For St. Patrick’s Day, Try Irish Butter and Cheese

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I used to think Irish fare was corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and potatoes. Period. Nothing wrong with that – I enjoy these foods.

But when I tasted the real thing in Ireland, I realized how narrow my thinking had been. Fabulous food is being prepared in guest houses, restaurants and cooking schools across the island nation. Talented chefs, cooking teachers and TV cooking stars are leading the way, using Ireland’s natural bounty from land and sea in sophisticated, contemporary interpretations.

I might never have discovered new Irish cuisine except for a fortuitous circumstance. About eight years ago, I won a new client for my PR business: Kerrygold butter and cheeses from Ireland.

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Okinawa Doughnuts – Fast!

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I don’t know if it was custom or culture, but growing up in Hilo, Hawaii, friends or relatives often dropped by without calling first. We had a gravel driveway and when we heard the crunch of car tires, we’d peek out the French doors to see who had come to call, then we’d fly about the house picking up.

Guests never came empty-handed. Usually they brought a box of assorted pastries from Robert’s Bakery that we could serve back to them.

Sometimes they brought homemade jams or jellies or produce from their backyard. When we could see there was no familiar bakery box in their hands as they ascended the stairs to our front porch, we knew we needed something to serve the guests – fast!

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How to Read a Recipe

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Dave loves to tell this story: Looking for cooking inspiration, he found a crowd-sourced tilapia recipe on the Internet. He invested the time and money to purchase the ingredients. He cooked, following instructions carefully and after tasting…promptly tossed the dish in the trash!

Dave came to me to find out why the dish was inedible. Perusing the offending recipe, I wisely told him, according to Dave, “Just looking at the ingredients, I could tell you this recipe wasn’t going to work.”

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Judging the James Beard Cookbook Awards

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I’m cooking up a lot of really delicious food in the Special Fork kitchen these days. But I can’t tell you what I’m making, nor can I share the recipes.

I’m a judge of the James Beard Foundation Book Awards once again this year (my third time; not in consecutive years), and I’m testing recipes from my final book choices.

The photo above shows all the cookbooks I received in my designated category. Since the category is secret, not only have I turned the spines away from you, I’ve had the slivers of color from the book jackets Photoshopped out.

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SPAMMED – the Food Kind!

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If you grew up in Hawaii and you claim Spam has never touched your lips, you are: 1) a hermit 2) a protected child of food snobs or 3) telling a lie.

As everyone knows, Hawaii boasts the highest per capita consumption of Spam in the U.S. Spam meals and snacks are sold at local drive-ins, McDonald’s and even the 7-Eleven.

So tonight, when I attend the annual ancestral potluck of the San Francisco Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, an august gathering of food influencers, guess what I’m taking to represent my heritage? Spam musubi!

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