Goodbye for Now from Special Fork

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

On January 1, 2009, my son Dave and I launched Special Fork. We envisioned connecting home cooks like you to recipes and tips, to help with meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking. We wanted you to be able to access this information wherever you may happen to be—in the workplace, at the bus stop or in the kitchen.

The delivery system would utilize exciting new technology: the smartphone. When the iPad was launched a year later, we included tablets.

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What’s for Breakfast? No Need to Waffle Around!

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Is it just me, or are waffles really superior to pancakes? It’s pretty much the same batter, yet the one with the crisp walls and deep crevices to capture puddles of melted butter and maple syrup, seems more special—and more delicious.

Steve is the breakfast maker in our house, and it’s not unusual for him to be in the kitchen early on a Sunday morning, whipping up biscuits, muffins, pancakes or waffles, as he did yesterday. Of all the breakfast breads, my favorite is waffles—especially Orange Waffles, bright with citrus accents from orange juice and orange zest.

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Thanksgiving Tips from the Special Fork Kitchen

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Last Thanksgiving, I had the brilliant idea of spatchcocking my turkey. I had the butcher take out the backbone so I could roast the bird, butterflied. The turkey cooks faster and the skin gets nice and crispy; even on the underside of the bird. I do this to whole chickens all the time.

Big mistake. I hadn’t considered how much space an 18-pound turkey would take, flattened out. It didn’t fit any roasting pan or sheet pan, and I ended up having to cut the bird in parts, dismembering it.

So this year, I have a new plan: I’m roasting two smaller birds—one on Wednesday and a second one on Thursday. Why this madness?

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Hawai’i: Food as a Bridge to Harmony

Congrats to Serena C. from Boston, MA, who wins a copy of Melissa’s 50 Best Plants on the Planet.

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

A century ago, a simple, two-tiered metal lunch bucket became a catalyst for helping polyglot immigrant workers find common ground in the sugarcane fields of Hawai’i. It nurtured the harmonious culture and cuisine enjoyed in the Islands to this day.

Last week, I sat down with Arnold Hiura, journalist, author and historian, in our plantation-style vacation rental built on former sugarcane fields on the Big Island of Hawai’i, to hear this fascinating story. It’s especially significant for me, because all four of my grandparents emigrated from Japan to become sugar plantation field hands. After their work contracts expired, the Honda side of the family moved on to coffee farming, while the Matsukawas continued to raise sugarcane.

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The Best-Ever Shortcake

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

This past weekend, I had a bunch of people over to celebrate Father’s Day. I needed a delicious sweet to end the meal that I could make ahead, that was seasonal and most important, a home run for the dads in the group.

I had bought some local strawberries (they just started making an appearance in my market) and so I thought, strawberry shortcakes! The dough is super simple and luckily I had all of the ingredients, which meant not having to make another trip to the market.

Now I have had my share of shortcakes over the years, but this one takes the cake, literally! Maybe it’s because it contains a lovely amount of heavy cream and butter -- two ingredients that are not part of my everyday consumption or at least, not used with abandon these days.

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