Debby leaves with good taste in mouth

Recipes of her colleagues provide a tasty "goodbye" column for Debby Stock Keifer's Recipe Roundup on the E1 Food front. Here are the headlines and lead of her column:

Debby leaves with good taste in mouth
Her final Roundup corrals most fun and tasty recipes the Beacon staff can offer

In my 28 years at the Beacon Journal, the best thing about my job on the copy desk has been my co-workers.

These are smart, witty folks who love to crack wise -- and who appreciate any excuse to celebrate with food. If anyone in the newsroom is hungry, the copy desk is the place to check for eats.

In addition to marking departures and celebrating weddings, babies and holidays, copy desk feasts have included anti-Valentine's Day (contributions included raspberry fool, heart candies bearing insults and a box of smashed chocolates), prom night, baseball night, a pseudo slumber party and green food night (you don't want to know).

We don't have a dress code, but over the years we have instituted a number of important rules: New employees have to bring rookie cookies, departing workers are to bring deserter's dessert, and folks who leave and come back bring boomerang brownies.

So to honor my co-workers over the years -- not all of them copy editors -- here are some great recipes they've shared with me.

Two of the colleagues have moved on, some remain and one, like me, volunteered to leave the paper to cut the number of layoffs announced Aug. 22.

This is my last Recipe Roundup column. I enjoyed tracking down recipes and corresponding with you, and appreciated your kind words in the last three years.

Recipe Roundup won't retire with me, however. Someone will take it over, so continue to send in your recipes and requests. If you're still waiting to see your recipe or request in the paper, you don't need to resubmit it; I'll turn over my files to my successor.

Now for the good stuff.

The remainder of the column includes two full columns of receipes from Andrea Louie, Carla J. Davis, John Higgins, Betty Lin-Fisher, Monica Thomas, Elaine Guregian and two from a book gift from Kathy Spitz. Click on the headline for the recipes.

Recipes can still be sent to Recipe Roundup, Akron Beacon Journal, PO Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640 or to deptuty features editor Lynne Shwerin at lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com