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MARY’s secret ingredients GIVEAWAY!!!

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MSI fall box 2014.

Pictured above was our recent fall box. The winter box will be revealed tomorrow!

My new subscription box business, MARY’s secret ingredients, has been a huge journey for me and my team this year. The support and warmth I’ve received from you means a great deal to me. I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all of you who have shared your kind words as well as perhaps purchased or reviewed boxes for us. Your help has been invaluable! 

So now, since it is the season of giving, and because I want to share not only my appreciation, but also the wonderful gourmet, international products with you, I am hosting a GIVEAWAY!!!

I’ll be giving away one FULL YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION of MARY’s secret ingredients (that’s FOUR boxes filled with surprise products) to one lucky follower, as well as TWO SPRING 2015 boxes as runner-up gifts!

The rules are simple; just comment below with your favorite dish to cook for the upcoming holidays (feel free to add a link to the recipe if you have one) and on December 16th, my team will use a random number generator to choose the lucky winners. Since there are three chances to win, I do hope that all of you will comment and share with your friends!

Unfortunately, if you live outside of the continental United States, (that’s you, Maureen and Charlie Louie), I’m sorry to say you won’t be eligible for this giveaway, as MSI’s shipping is still limited to the U.S. However, please comment below with your favorite recipes anyway. I can’t wait to see what you have to share!

Best of luck to all of you, and stay tuned for more posts about the contents of our winter box and all the great recipes I’ve created using this season’s ingredients.

Mustard and cumin coated whole chicken with dried fruit on top.Now here I’d like to share with you just how NOT to roast a chicken. Remember that great on-the-flash dish I made in front of our guests – the Cumin and Mustard Roasted Chicken pieces with dried fruit? Well on Sunday night, I tried to do that again with a whole butterflied chicken, with a more complex, delicious glaze (thank goodness, because that’s all that was left) and, of course, a longer time in the oven (30 minutes) since it was a whole bird and THAT was my undoing.

Mustard and cumin chicken with charred dried fruit on top.

Mmmm, lovely….

The fruit totally charred!! Just look!! (Imagine if that happened when I had the guests over!)

Roast butterflied chicken with 2 prunes.Fortunately we could just remove the fruit and enjoy the chicken, which was cooked perfectly. Two prunes and two pears survived.

I know your holiday recipes will all be smashing, unlike this one! 

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Comments

  3. Anne Maxfield says

    My favorite dish to cook for the holidays is whatever my friend Laura and I decide to make for gifts. It’s our tradition to get together over a weekend and make something and package it beautifully. We try to alternate from savory to sweet and we’ve done everything from cookies and candy to spice rubs (a big hit!). In between batches, we’ll toss on a silly movie and make a pot of tea. Here’s the link to this year’s recipe: http://wp.me/p2SJwY-1y.
    Happy Holidays!

  4. Heather says

    For the past three years, my husband and I have been in charge of bringing a new fabulous dessert for the family Christmas dinner. Of course, we always have to try out the recipe ahead of time to make sure it works for guests! This year, we already tried out a dark chocolate creme brulee from the Epicurious site: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Dark-Chocolate-Creme-Brulee-1578

    Surprisingly easy and very delicious. We have eaten the test version already and look forward to having it again in a few weeks.

  5. Chris says

    While I’m not much of a sweets person, if I’m going to make Christmas cookies, it will always be my family’s butterballs. Who can say no to butter, sugar, and nuts? Here is a link to the recipe: http://myvermontkitchen.com/2013/12/18/the-country-mouse-goes-to-the-big-city/.

    I’m also toying with the idea of making buchta this holiday season. My family is Czech, and every Christmas growing up, we’d get a buchta from my great grandmother. (Think a flaky coffee cake filled with nuts and fruit.) Grandma had a special touch, her dough was so thin and flaky. I’ve made it twice myself, but it’s been at least 20 years, and of course, it was a big lead balloon instead of an airy pastry. I’m curious to see if my baking skills have improved! 🙂
    Chris recently posted…Tis the Season for Light Eating: Chicken and Rice Soup with Lemon and GingerMy Profile

  6. Bea says

    What a fantastic giveaway. I love the fruit with any turkey!! Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas to you and yours.

