Cook & Be Merry —

Tofu & Soba Salad with Peanut Sauce

February 6, 2014

I moved. I divested. I am about a ton lighter in possessions and I feel great. Lean and mean. Moving is such a bitch, but when it’s over, such sublime relief. *Big sigh*

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Top 10 Recipes of 2013 ~ Reader’s Choice Awards

February 2, 2014

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope 2013 was as great a year for you as it was for me and Cook & Be Merry. For everyone who visited my blog, Thank You. And to all my great commenters, you are the absolute best! You make my day and make my blog so much more interesting. […]

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Happy Holidays & Thank You!

December 24, 2013

Dear Friends, thank you so much for all your visits this past year and to those of you who left comments, you’re the best. I am so heartened by the way we all connect over food and cooking, and I’m so happy to belong to this universal village. It is so amazing to realize that […]

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Turkey Lentil Curry with Ginger & Garam Masala

December 9, 2013

Do you still have leftover Thanksgiving turkey in your freezer? Do you enjoy the flavor profile of Indian spices? Then this soup is perfect for you. I had leftover turkey. Not as much as last year, thank goodness, but enough to make a couple of sandwiches and this delectable soup. I love the flavor of […]

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Cranberry Hand Pies

November 24, 2013

So, I was sitting here, trying to figure out what I was going to say about these Cranberry Hand Pies, and the only thing I could think of was that they are Freaking Amazing!! My pies are inspired by a recipe in a Bon Appetit Magazine from a while ago and the accompanying photo only […]

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Green Beans & Grapes with Persillade

November 16, 2013

Green beans and red grapes. The colors of our winter holidays. The jeweled tones of rubies and emeralds on your Thanksgiving table. Ho ho ho. And how do those sweet grapes fit in with the totally savory green beans? You would be astounded how well. What you can’t see is the butter, garlic, minced tarragon […]

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Spicy Corn Bisque with Chorizo, Poblano & Lime

November 11, 2013

Seventeen days until Thanksgiving. Making a bullet point list of things to get done, by day. Making a shopping list. Making some dishes ahead of time and freezing, like this Spicy Corn Bisque with Chorizo, Poblano & Lime. When I saw this recipe in the July 2013 issue of Sunset Magazine, I knew this was […]

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Butternut & Quinoa Salad with Lemon & Honey

November 7, 2013

I am still in Thanksgiving mode and working on my side dishes for the big feast. I really like this one, with the soft sweet butternut squash, the crunchy nutty quinoa and the nuggets of garbonzo chewiness. I love the herby note of cilantro and sweet honey lemon vinaigrette that ties the whole thing together.

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Cauliflower Roasted with Lemon Dijon Butter

November 3, 2013

Do you look forward to Thanksgiving every year as much as I do? It is the one time during the year I think about all those family dinners past, especially when I was a kid. It was when all those old (to me at the time) relatives came over, and drink in hand, told tales […]

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Baked Chicken with Sauce Soubise

October 23, 2013

Ok, let’s get this out of the way first. Sauce Soubise (pronounced soo-beez) is a variation of béchamel sauce, one of the five mother sauces of French classical cuisine. Originally soubise was made of béchamel, onion puree and cream. It is named after Charles de Rohan, Prince de Soubise (a town in France), who was […]

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Witches Fingers & Apple Lips

October 13, 2013

Witches Fingers. Troll Toes. Alien Eyeballs. Tomato Gremlins. Apple Lips. These are going to come in handy when Halloween rolls around. They will dress up your buffet table and give everyone the heebeejeebees. Didn’t you do a double take when you saw those fingers? If you need to bring some little goodies to a party, […]

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Cauliflower & Chicken Soup with Rosemary

October 10, 2013

You know how, on January 1st, you make your New Year’s Resolutions? Well, I made an October 1st Resolution, which was to use up all the frozen stuff in my freezer before I bought any more food. I went to put something in there the other day and realized I couldn’t fit in one more […]

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Pumpkin Cranberry Scones with Maple Glaze

October 1, 2013

Today is October 1st. You know what that means, people. The holiday season for 2013 has officially started. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Year’s. Then, boom, we pop out the other end of the tunnel and its 2014. I’m shaking my head. Jeez. Here we go… I only have one other pumpkin recipe on my blog, […]

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The Food of Camp Blogaway 2013

September 25, 2013

Last May, over the Memorial Day Weekend, I attended Camp Blogaway for the fourth year and it was as fun, informative, inspiring, stimulating and full of blogging friends as the first time I went. However, this time around I decided to focus my story on the food. I mean, this was a food bloggers conference […]

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Plum Nectarine Oatmeal Crisp

September 15, 2013

I never make dessert for myself. Not only for the calorie component, but I’m just not into sugary stuff that much. As you may recall, I am the buttered popcorn queen. But for the last BBQ of the grilling season over Labor Day, I had to make something yummy for my guests and this was […]

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