The A.D. Makepeace Company invites all who entered last year's "Make It
Better with Cranberries" cooking contest - and anyone who enjoys a crunchy cranberry pecan square or foolproof "Cranberry Fool" - to a festive release party for the cookbook resulting from the contest.

The event, cosponsored by the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association (CCCGA), will be held at the Tihonet Village Market at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 21, 2010.

Authors Edward and Yolanda Lodi, who compiled the cookbook for Rock Village Publishing, will be on hand to encourage recipe contributors to share the inspiration for their recipes.

Forty-four residents from throughout southeastern Massachusetts entered the 2009 contest, which was co-sponsored by the A.D. Makepeace Company, CCCGA, Trucchi's Supermarkets, and Edible South Shore. Recipes were judged on the basis of display, appearance, flavor,
texture, and orginality.

First place in the Home Chef category was Susan Ventura, of Taunton, with a cranberry-pecan tart.  Lakeville resident K.C. Starvish came in second with a Nantucket cranberry pie, and Elizabeth Cole, of Taunton, was third with cranberry chocolate gooey squares.

Shelby Rodrique, of Wareham, won the Student division with a recipe for cranberry cupcakes with vanilla-buttercream frosting. Second place went to MaryAnn Aaron, of Sagamore Beach, for her cranberry slaw with cranberry dressing, and Emaly Higgins, of Taunton, took third-place honors with a recipe for cranberry-pineapple minis.

The cookbook is available for sale now at the Tihonet Village Market, 146 Tihonet Road, Wareham, and will be available at major retailers after the ceremony.

For those planning ahead, the deadline for submittals in this year's contest is November 20. Information will be available soon at www.tihonetvillagemarket.com and www.cranberries.org.