What’s for Dinner? Pulled Chicken in 30 Minutes

Andrew and Marilyn Hunter are on hiatus as Andrew begins shooting the premier season of a new reality TV show. During their absence, The Family Table will be penned by our Special Fork Food Editors.

By Joanne Lamb Hayes
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

When my family discovered pulled pork sandwiches at a local barbecue restaurant, they asked me if I would make them at home and I said, “Well, maybe.” But every time I thought about marinating, wet mopping and slow roasting a big chunk of meat for hours, I decided to just take them back to the restaurant.

Then on one visit we noticed something new on the menu, pulled chicken. It was delicious and I said, “This I can make!”

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Pan-Roasted Winter Fruits

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Yukon Gold potatoes are included in this trio of winter fruits because their flesh is slightly sweeter than other potatoes. The combination of potatoes, apples, pears and chestnuts roasted in butter and olive oil produces a side dish that’s both sweet and savory and a perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Marilyn and I have been making it during the holidays for years.

The boys think it’s strange to take perfectly crisp and cool apples and pears and make them soft and warm. I understand their logic but think they’ll grow into the idea as their tastes mature.

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Inside Special Fork – and Beyond

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If you’ve followed us for a while, you know our mission: Trying to make the weekday dinner hour a little easier by sharing 30-minute prep recipes, a daily blog, and cooking tips and tricks.

You can follow Special Fork optimized for your mobile phone, or on your computer by visiting our conventional website. Both are reached at www.specialfork.com.

We work with a stellar team of top food experts who have held or who currently hold senior food editorial positions at major national magazines, or who work as professional chefs or culinary educators.

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A Simple Fall Salad

By Marilyn Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s time to indulge in our favorite comfort foods. And with a large, decadent meal like Thanksgiving, a simple salad makes the perfect accompaniment.

This salad is simplicity defined. It was inspired by our friend, Vicki, who’s a pro at tossing a little of “this and that” together to make a healthy, delicious dinner in a snap.

Since there’s very little vinegar in the dressing, it also makes a wonderful companion to wine. Use caution when seasoning with salt as different brands of pecorino cheese have varying degrees of saltiness.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

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Imagining a Sustainable World

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Teaching children to think and live sustainably is an obligation we have to our children, ourselves and to our planet. Sustainability can be fun and it certainly should be delicious. Children are passionately curious. Digging hands into dirt, planting seeds and harvesting is an experiential way for them to learn about food from its source.

A recent day with Dan and Nanette Bercu at Sunset Ranch showed the fifth grade class from our boys’ school the cycle of life, from planting and harvesting to eating healthy and delicious food while it’s still warm from the sunshine. For city kids in Los Angeles, it’s not every day that they get to pick dry-farmed tomatoes, fetch warm eggs from a chicken coop, carve home-cured prosciutto, pluck squash blossoms, wild basil and pungent red onions, and eat the fruits of their labor on wood-fired pizza on a mountaintop farm in Malibu.

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