How to Make Crème Fraîche

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

Today’s Special Fork Video Friday features our easiest video yet. You just mix two ingredients and leave it alone for 10 hours. Period!

Crème fraîche, like sour cream, is used to dollop on soups, as a dessert topping, and for many sweet and savory recipes when a thick, tangy creaminess is desired. It’s fairly expensive to buy but the ingredients used to make it, heavy cream and buttermilk, are more budget-friendly. When you mix the two ingredients together and let it stand at room temperature, the mixture thickens and turns tangy. Once it thickens, store the mixture in the fridge up to 10 days, where it will continue to get thicker and tangier.

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Summer Patty Melts

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

Food and baseball are two of our favorite things. Last night, Marilyn and Nick were at a birthday party, which left Ben and me to our own devices. The first-place Dodgers were playing the Reds at 6 p.m. So Ben and I joined forces to prepare dinner in 30 minutes. After all, we needed to be watching in time to see the lineup!

We decided on patty melts and grapes. Ben spread mustard on the bread, grated the cheese, washed the grapes, and stirred the onions while they were caramelizing in the cast iron skillet. I sliced the onions, made the artichoke mayo, and formed and seasoned the patties. There was no need to set the table because we would be eating on the patio in time to hear the words, “It’s time for Dodger Baseball.”

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Fix and Carry

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

BBQs are the hit of the summer season. What to bring when someone invites you?

Well, your dish needs to be seasonal, tasty and something that can sit outside for a bit without perishing in the heat (so not dairy). Bonus points if you can make it ahead and double bonus points if it’s inexpensive to fix.

Bean salad is the order of the day! The classic is a three bean salad, but why not more than three?

I grew up on jarred three bean salad and absolutely loved it since it’s a cross between a pickle and a salad (and I have never met a pickle I didn’t like). Add beans to pickles and you up the health factor.

Combining the crisp texture of lightly cooked green beans with the creaminess of a white or red kidney bean, and the crunch of sweet corn, along with a hit of mustard (salty), honey and vinegar, is a winning combination. This salad also pairs well with all of the usual offerings at a summer BBQ as it gives welcome freshness and textural relief to the grilled meaty burgers, hot dogs and chicken.

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Quick Fig Jam

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

For my last post before our summer break, I wanted to leave you with one of the best things I’m eating right now: my quick fig jam. Not only because the figs at the market right now are bursting with sweetness and color, but this is just a great condiment to have on hand.

It couldn’t be simpler to make either. I stir the figs together with sugar, honey, and lemon juice and let them macerate for an hour or so to let the sugar bring out the juices in the figs. Then I gently heat it and cook it down until it’s naturally reduced and thickened; no fooling around with pectin or other gelling ingredients. It’s all-natural, and when refrigerated, will last for weeks, although I doubt you’ll have it around that long.

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See you After Labor Day!

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Special Fork is going on hiatus after Friday; we’ll return on Tuesday after Labor Day. Posting a blog a day, Monday through Friday, is ambitious for any site, and all Special Fork bloggers are looking forward to this summer break.

In the meantime, just like on TV, we will be posting “reruns” that you might have missed. Given that we’ve begun our fourth season, we have a large repertoire of good posts to choose from to share with you again.

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