My Go-to Holiday Appetizer

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I love to throw a big holiday party, but it’s so much work, I’ve forsworn doing them. I shared my party tips with you during my last big holiday party, ever.

It doesn’t mean we won’t deck our halls. As I write, there are hundreds of ornaments collected over the years, sorted by type, waiting to be hung on our nine-foot Noble Fir, purchased, as in years past, from a Delancey Street lot where the trees are beautiful, the service is excellent and the cause is admirable.

Delancey Street is the country's leading residential self-help organization for former substance abusers, ex-convicts, homeless and others who have hit bottom. All of the cheerful and helpful staff at the Christmas tree lot are working their way out of their various life issues through Delancey Street programs.

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Entertaining Tips from a Star Chef

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If you’ve ever participated in a Twitter party, you know how fast it goes. So much great information is passed on so quickly, that it’s hard to retain all the gems that fly by your screen in 140-character bursts.

Recently, I coordinated a Twitter Party and blogger event in New York City for Kerrygold, the one PR client I have continue to represent, while working on Special Fork.

Our guest star, Chef Neven Maguire, one of Ireland’s hottest TV cooking hosts, was a wealth of information, tweeting ideas enthusiastically. But it all went by so quickly that by the time the Twitter party was over, I’d forgotten some of the tips I hoped to use. So I went back over the hashtag, #kerrygoldpartytips, and gathered up some of Neven’s best tweets for myself and to share with you.

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An Easy Thanksgiving Appetizer

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Certainly my family -- my husband Steve, my boys, Dave and Chris, my daughter-in-law, Lynn, and our new grandchild, baby Tara.

I’m also thankful that I love my work. I have two jobs: blogging for Special Fork and serving as the PR representative for Kerrygold Irish butter and cheeses, made with milk from grass-fed cows raised on Ireland’s small family farms.

Sometimes, my two jobs converge, as when I get to plan and execute events for Kerrygold and in the process, learn new recipes and food ideas that I can share with you.

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Lemon Sponge Pudding

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Years ago, when I was the food editor of the Honolulu Advertiser, I saved a recipe for Lemon Sponge Pudding from a news wire story. I hadn’t run the story but must have liked the recipe, because I just found it recently in an old recipe binder. So after decades, I thought I’d try it out.

Lemons have been on my mind recently because Dave bought a new house that came with a bonus lemon tree. Delighted to receive the bounty from my son, I grated the peels and juiced the lemons to store in my freezer.

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Almost Foolproof Fish

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

If you're a little leery about cooking fish, worried that it might turn out dry, here's a good recipe to try. It just requires marinating salmon steaks in citrus juices to give the fish added flavor, and then simply baking them in the oven.

The only caution is to keep from overcooking the fish. The rule of thumb is to cook fish about 7 to 8 minutes per inch thickness. At that point, remove the fish and use the tip of a knife inserted in the center of the fish and peek around the cut. The flesh should be opaque and no longer translucent, but still moist.

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