Easy Asian Dessert

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

When I cook Asian food, I like to serve an Asian dessert. My favorite easy choice is Fried Banana Bites. Once you see how it’s done on this video, you won’t need a recipe to make it yourself.

Aside from oil, which most people have on hand, you only need two ingredients: bananas and wonton wrappers. We use wonton wrappers a lot at Special Fork, but rarely to make wontons. Like phyllo, it’s a readymade, neutral dough that works in both savory and sweet applications. We use wonton wrappers for raviolis, as well as appetizer and dessert cups.

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Make this Easy Summer Fruit Shortcake for Father’s Day

By Sandy Hu

Steve is the best breakfast maker. Flaky sky-high biscuits, tender muffins, Belgian waffles, popovers, Dutch babies – he’s a master of them all. Since there’s no way to top his skill, for Father’s Day, I tend to resort to the same celebratory breakfast: simple scones with a make-ahead dough that can be shaped and frozen, so all I have to do is pop them in the oven on his big day.

As Dave and I were planning a Father’s Day menu, I thought about changing it up this year and giving those scones a new identity, as shortcakes with summer fruit and whipped cream. I’ve made and shaped my dough this weekend and the discs are in the freezer. On Sunday, we just need to bake them off, split the scone/shortcakes and fill them with fruit and whipped cream. We’ll just bake enough for the four of us so we won’t be tempted to eat more dessert than we should, and we’ll have the remainder in reserve for another time when we come home with a bounty of fruit from the farmers’ market.

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Tropical Ice – Conjuring up a Taste Memory

The other day, I was idly looking at papayas sitting in the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter when they triggered a taste memory:  the intense flavor of papaya transformed into something smooth, creamy and icy. 

Funny thing is, I could remember the taste and texture, but it took me awhile to conjure up the recipe in my head.  It niggled at me until I let the memory play out...the kids were little, we lived in a condo on Cathedral Hill in San Francisco and I used to make this ice for company all the time.

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside…Time For Ice Cream?

By Katie Barreira

I know, I know, but I just can’t help myself. Every year, when that frosty nip hits the air (you Northeasterners know the brand of cold that makes your ears ache and your skin feel like it’s a size too small for your hands), I always get this crazy craving for ice cream. Apparently I’m not the only one, since supermarket ice cream sales are at their peak during the winter months.

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