially like, write to me and let me know how you liked it! We would love to hear from you, and will add yours as well.

Renee Shelton