  9. Stephanie G says

    My favorite dish to make this time of year is a dessert which is basically an overgrown peanut butter cup for adults which is layered onto a buttery, graham cracker bed. It’s decadent. I have to cut back on the sugar and the chocolate because the recipe is so rich, but it is heavenly!

  11. De'Nita Moss says

    My favorite dish, not my recipe, is my grandmother’s sweet potato pie!!!

    I would love to win the giveaway as I was just introduced to this box, today, via twitter! I would love to try it out! It all sounds delectable and it would force me to try new things!

  13. LeeAnne says

    Rosemary & red wine glazed pork chops
    Served with:
    – Garlic mashed potatoes
    – string beans almondine

    All homemade and delicious … Mmm 🙂

  15. Sharon Brown says

    This sounds amazing! Thanks for the follow or I probably may not have found this. My favorite dish to cook is Zuppa Tuscana with extra yummy Kale, I also like to experiment.

  16. sally john says

    My husband likes to cook Tandoori Chicken for everyone. We look forward to this as he puts in lots of effort to make it right, it really turns out to be very good.

  17. carol clark says

    my dish i love cooking is mexican cornbread just some mean and add corn and hot peppers and cheese i love it along with corn and cream cheese and peppers

  18. Trina Flynn says

    Everything looks so yummy!! My family’s favorite is my homemade Chocolate Cream Pie and Sweet Potato Pie ❤️ I am keeping my
    Fingers crossed for the Awesone giveaway.

  19. Renee says

    Aloha! Glad to discover you!! Bummer… I’m in Hawaii so it looks like I don’t qualify…but I’m going to still enjoy your recipes and blog 🙂

  20. Star says

    My favorite 2 dishes to cook for the holidays are:
    1. Cheesy Potatoes and 2. Coffee Crumble Cake; both are a secret family recipe, sorry.
    Cheesy Potatoes are potatoes with cheese and a nice crisp to the top.. (can’t go into much details) but we would eat this around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
    The Coffee Crumble Cake is really good but it’s not a horrible sweet taste, its just really fresh and not overpowering. CCC can be for like any time but its so delish so we would make it for the holidays!

  21. Kenyetta says

    I love to make sweet potato casserole for the holidays. I don’t have a recipe, just something I perfected over the years. Blend sweet potatoes with melted butter, vanilla and sugar. Pour into baking dish. Then mix flour, brown sugar, pecans and melted butter. Spread over the sweet potatoes and bake until browned.

  24. Bill Bryan says

    I love to make bison chili especially this time of year. I use 3 different kinds of beans and a homemade enchilada sauce in it.

  25. Panda Bouton says

    My favorite dish to cook is stuffed mushrooms. Stuffed with the mushroom stems, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, onion, garlic, butter, & bread crumbs. Mmmmmmm so delicious!

  30. Robin Wilson says

    We love to grill at the holidays! Greek pork chops and a tenderloin are favorites as well as a nice tri-tip. Of course we have to have homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning too! No wonder I gain weight over the holidays!

  34. Wendy O says

    My favorite thing to make during the holidays are my christmas morning cinnamon sticky buns. I don’t have a recipe since I have been making them for over 30 years.

    Very nice giveaway.

    Happy Holidays.

  35. anna says

    I love preparing roasted, herbed vegetables. They compliment holiday foods really well & provide a “healthier” option. Thank you for the chance, it’s always so exciting to open up a new subscription box!

  39. Judith says

    I love cooking a nice and juicy pot roast! I throw whatever ingredients I can find at the farmers market (carrots, turnip, potatoes, etc) into a pot. My secret ingredient: prunes! They become so moist and make the roast sweet and delicious!

  41. Sarah says

    My favorite thing to cook during the holidays is sugar cookies! My daughter is 3 and this young tradition is one I hope to continue with her. As a family we try to make the holidays about time together and making memories through fun activities.

  42. Gloria Clark says

    We love your recipes! Being that my parents were Italian (Mom) and Scottish (Pop) we made the best of both… including lasagna, eggplant parm, shortbread cookies and so much more! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂

  43. Amy K says

    My husband’s spanikopita. Family recipe passed down from his grandmother. It’s not written down anywhere as far as I know, it’s all in his head. It’s our go-to special occasion recipe.

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