Rutabaga, My New “Butternut Squash”

From Lori Powell

Rutabaga is that funny-looking, waxy thing that you see in the root area of the supermarket produce section. It really doesn’t feel good to the touch but underneath is a globe of delicious goodness!

I must say that I was among the doubters, thinking it really can’t be that good and it’s probably woody and dry underneath the rind. Now rutabaga is my new butternut squash with lots more dimension – the adult version of butternut squash.

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At the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco

By Sandy Hu

Many shows ago, I gave up on trying to make trend sense out of what I saw and tasted at the Winter Fancy Food Show. A trade show for gourmet retailers, the show covers 196.000 square feet at Moscone Center in San Francisco, embracing 1,300 exhibiting companies and attracting more than 17,000 attendees.

There’s simply too much real estate and too many disparate offerings to conveniently pigeonhole. So instead of trying, I just walk the show, see what I see, taste what I taste, and refuse to be overly ambitious in what I take away from the experience. Yesterday, I enjoyed the company of @JustinMcNeil of Delin8ted as I walked the show. He’s a new friend I met on Twitter, tweeting about #NASFT and #FancyFoodShow over the weekend.

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Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

At Special Fork, we believe in family time, especially during the holidays. So we are taking time off beginning today. Katie (who writes for cooking newbies on Tuesdays), Lori (who writes for singles and couples on Wednesdays) and Andrew and Marilyn (who write for families on Thursdays), will return to blogging beginning the week of January 3.

Thank you for visiting with us at Special Fork’s blog. From our bloggers, our food editors and from our family, we send our warmest wishes for the happiest of holidays and a new year of peace and prosperity.

Dave and Sandy

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Happy Thanksgiving

By Sandy Hu

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no posts for The Family Table by Marilyn and Andrew Hunter this Thursday and no Video Friday. Special Fork bloggers will return on Monday.

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A Pan Sauce for All Seasons

By Katie Barreira

What’s turkey without gravy? You would never chuck the succulent pan juices from a holiday roast, so why waste them any other time of year? A quick pan sauce is the easiest way to class-up a simple weeknight meal.

One of my biggest testing pet peeves is when a recipe calls for searing a protein (chicken, fish, steak…most especially steak) and then abandons the pan, never to be mentioned again. One can only assume that all those caramelized bits of flavor and schmaltzy fats are being fed to the kitchen sink.

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