couscous with roasted vegetables recipe | writes4food.com

Confetti couscous and vegetables.

If you’re fatigued by lousy pasta salad drowning in dressing, soggy potato salad or other sad, sad side dishes, give this vibrant and full-flavored side a try. Perfect with grilled chicken, fish, even BBQ.

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White bean puree.

If you love hummus like I do, you’ll love this recipe too: A rough purée of freshly cooked high-quality white beans with fragrant garlic, lemon and parsley. Great on pita chips!

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Beef and cheddar pasta bake.

So, if you’re looking for recipes that will jump-start your healthy eating habits in the new year … well, this is not that recipe. There’s nothing especially virtuous about this Beef and Cheddar Pasta Bake, dietarily speaking—its virtues are purely sensuous: cheesy, comforting goodness. If you recall that recurring menu item from your elementary school cafeteria days, you might think of this as a sort of upgraded version of Johnny Marzetti. I’ve adapted an old Pierre Franey recipe from the 1990s from the New York Times Cooking app—and it’s pretty much what you’re craving on these bitterly cold nights. Add a brightly dressed green salad and a glass of wine, and you’re good to go. Get the recipe on writes4food.com!

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Awesome appetizers for your Thanksgiving feast.

If you stop and think about it, it’s kind of absurd to even consider appetizers before Thanksgiving dinner. But let’s not stop and think about it, shall we? Because all the while the turkey’s in the oven roasting, it’s emanating the most delicious smells from the kitchen. Tummies will invariably rumble. So, yeah: appetizers are a good thing. But you’ll want simple nibbles that aren’t too fussy or difficult to make. Like these. Get my favorite Thanksgiving appetizer recipes over on writes4food.com.

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Fabulous Thanksgiving side dishes.

Rob and I are heading to the beach in South Carolina over the Thanksgiving week, leaving our loving family in Indiana wondering what the hell is wrong with us. So it’ll be shrimp and grits for us on Thanksgiving day. Figuring you’re planning something a bit more traditional, I’ll share my favorite Thanksgiving sides, salads and breads to inspire your Turkey Day menu. See the collection of holiday recipes on writes4food.com.

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Overnight Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake recipe | writes4food.com

The Dorothy Project: Overnight coffee cake.

Two things strike me about this recipe that I found in my grandma Dorothy’s old recipe file: one, the beautiful penmanship, and two, this line: “Can be made 2 days before, providing you have good refrigeration.” …

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Arancini (delicious balls of fried risotto).

Ahh, these cute little balls of fried risotto and cheese deliciousness. I’m still on a kick for Italian appetizers, and arancini totally fits the bill. Yeah, they’re fried. We can live with that. They’re delicious. Get the recipe on writes4food.com!

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Couscous salad with apples and feta.

I made up this recipe after we had a similar salad at a delightful little bar/cafe in Lucca, Tuscany. Couscous is the ideal base for any kind of salad—and this one has a lovely range of flavors and textures: crisp, sweet apple, salty Feta, briny olive, crunchy almonds. It’s kinda perfect, actually. Get the recipe for Couscous Salad with Apple and Feta over on writes4food.com!

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savory granola recipe | writes4food.com

Savory granola topping.

If you’ve bought into the whole Non-Lettuce Salad trend, which you totally should, then you’ll want some fun toppings to finish off your plate of lightly dressed seasonal vegetables. Here’s a fun recipe to try: Savory Granola. Works great on salad, soups, or as a cocktail nibble. Get the recipe on writes4food.com!

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