Tooling Around

By Sandy Hu

Just in time for holiday cooking, Special Fork is featuring Tool Week. For the entire week Special Fork Bloggers will be blogging about their favorite kitchen tools.

And we’d like to know which are your go-to tools.  Those of you who are our fans on Facebook will be eligible for a drawing of some cool kitchen tools especially selected by Special Fork (value: $75). And don't forget to let us know what your favorite tools are.

I love kitchen tools and my utensil drawers are chock-full of them But here are my go-to choices.

Click to read more ...

Easy Ravioli – the Secret is Wonton Wrappers

By Sandy Hu

Here’s a ravioli that even cooking newbies can make because it uses wonton wrappers instead of handmade ravioli dough. You cook up a simple pumpkin-walnut filling, spoon a tablespoon between two layers of wonton wrappers, and, using your fingertip, seal with water.

Cook up your plump pillows of dough in a pot of salted boiling water for two minutes and serve with a brown butter and walnut sauce. It’s that easy.

If you keep a package of wonton wrappers and a bagful of walnuts in your freezer, and a can of pumpkin in your pantry, this dish can be your go-to meal, anytime.

Click to read more ...

At Least, Eat your Egg!

By Sandy Hu

I’ve been crazy-busy recently, working nights and weekends to do my day job while getting ready for the Les Dames d’Escoffier annual conference starting this Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead in Atlanta. The end of the conference marks the end of my year as president.

LDEI is the only organization of its kind: a worldwide society of professional women of high achievement in the food, fine beverage and hospitality industries. The organization embraces all aspects of food professions – from chefs and restaurateurs to cookbook authors, food editors, culinary historians, vintners, bakers, farmers and more. Membership is by invitation.

Click to read more ...

Make Ghostly Halloween Treats in Minutes

Now that the kids are grown, I miss the excitement of Halloween, when we would get the kids dressed up and shepherd them around the neighborhood. Neither of my boys was big on candy so recently, I called Chris in New York and asked him what made Halloween so special. He recalled the thrill of being out in the dark, the ghostly home decorations, jack-o-lanterns on front porches and the adults dressed in costume dispensing treats. San Francisco’s temperate fall weather also contributed to the enjoyment of the evening.

As a trick-or-treat “deprived” child myself, I’m glad Chris has such fond childhood memories. (Out of deference to his mom, he left out the middle school Halloween years when he gathered with other boys from school, when daring but harmless “tricks” were more fun that “treats.”)

Click to read more ...

Simply Delicious Macadamia Nut Cookies

By Sandy Hu

Growing up in Hawaii, we had a macadamia nut tree in our front yard. We’d wait for the nuts to fall, then remove the outer husk and get a hammer to crack the rock-hard inner shell. It took a lot of patience to line up one nut at a time, and to keep the nut in place long enough to connect with the brunt of the hammer. A traditional nutcracker was useless against the mighty macadamia.

My ever-resourceful mother figured out a more efficient method. She would corral the nuts in one layer in the base of a shallow candy box, put a piece of cardboard on top to hold the nuts in place, then whack away with a hammer indiscriminately. Eventually, all the nuts would yield their buttery meat.

Click to read more ...