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This savory dip was the top winner in the National Dandelion Cookoff at last year's Dandelion May Fest in Dover, Ohio.

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 1/4 cups dandelion greens, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, prepackaged or canned, chopped
• 2 13.75-ounce cans artichokes, drained and chopped
• 1/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 small loaf French bread, pita triangles or crackers

In a large mixing bowl, place mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, dandelion greens, chicken, artichokes, red bell pepper, onion and garlic powder. Stir until well mixed. Place in a well-greased 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve with bread, pita or crackers.

-- Gail Harshbarger, Akron, Ohio

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This wilted salad is a favorite way to prepare dandelion greens. The sugar helps mask some of the bitterness, while the bacon adds a salty crunch.

• 1 pound dandelion greens
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 strips of sliced slab bacon
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Wash the dandelion greens thoroughly, spin them dry and place them in a glass salad bowl. Peel and slice the onion, separating the slices into rings.

Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and fry them in a heavy skillet until they are crisp. When they have rendered all of their fat, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings, return the skillet to the burner and rapidly stir in the sugar and the cider vinegar.

Adjust the seasoning and pour the hot dressing over the greens and onion. Add the salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

-- "The Welcome Table, African-American Heritage Cooking" by Jessica Harris (Simon & Schuster, 1995, out of print)

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• Butter for buttering the pan
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 large clove garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 bunches dandelion greens, washed and dried, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces (about 9 cups)
• 2 shallots, minced
• 6 eggs
• 8 ounces fresh goat cheese
• 8 cups stale bread, crust on, cut or torn into about 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, garlic and black pepper. Heat over high heat until just before the milk reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. When the bacon is cooked, keep the pan on the heat and add the olive oil, dandelion greens and shallot. Stir until the greens are wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the cooled milk and the goat cheese and whisk until combined. Stir in the bread, dandelion green mixture and lemon zest and mix until combined. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, pressing down to make sure the bread is submerged. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes so that the bread absorbs the liquid.

Bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown, rotating once for even cooking. Serve immediately.

-- Los Angeles Times

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• 2 pounds dandelion greens, tough stems removed and leaves cut crosswise into 4-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook greens in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until ribs are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain in a colander. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking and drain well, gently pressing out excess water.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic, stirring, until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to moderately high, then add greens, red pepper flakes and salt and saute, stirring, until liquid greens give off is evaporated, about 4 minutes.

Makes 4 side-dish servings.

-- Gourmet

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If you like your cookies sweet and chewy, these biscuit-like treats will probably disappoint. They also have an odd texture that some may find unappetizing (the petals, which took my 12-year-old daughter more than 15 minutes to pinch from the stems, felt like tiny hairs in the back of my throat). On the plus side, dandelion petals are extremely rich in lecithin, vitamin A and iron.

-- Gretchen McKay

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup dry oatmeal
• 1/2 cup dandelion flowers (see note below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend oil and honey and beat in the two eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, oatmeal and dandelion flowers. Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

-- Peter Gail

Note: Hold flowers by the tip with the fingers of one hand and pinch the green flower base very hard with the other, releasing the yellow florets from their attachment. Shake the yellow flowers into a bowl. Flowers are now ready to be incorporated into recipes.

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This recipe comes courtesy of the West Virginia Dandelion Festival in White Sulphur Springs, which this year will be held May 22-26.

• 3 quarts dandelion flowers
• 1 gallon water
• 3 pounds granulated sugar
• 2 lemons
• 1 orange
• Yeast and yeast nutrient
• 1 pound golden raisins

Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh; heads should be trimmed of any stalk. Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap. Leave for 2 days, stirring twice daily. Do not exceed this time.

Pour flowers and water in large pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and orange. Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail. Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to stand until cool (70 to 75 degrees).

Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover and put in a warm place for three days. Strain and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (glass bottle or jug). Add the raisins and fit an aerlock to the vessel. When wine clears, remove sediments by siphoning liquid into clean bottles, adding reserved pint of water and any additional required to top up. Leave until fermentation ceases completely, then siphon again. Set aside 2 months, then siphon and bottle. This wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting but will improve remarkably if allowed a year.

Yields about 1 gallon.

-- West Virginia Dandelion Festival

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This recipe took second place in the National Dandelion Cookoff at last year's Dandelion May Fest in Dover, Ohio.

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 1 cup bell peppers, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 5 bay leaves
• 3 bunches dandelion greens, washed, stems removed and blanched, chopped fine
• 8 cups shrimp stock
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup file powder
• 2 cups white rice, cooked
• 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
• Dandelion Corn Bread (recipe below)

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, whisk in the flour. Stir the mixture constantly for 15 to 20 minutes, for a dark brown roux. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne and bay leaves. Cook for 12 to 13 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are wilted. Add the dandelion greens and continue until the greens are wilted. Add the shrimp stock and mix to blend with the roux. Simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and cook for 15 minutes. Add the green onions and parsley and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the file powder to thicken at the end.

Ladle the gumbo in a shallow dish. Place a heaping portion or two of the rice in the center of the gumbo. Sprinkle the green onions over top. Serve with a piece of Dandelion Cornbread.

-- Pete Dressen, Aurora, Ohio

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• 7 ounces butter
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 bunch dandelion greens, washed, stemmed, blanched and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt the butter in a cast-iron skillet and set aside. Next, mix the buttermilk and baking soda in a non-corrosive bowl. In a separate bowl mix the sugar, eggs and salt then add to the buttermilk-baking soda mixture. Stir in cornmeal and flour and fold in the dandelion greens. Finally, fold in the butter and pour the whole mixture back into the cast-iron skillet and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

-- Pete Dressen, Aurora, Ohio