I’m guessing a lot of you are, like me, trying to lighten things up after the rich treats of the holidays. I make a real effort to include lots of veggies and salads at meals from Thanksgiving right through New Years Day, but is anyone really going to fill up on broccoli when there is lox and pâté on the table? I know I don’t. So, to get 2011 off on the... 
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No doubt, hands down, my favorite thing to toast the new year with is good champagne. Sometimes budget or inclination precludes the “good” part of that declaration, however, and I find myself turning to champagne-based cocktails instead. They’re delicious, festive, easy, and let you doctor up the cheap stuff to great effect. On a whim last week I mixed... 
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Can I just say that I’m really proud of myself? I’ve been meaning to put together a Christmas cookie collection for ages, and I finally at least started it! Cheers! If I could have just one Christmas cookie it would be a delicate, lacy rosette dusted with powdered sugar that someone else fried up for me. Someday I’ll make them again, but probably not... 
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Last week it was a cake, this week it is a pie. I am a little walnut crazy. I like them under normal circumstances – something about that bitter edge they have delights my taste buds and the fact that they really are quite good for you as well (can you say “essential fatty acid”?) is a lovely bonus prize – but some walnut growers sent me a giant box of... 
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I should start with the fact that this cake is delicious. Seriously. All on its own. Second, I should mention that while it’s not exactly health food, within the world of delicious cakes it sort of is. Whole grain flour, maple syrup in lieu of sugar, and then the fresh dates, walnuts and walnut oil for moistness instead of butter. But all I really want to talk about... 
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