Cooking

NEW ORLEANS - Chef John Besh's two restaurants were spared when Hurricane Katrina barreled through New Orleans five years ago, but the storm almost wiped him out anyway.

CHICAGO - Cancer may have robbed Roger Ebert of the ability to eat, but it won't stop him from dishing out cooking advice.

SYDNEY - An Australian publisher is reprinting 7,000 cookbooks over a recipe for pasta with "salt and freshly ground black people." Penguin Group Australia's head of publishing, Bob Sessions, acknowledged the proofreader for the Pasta Bible should have picked up the error, but called it nothing more than a "silly mistake." The "Pasta Bible" recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto was supposed to call for black pepper.

TRENTON, N.J. - Simple ingredients and a dash of luck made amateur baker Sue Compton's dessert recipe the winner of the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest and earned her a mention on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." The company announced Wednesday that Compton, of Delanco, N.J., won $1 million in prize money and a line of kitchen appliances for her "Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups." The dish consists of a chocolate- and walnut-dipped sugar cookie bowl holding a spoonful of jam and ice cream and topped with a raspberry.

Good news this Thanksgiving: Compared to 50 years ago, some staples of the Turkey Day table have fewer calories.