A Simple Sweet and Sour

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

One of my favorite dishes to make and eat is sweet and sour pork. I love that interplay of, well, sweet and sour in a savory context. But many of us, including myself, never think to go beyond that Chinese take-out staple when craving that flavor profile.

In comes one of my best standby meals to make when I can’t think of anything to cook, and I don’t have the time, energy, or money for a big meal. I learned this dish from Lidia Bastianich years ago, and it’s easily the most satisfying meal I make that requires virtually no energy to prepare, but pays off big in flavor. And best of all, it plays off that sweet and sour flavor marriage I love so much.

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A Luncheon First Course

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Wouldn’t you love to spend a week working with a leading winery, caterer or a specialty farmer for hands-on learning and mentoring? Each year, a few professional women who have had a minimum of four years of work experience are selected for this invaluable opportunity as winners of Les Dames d’Escoffier’s (LDEI) Legacy Awards.

The mentors, women who are tops in their fields, are all distinguished members of LDEI who volunteer for this program to give back by sharing their knowledge. The award program is supported by a donation from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, which was created by Julia Child in 1995 to support non-profit organizations sharing her commitment to educate and encourage others.

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A Savory Pumpkin Pie

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

At this time of year, it’s difficult to avoid the barrage of pumpkin-flavored everything – beer, doughnuts, and good grief, those spiced lattes. And although I love pumpkin, I don’t ever go for all those iterations of its sweetened and cinnamon-laced flavor profile.

If it’s going to be sweet, I prefer my pumpkin only in traditional pie form; although I’ve eaten a pumpkin version of St. Louis’ famed gooey butter cake that still makes me weak with pleasure when I think about it.

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Bloody Eyeballs

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

If you need a quick dish for a Halloween party, make Bloody Eyeballs. These are really just deviled eggs, but halved crosswise so they look like eyeballs. You can double or triple the recipe, as needed.

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Mummy Pizzas

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

By traditional standards, our urban neighborhood isn’t the best for trick or treating. In other words, there are only a few houses on each block that hand out candy. But somehow the kids always come back with enough loot to last a month.

I always worry about too much candy and not enough nourishment, so this year I’ve decided to make pizza with a scary twist. These pizzas are quick and easy to make even if there’s a crowd of kids to feed. If you can’t bake enough pizzas in one batch for everyone, start each child with a few wedges to keep them busy while the next batch is in the oven.

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