With a little extra time on our hands, lots of us are in the kitchen these days. Whether you're experienced in kitchen or taking up cooking as a new hobby, make it even more fun by trying some special Missouri dishes.

MAIN COURSES

• Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken is a thing – a delicious one – accept no substitutions. This signature dish was created by David Leong in 1963 for his restaurant, Leong's Tea House.
• Silver Dollar City is known for their amazing food – and it's more than funnel cakes and grilled corn on the cob. And they're sharing their recipes with all of us: like this hearty Harvest Skillet. The SDC chef also prepared an amazing Easter feast, which you can adapt for an impressive Sunday dinner.
• And seriously, you can't talk about Missouri cooking without discussing barbecue – and especially Kansas City's famous burnt ends. You can get the recipe and even follow along on the video to get your savory barbecue fix at home.

GO VEGETARIAN:

• This Thai wrap hails from Lona's Lil Eats, a popular St. Louis restaurant whose following is so loyal, it's almost achieved cult status.
• Chef Jeremy Kirby of Small Batch in St. Louis suggests Bourbon Buffalo Cauliflower as a sure-to-please side or main dish for vegans and vegetarians. You will need a deep fryer for this one.

SIDES

• Nothing beats traditional country cuisine, and who better to turn to for that than the Silver Dollar City chefs? You can substitute olive oil in their fresh vegetable succotash, for a heart healthier version.
• James Beard-nominated chef Nick Bognar's Thai-inspired Acorn Squash Casserole is more of a fall dish, but it's so delicious, we had to include it. Bognar is the chef and owner of iNDO in St Louis.                                                           
• Dress up one of your usual dinner choices with Mushroom Wine Sauce, created by Nicola MacPherson of Ozark Forest Mushrooms – the premier grower of shiitake and oyster mushrooms in Missouri. Or you could substitute your hard-won morel mushrooms for a seasonal treat!
• When done well, nothing beats a hot, buttery biscuit – and Chef Ben Welch of the Midwestern has a go-to choice for this king of the comfort foods: his "Not-My-Mamas Biscuits."

TREATS

• One of the sweetest accidents ever happened in St. Louis, and it's a treat everybody loves. You should give this Ultimate Gooey Butter Cake recipe a try.
• Who can resist a warm, comforting loaf of Lavender Lemon Bread? Especially when it features a very special locally grown ingredient from Long Row Lavender in Wright City.

COCKTAILS

• Take your summer favorite root beer float to a new level with Stump's Spirits Pecan Pie Float. It adds a Deep South flavor and creates a taste-sensation that's definitely NOT your childhood treat.
• It is a fact of life that there is no such thing as too much chocolate – so why not in cocktails? Kyle Mathis from Westport Social created the STL Sour – combining chocolate with cabernet for a drink that's not only delicious, but beautiful. Make it just that much more Missouri by choosing a cabernet from one of the Show-Me State's wineries.
• This cocktail was created for President Harry S. Truman to pay homage to his home state and the Democratic Party mascot, the donkey (the mule is a hybrid of a male donkey and female horse). So how could any self-respecting Missouri drink menu not include the Missouri Mule?

EXTRAS

If you want to delve a little deeper into the cooking world, check out these links:

• Baking
• Iron Horse Chef Cookbook Suggestions
• Extra Helpings Cookbook Project
• Kansas City Cocktails You Can Make at Home
• Silver Dollar City Chef

And if you're one of those talented, imaginative, daring kind of cooks – feel free to share your own Missouri creations with us. Just be sure to include exact measurements for us less-gifted chef wanna-bes!

Written by Barb Brueggeman