Cookbook reminds that dogs are family, too

Pets are definitely part of our families. I was reminded of that when Annie’s Gourmet Restaurant in Henderson, which has a menu for dogs and allows them on its patio, won Best Family Restaurant in Best of Las Vegas this spring.

That came to mind because of a new cookbook that recently landed on my desk. “Dinner for Dogs” by Henrietta Morrison (The Experiment Publishing, $15.95) is subtitled “50 Home-Cooked Recipes for a Happy, Healthy Dog.” Here’s one of them:

BIRTHDAY CAKE

Vegetable oil for greasing

1¼ cups and 2 tablespoons ground lamb (about 11 ounces)

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup ground sunflower seeds

½ cup cottage cheese

2/3 cup water

2 large eggs, beaten

For decorating:

½ cup and 1 tablespoon low-fat cream cheese

4 slices cheddar cheese, cut into small squares

1¼ tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch cake pan.

Place the ground lamb, flour, oats, ground sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, water and eggs in a bowl and mix well. The mixture will have a meatloaf-like consistency.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and bake the cake for about 45 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the pan from the oven, let stand for a few minutes and remove the cake from the pan. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.

“Ice” the cake with the softened cream cheese. Use the cheddar cheese squares to decorate the top of the cake and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

— Recipe from “Dinner for Dogs”

Found items

For Rick and Ellen Yockelson, who are looking for yogurt cheese, Aurora Gandara emailed that while she makes her own, she recommends Fage nonfat Greek yogurt, which she said she uses in place of cream cheese, or in recipes that call for sour cream. …

For Kathleen Nice, Ann Brown faxed that dry Great Northern beans are available at Wal-Mart at 5200 S. Fort Apache Road. …

And for Pat Reynolds, Brown said frozen bone-in turkey breasts are available at the same store. …

Reader requests

Wilma Neverovich is looking for Hood Dairy Calorie Countdown Milk, once called Carb Countdown Milk, which she used to get at Wal-Mart. …

Ken Wolt is looking for bread mixes. …

And Naomi Plisky is looking for a “REAL” New York pretzel, which she said Target used to carry.

Readers?

Submit information to Heidi Knapp Rinella, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. You also can send faxes to 383-4676 or email her at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Include your first and last names and, if emailing, put “Taste of the Town” in the subject line. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.