Cookbook FINALLY Finished!

I read about a website in Country Living Magazine (or Country Home...or Better Homes and Gardens...I can't remember which) where you can enter all of your recipes, share them with others (like allrecipes.com, or other recipe sites), but, when finished, can print copies of the cookbook.

They end up being soft cover, well bound, professional looking cookbooks (I'm thinking similar to the Nitty Gritty Cookbooks). The price is right too...$12.95 apiece to print (bulk discounts for multiples of three). To make sure that the site is secure, (and I'm always a little "leary" about giving out credit card information over the internet...even if the site IS "secure") I'm getting a "loadable credit card" (at the Mall of America) to pay for it, so that I don't have to use my check card for the purchase.

SO...I've spent the last several (several!) months, typing in all of my FLAIR (Frequently Looked At Interesting Recipes), and proofreading, and organizing, and re-proofreading them, and now, I think I'm actually ready to order them.

I'm going to surprise mom and Robin and Duane (he knows about it already), and a couple of other people (who OBVIOUSLY don't read my blog!) with copies in their stockings this Christmas.

Here's one of the covers I'm considering (oh Tena...how I DO love these fun pictures of you!):

Here's the other possibility...I haven't decided WHICH to use yet:

Recipes inside include my grandma's chicken and rice, the lemon supreme cake that I LOVE, my aunt Doris's cowboy beans, spanikopita (my FAVORITE Greek dish), okonomiyaki (from my days in Japan), Kris's (from work) Easter rolls, Cindy's (from my days at the Fairfield Public Library) parmesan herb bread, and 139 other recipes that I've tried, loved, and added to "the FLAIR".

Here's my recipe for the Turkey and Dried Cherry Salad that they make at D'Amico and Sons here in the cities...it's AWESOME!

1 lb. cooked Rotini Pasta
4 cups diced turkey
2 cups dried cherries
1 medium yellow onion
4 celery stalks, diced
1 cup whole toasted almonds
Combine all ingredients.

DRESSING:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup powdered sugar
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. Champagne vinegar
1 T. cold water
1 T. poppy seeds
1 tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Mix together and toss with salad ingredients.
They also recommend Marie’s Poppy Seed Dressing in place of theirs.

Here's the recipe for Fresh Broccoli Salad, which I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

SALAD:
2 bunches fresh broccoli
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 cup golden raisins
¼ - ½ purple onion, chopped

DRESSING:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Wash and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces.
Combine broccoli, bacon, raisins, and onion in large bowl.
In separate bowl mix mayo, sugar and vinegar. Pour dressing over salad and toss.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours, tossing occasionally.

Substitute ½ to ¾ cup sliced almonds for the onion, or add 1 cup frozen peas and 1 cup sunflower seeds.

If this sounds like something YOU are interested in, the site is http://www.keyingredient.com/. Happy cooking!