Reader suggests making your own coconut pie

In last week's column we reported two sources for the coconut-custard pie being sought by Ray Ellis. But I often find that it's actually easier, if I'm having difficulty finding a particular product, to make it myself, and that sentiment apparently is shared by Cathy Bourne of Pahrump, who sent a recipe she said she got from alohaworld.com.

AMAZING COCONUT PIE

2 cups milk

Â¾ cup sugar

1 cup shredded coconut flakes

1 teaspoon vanilla

Â¼ cup butter, softened

½ cup Bisquick

Mix all ingredients and pour into a buttered 9-inch glass deep-dish pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, then use a toothpick to check doneness, adding 2 minutes if the mixture sticks to the toothpick.

— Recipe from Cathy Bourne

More reader finds

Ann Brown said Mike O'Brien can find the Southern-style fried chicken dinner he's looking for, with mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuits, at M&M Soul Food at 3923 W. Charleston Blvd. and 2211 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

More on chow chow: Shirley Powell, whose recipe for green-tomato relish ran last week, also sent her mother-in-law's recipe for chow chow. Powell said she got the recipe after her mother-in-law passed away, and it's a little vague. But she said she's canned it in half-pint jars (20 to 25 minutes, using the hot-water-bath method), and that some of her friends made it and froze it. "We liked it served with most kinds of meat," she added. I did a little research, and here's a somewhat more complete version:

CHOW CHOW

2 quarts ground tomatoes

1 quart ground cabbage

1 cup ground onions

1 red bell pepper, ground

1 stalk celery, ground

1 cup vinegar

1/3 cup salt

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Toss the vegetables together in a large kettle.

Bring the vinegar, salt, sugars and cinnamon to boil in a large pot. Add the vegetables and again bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about an hour.

Can and process, following manufacturer's directions, or freeze in small containers.

— Recipe from Shirley Powell

More on Vita herring: Eric Yaillen and Norm and Sheila Kaufman emailed to say Glazier's Food Marketplace, 8525 W. Warm Springs Road, carries it. Yaillen said Smith's and Winco do, but with no reliability. He said he orders directly from the company at www.vitafoodproducts.com and finds the prices comparable.

Openings and closings

Brown reported the opening of D'Coffee Shop at 4255 S. Durango Drive, and said after stopping in on Saturday, she went back Sunday for lunch.

Harvest has opened at Bellagio, with longtime Bellagio chef Roy Ellamar at the helm.

And Jardin has opened at Encore.