Kalbi in a Slow Cooker

By Katie Barreira
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Traditionally, kalbi, Korean bbq’d short ribs, is prepared on the grill with a foot-long strip of rib beef that has been sliced across the bone, leaving the tips of the rib bones along the top. It’s not the most accessible cut of meat, so when I get a kalbi craving, I like to use the classic sweet and savory Korean marinade as a braising liquid for individual beef short ribs, a cut that is widely available and perfect for the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Kalbi
Think of this dish as the Korean version of tacos. Meltingly tender rib meat stands in for ground beef, white rice replaces beans, and instead of corn shells, lettuce leaves are the vehicle for getting all that goodness from plate to mouth. The fixins are distinctly Asian, but use them just as you would salsa, shredded cheese and sour cream.

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Autumn Grilling, Cayman-style

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

Each January, Chef Eric Ripert and Food & Wine magazine host the Cayman Cookout at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman – a festival celebrating food, wine and the beauty of the Caribbean. The roster of chefs is impressive and features Anthony Bourdain and Jose Andres and, of course, Eric Ripert.

I was honored to be amongst this cadre of chefs from around the world. The first night’s dinner, called The Barefoot Barbecue, is on Seven-Mile Beach. As I manned the grill, sandwiched between Eric and Tony, I could hear the waves crashing, steel drums rumbling and wine glasses clinking. It’s an evening, a view and company I’ll never forget.

My contribution to this walk-around event was Grilled Niman Ranch lamb loin chops with a “Hong Kong-style Gremolata.” The boys have been asking me to make this dish at home on the Weber Kettle. It’s actually quick and easy, so give it a try.

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Weathering Frankenstorm Sandy

Enjoy music while you cook. You can win a Logitech z515 wireless speaker for smartphones and tablets. Just tell us how long you take to cook dinner and you’ll be entered in our sweepstakes. Good luck!

By Lori Powell

I am hoping that all of our Special Fork audience is safe and sound and hunkered down, weathering the aftermath of this storm with good eats and good company!

As mentioned in prior blog posts, I keep a well-stocked larder and have an upright freezer that is usually at least halfway filled with edible gold. So, to insure the freezer stuff, I am one of the fortunate ones who owns a generator.

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Last Suppers

Enjoy music while you cook. You can win a Logitech z515 wireless speaker for smartphones and tablets. Just tell us how long you take to cook dinner and you’ll be entered in our sweepstakes. Good luck!

By Katie Barreira

Are you home, hunkered down for Hurricane Sandy? Find yourself doing a whole lot of eating?

You’re not alone.

After a late breakfast of braised lamb, a second cup of coffee with cider donuts for dunking and a couple pieces of the forlorn Halloween candy, we broke out the Ben & Jerry’s (in case of power failure, freezer items would be first to go, so really, it was a precautionary measure.)

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A Cook-it-Yourself Dinner Party

By Sandy Hu

My friend from Alaska, Mary Deming Barber, was coming to San Francisco for a conference and I was looking forward to inviting her to dinner. Problem was, I myself was returning from another conference in St. Louis the night before our get-together. So, rather than cook for Mary, I invited her and four of her friends attending the conference to cook dinner with me.

I’d never done this before, but having such a large, open kitchen, it had always been my dream to host a cook-together party. I thought it would be really fun, a great icebreaker among new friends and less work. (Two of the three turned out to be true – guess which?)

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