Recipes for sweet and savory bread pudding, brisket, a French Canadian pork pie and homemade pasta accompany stories both heartwarming and hilarious from the NPR audience.

Dark chocolate bars tested by Consumer Reports exceeded California's daily maximum allowable dose levels for lead or cadmium. But a toxicologist says eaten in moderation, it's nothing to worry about.

A sweet and savory pancake for Passover can also be eaten year-round. And Alan Mishell learned the recipe from his grandmother, whose family escaped Poland ahead of the Nazi German invasion.

Four recipes feature pancakes — from sweet to savory — from our NPR audience. One's made of matzo meal, another has potatoes. Scallions and sausage are in there, too.

While growing up, Merjem Mededovic cooked with her grandmother and learned names of various things in Bosnian. One recipe she learned is kljukusa, a potato and onion dish similar to a latke.

Specken dicken, the not-too-thick, not-too-thin sausage-filled pancakes, are a breakfast favorite that her family makes on New Year's Day.

A daughter recalls her immigrant parents and her father standing by the stove making scallion pancakes on Sunday mornings. Her siblings now make the pancakes for their children.

In a town in Tuscany, some cooks are moving away from the stove to cook meals in boxes with thick wool lining. These portable ovens use the wool's convection properties as a means of slow cooking.

In a town in Tuscany, some cooks are moving away from the stove to cook meals in boxes with thick wool lining. These portable ovens use the wool's convection properties as a means of slow cooking.

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in several high-end New York City restaurants — adrenaline-fueled workplaces where booze and drugs are plentiful and the health inspector will ruin your day.

Try your hand at making two curries — one fish and one lamb — plus a recipe for a slow-cooked country ham and other family favorites.

This recipe represents the ultimate comfort food — nothing fancy. It's been passed from generation to generation. If you can't handle the heat, try adding mango.

When Grandpa put on his raincoat, that meant it was time to move the ham off the stove, just one step in Grandma's slow-cook process for a salt-cured country ham.

No one picks more bamboo than Grandma Zhang, who "shows her love through cooking." Her work ethic and all of the dishes she makes are an inspiration to her family.

A choice of toppings lets all of the relatives around the table make this meal their own. And it's OK to substitute chicken or tofu if lamb is not your thing.