French Onion Soup with a Twist

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

When it’s blisteringly cold outside and I’m running low on funds, a hearty soup is always the dish I go to first. And my favorite soup of all is French onion. The way the onions reduce to an almost meaty caramel and then get topped with cheesy bread –there’s nothing better.

I found myself without the usual dry sherry I use in making onion soup and in the spirit of changing up my routine, I grabbed the bottle of bourbon from my cupboard instead.

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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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Stuffing in 30 Minutes

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

I can’t wait for Thanksgiving! We always observe the holiday at home and it’s always a cooking fest spanning several days. But I don’t mind the work. I love to prepare the meal and I love the leftovers.

Every family has dishes that are sacrosanct. In our house, it’s the stuffing. The cornbread one I make, from The New York Times International Cookbook, takes hours to prepare – chopping vegetables, mincing herbs, cubing and toasting white bread, making cornbread, and using a food grinder to grind the giblets.

Growing up in Hawaii, my mom’s was a Portuguese stuffing studded with pimentos, sliced olives and chopped linguisa.

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Thanksgiving Greens

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

Thanksgiving in our house means both the North and South are represented. Applewood-Smoked Bacon & Greens is one dish that often replaces green beans or Brussels sprouts on our table because it pleases both sides.

We love applewood-smoked bacon because the pork is cured over glowing embers of applewood to produce a slightly sweeter flavor. It’s not as strong as oak or hickory. The bacon, sautéed onions and garlic in this side dish also lend a depth of flavor to the Swiss chard. And it’s a very easy dish to make while the turkey is resting.

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Bacon, Onion and Kale Stuffing

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

I agree with the many millions who think the stuffing or dressing is the star and the turkey an accompaniment, with the gravy as the saucy bit (gilding the lily) that makes it all a very happy and tasty marriage.

Stuffing, although a humble dish, is not as easy to make as it looks. It’s a fine line between being too rich or too dry or too wet.

Not all stuffing recipes call for eggs. But eggs not only enrich the flavor, but they keep the stuffing moist and help the ingredients bind together.

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