Andrew and Marilyn Provide Help for Busy Moms and Dads every Thursday
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 1:00AM 
All this week, we will be re-introducing our bloggers by re-posting their very first post for Special Fork. Next week we’ll be back blogging with more cooking insights, helpful tips and delicious recipes that take no more than 30 minutes of prep time, all to solve your daily dinnertime dilemma: what to cook now!
Today we feature Andrew Hunter’s introductory blog. Andrew and his wife, Marilyn, post every Thursday to provide cooking help for busy families.
Andrew is the founder and owner of Culinary Craft, where he develops food products for such brands as Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Niman Ranch and Martha Stewart. Previously, he was a VP of Culinary Development for Wolfgang Puck and before that, Andrew managed the culinary operations for the 525-unit Olive Garden chain. Earlier in his career, he was chef de cuisine of Barbara Tropp’s China Moon Café.
A busy mom of two boys, Marilyn, who works in the family business, is a room mom at school, a team mom on the field, and the chef de cuisine and referee at home. Marilyn believes that running a busy home and business is a team sport.
For more of Andrew and Marilyn’s stories please follow this link to The Family Table.
And if you haven’t read it, please also check out Andrew’s heartwarming story of cooking for the troops in Afghanistan at Thanksgiving.
Sandy
Co-Founder, Special Fork
A Tale of Two Eaters
We’re the Hunters – Marilyn, Andrew, Benjamin and Nicholas. We live in West Hollywood in an old Spanish-style bungalow close to some of LA’s trendiest restaurants. I’m a chef and Marilyn is a full-time mom. Together we own and operate a business called Culinary Craft, specializing in developing food products for restaurants and retail, forecasting food trends and developing strategies for food product lines. As you can see, our lives revolve almost exclusively around food.
We have two sons, Benjamin who is six and Nicholas who is four. Benny is an adventurous eater and Nicky is finicky. We knew we were in trouble when, at age two, Benny approached the high altar at communion and asked the priest for meat to go with his bread and wine. Nicky, on the other hand, would rather do anything than eat. He doesn’t like crust, peel or green things. He does like rice and milk.
Before you get nervous about following the blog of a professional chef and his wife, please be assured that eating in our home on a daily basis isn’t fancy or extravagant. Marilyn likes to say my signature dish is peanut butter on saltines. She’s a much better and dedicated home cook than I am (as I’m sure she’ll aptly point out in various ways as this blog progresses).
We thought it would be a good idea to give you a sense of our daily food grind and philosophy in this first entry. As we said, our boys are very different eaters and pleasing both of them can be a tough challenge. Marilyn makes, serves and cleans up after about 18 meals plus or minus each week. I make a couple, usually on the weekends. We try to serve balanced meals with protein, fruits and vegetables on each plate, even if sometimes they go uneaten. We also try not to indulge in fast food, but are guilty of enjoying a burger and fries now and then. The boys’ school has a “green lunch policy” which means no paper napkins or plastic bags. Everything must be packed in reusable containers … that’s California for you!
Marilyn will probably write more about the daily grind, her successes and failures, and I’ll write more about the philosophy. She’s terrific at creating a meal from a few items in the crisper while I need several specific ingredients to make dinner work. Marilyn can make dinner in a hurry without much mess, while it takes me as long to clean as it did to cook. But together, we’re as great partners in the kitchen as we are in life.
We hope you find this blog an insightful companion to your daily grind and philosophy as you nourish your children and yourselves.
Here’s one of our fast & easy family favorites to start you off.
Roast a peeled and diced butternut squash (you can buy it diced in some markets) at 400 degrees until tender, about 45 minutes. Toss the roasted squash with cooked penne pasta, olive oil, garlic powder, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Sprinkle crushed red chile flakes on yours. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the sweet and salty flavor combination. A glass of milk for them and one of Sauvignon Blanc for you makes a complete meal.
Special Fork is a recipe website for your smartphone and PC that solves the daily dinnertime dilemma: what to cook now! Our bloggers blog Monday through Friday to give you cooking inspiration. Check out our recipe database for quick ideas that take no more than 30 minutes of prep time. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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