More Kitchen Sink Dinners

By Lori Powell

All this week, Special Fork bloggers are revealing what’s in their pantry, with tips for using pantry staples. To celebrate Pantry Week, Special Fork has teamed up with Zojirushi, the Japanese maker of top-quality kitchen appliances, to offer a fabulous sweepstakes prize: the 5.5-cup capacity Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer ($192 MSRP), which not only cooks rice flawlessly, but also steams foods and bakes cakes. Menu settings include: white/sushi, mixed, porridge, sweet, brown, cake, steam and quick cooking. Enter to win!

We all have those nights when we don’t have time to stop at the market and grab something to make for dinner that night. Mine was last night but fortunately I keep a well-stocked larder and can probably live from pantry (fridge/freezer/kitchen cabinet) for at least one month, anyway. No joke!

I am a nut about having stuff on hand and it might just be the result of growing up in a large family of all boys. Four brothers! Second helpings – what is that? Never happened in our house and it was not until I started eating at friends’ houses that I was introduced to the term, leftovers, and what that was all about.

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What’s in your Pantry?

By Sandy Hu

All this week, Special Fork bloggers are revealing what’s in their pantry, with tips for using pantry staples. To celebrate Pantry Week, Special Fork has teamed up with Zojirushi, the Japanese maker of top-quality kitchen appliances, to offer a fabulous sweepstakes prize: the 5.5-cup capacity Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer ($192 MSRP), which not only cooks rice flawlessly, but also steams foods and bakes cakes. Menu settings include: white/sushi, mixed, porridge, sweet, brown, cake, steam and quick cooking. Enter to win!

Around 3 or 4 p.m. PST weekdays, I cruise Twitter looking for people who “dk (don’t know) what to cook” and try to give them answers, tweeting as @specialforksndy.  Problem is, without a well-stocked pantry, it’s hard to act upon my Twitter suggestions, no matter how quick and easy the ideas.

Here are some of the staples I keep on hand so I can always make dinner, even if I haven’t gone to the supermarket. I’m not including the obvious: canned tomato products, chicken broth, pastas and other standards.

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An Easy Dip for Snacks or Sandwiches

By Sandy Hu

You can never have too many dip recipes. Dips are easy to make and they’re a lifesaver when you have unexpected company.

I love dips as part of a cocktail buffet. They fill up the spaces between the more complicated appetizers and make your table seem more bountiful.

This White Bean Dip with Pistachio and Cilantro has bright, fresh-tasting flavors. It uses cilantro and coriander seeds, which are the fresh leaves and the seeds of the same plant. If you don’t like that taste, substitute fresh mint and skip the coriander seeds.

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Crab Season’s Coming

By Andrew Hunter

If you ask someone from Baltimore what’s the best crab, they’d say blue crab, with a local’s pride. But if you ask folks up and down the Pacific Coast from San Luis to Juneau, they’d say Dungeness. Regional food pride is one of the things that makes our country’s cuisine great!

Personally, we like Dungeness because we can get it from local fishermen, and we associate it with the holidays because crab season starts in November and peaks in December. Yes, you can get it through June, but our opinion is it’s sweetest in December. So use any kind of crab you like in this recipe; just buy local when you can.

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Shaved Raw Beet Salad

By Lori Powell

Since I just turned another year older, I am on a mission to eat healthier and to be more active. I’m writing this on the morning after my birthday, after a very rich dinner out.

My birthday dinner consisted of heritage Kurobuta pork short ribs on a very creamy buttery parsnip puree, with crispy fried Brussels sprouts and a lemon caper compound butter, all paired with a lovely red wine. I am a sucker for short ribs and especially pork ones. I figured with the pork shortage about to happen in 2013, I best have it while I can and I felt that this was on par with a celebratory dinner.

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