Paring down

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

So, Groundhog Day came and went and with it, the news that we have five to six weeks until spring. Feeling very inspired, I started on spring cleaning – or in my case, spring clearing – so that the cleaning part will be easier.

This past weekend, while Nemo was bearing down on the Northeast, I was pulling things from closets and making piles of no-longer-needed stuff that will be sold at yard sales or given away to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Old books will be donated to the local library to make room for the stacks of new books that have not had a home on my limited shelf space.

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A Valentine’s Day Dessert for Cooking Newbies

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Most holidays can be daunting for the beginning cook, with many courses to serve to large groups of people. Valentine’s Day is the best time for a beginning cook to shine since he or she will be cooking for just two.

I find the best way to approach this day is to see it as a normal weeknight meal, but with the quality and care turned up a few notches.

Serve meatloaf, if that’s what you and your significant other go for, but make it with the best ground beef, pork or lamb you can find and maybe some homemade ketchup slathered on top.

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Scallion Pancakes for Chinese New Year

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, February 10, as we usher in the year of the snake. Despite our Chinese surname, our family doesn’t have a tradition of celebrating this important Chinese holiday. But we might cook up a few Chinese dishes, just to feel connected.

It you’re putting together a New Year menu in celebration, try this Scallion Pancake recipe from Andrew Hunter, for starters. He shows busy families how to shortcut the prep time by using flour tortillas instead of making the pancakes from scratch.

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A Quick Dinner for One

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

Frozen ravioli is a great shortcut to putting dinner on the table. The key is to find the brand that you like.

Fresh Market in my neighborhood makes some exceptional flavors such as pumpkin, roasted vegetable and a cheese one that is not all about the fillers or preservatives. The dough is thin and tender, and cooks up in no time.

So I have dinner on the table in minutes without any guilt that I’m eating something that’s not healthful. The other great thing is that frozen ravioli are easy to portion out since they are individual pouches of deliciousness.

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Making Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Hi, Cooking Newbie readers. I’m so happy to be joining the Special Fork team with this first blog post. In each post, I will aim to teach you an invaluable technique, along with a killer recipe, so that you not only can make my recipes easily, but you can become a better cook, in general.

With this first post, I only thought it best to begin with the most basic, yet delicious technique and recipe I know: making perfect hard-boiled eggs. I literally make these once a week on my days off for a fantastic and virtually hands-free, no-mess meal, which is my favorite kind.

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