Cook & Be Merry —

Versatile Blogger Award!

July 9, 2010

Holy Smokes! I’ve been presented with the Versatile Blogger Award by the wonderful blog Needful Things. Thank you so much, Grapefruit! This is the first and only award I have received, so it means a lot to me. Especially coming from another blogger I admire (check out her great photography).
The guidelines for accepting this award [...]

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BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

July 4, 2010

This post is dedicated to Patti A., as I haven’t had a chance to do the Angel Food Cake with Strawberries recipe that she requested. This ones for you, girl!
Today is the 4th of July, and I can hear the fireworks going off as I’m writing this. Finally, and hopefully, the weather will warm up [...]

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What Should I Post About Next?

July 1, 2010

My first food photograph taken with my point-and-shoot camera on September 9, 2009.
I have been in a big quandary about what to post about next. So, I have decided to see what you would choose for me. I wonder what will be the deciding factor…the photo? The recipe? The story? Chocolate? Here are 7 potential [...]

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Alabama BBQ Chicken and Grilled Vege Salad From Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms

June 28, 2010

You’ve read my post about the Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread, so this is the follow-up post about the Patriotic Family Picnic menu from the cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach. Grace-Marie chose recipes from the four corners of our country, so we not only had the pleasure of Wisconsin [...]

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Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms

June 22, 2010

A Patriotic Family Picnic was the theme last Saturday for the cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach. Grace-Marie said she wanted to choose recipes from the four corners of our country, so we had the pleasure of Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread, California Coast Grilled Vege Picnic Salad, Alabama Back [...]

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Roasted Red Pepper & Provolone Sandwiches

June 17, 2010

I don’t usually take a photo of what I eat for lunch, because it’s probably pretty pedestrian. A bowl of soup, a container from the freezer heated up, Burger King. The other day I was going through the freezer and I found some corndogs. Had a couple with Frenches mustard. They were ok. But today..oh [...]

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Chicken and Potato Crisp Salad with Watercress

June 14, 2010

Last Saturday I went to a meeting and potluck with the FBLA (that’s Food Bloggers Los Angeles). We get together about once a month to, guess what, talk about our food blogs, share what we know about blogging and EAT. The Chicken and Potato Crisp Salad with Watercress, which I love, is what I brought [...]

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Photo Shoot with Food Photographer Jon Edwards and Food Stylist Denise Vivaldo

June 11, 2010

Recently I had the amazing good fortune to attend a food photo shoot for an international food market with the world-renowned food photographer Jon Edwards at his studio in Monrovia, CA. Also sharing the spotlight were preeminent food stylist Denise Vivaldo of FoodFanatics, her colleague Cindie Flannigan, with Jeff Parker assisting. I had never [...]

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Yellow Split Pea Soup with Shrimp and Ham

June 6, 2010

I wasn’t planning to do this recipe today. At all. But I was busy and I went into my freezer to grab a container of something to heat up in the microwave. When it was heated up I saw that it wasn’t what I thought it was. It turned out to be this container of [...]

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Gingersnap Cookies

June 3, 2010

The last time I made cookies was February 12, when I made Chocolate Chips. I just don’t keep sweet stuff around. I am totally a salt freak. If you put anything sugary next to a big bowl of buttered popcorn, I would be running off with the salty, buttery popcorn every time. And if I [...]

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Potato Salad with Goat Cheese Buttermilk Dressing

May 31, 2010

I am so happy to finally be writing about this recipe. I have been trying to get a good photograph of this Potato Salad since April 1st. I have made it three times, and each time something happened. The first time I made this for a potluck I went to, where I also brought the [...]

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Fiesta Papaya, Pineapple and Avocado Salad from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen

May 29, 2010

Going to a cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach is like going home to dinner with your family and friends. Most of the people know each other from previous classes and if you are new, Grace-Marie tells everyone around you to talk to you and make you feel at home. [...]

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Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnut Butter

May 26, 2010

Brussels sprouts were never a favorite vegetable of mine. I mean, they’re ok. I can eat them without gagging, but I have never bought them to cook and eat for myself. So I married a guy whose absolute favorite vegetable is Brussels sprouts. Go figure.
So a few years ago, because they’re his favorite, I started [...]

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Camp Blogaway Bootcamp Revisited

May 23, 2010

It was one week ago today that I returned from Camp Blogaway Food Blogger Bootcamp and I have been thinking about how to write about it for that whole time. It took about 24 hours for my adrenalin to return to normal, then I slept for 18 hours after the crash. Then I went through [...]

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Goat Cheese Dressing with Orange-Chili Croutons

May 15, 2010

Every once in a while I run across a recipe that is so good, I want to make it all the time. I want to feed it to guests and I want to have a secret hoard in the frig just for myself. I want to keep a bag of croutons to dip into the [...]