Try a Chocolate Sandwich

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

I love pain au chocolat, similar to a croissant, but shaped in a puffy rectangle, wrapped around a core of dark chocolate. Since making French pastry is beyond my ability, I make the next best easy thing: Chocolate Panini.

This is a very simple recipe. You just sandwich baking chocolate between baguette slices, butter the outsides and cook on stovetop until the chocolate melts. The result is a buttery, melted chocolate concoction you will love.

The only tricky part in cooking is that, when you press down on the sandwich with a spatula, the bread tends to stick to the spatula, unsettling your sandwich, so a little patience is required. It is super-easy if can grill using a panini press, as in this demo.

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Kale: Enjoying Bitter

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

As a food professional, I’ve tracked American eating habits over decades and what truly astonishes me is how quickly our food sophistication has ramped up in recent years.

What we consider common ingredients today, such as cumin, fish sauce, salsa, miso, quinoa, hoisin or sriracha, were not on the culinary radar of most Americans in the 70s. We’ve gone from iceberg lettuce to arugula; pre-sliced white bread to rustic loaves.

But the biggest change, I think, is in how we’ve learned to embrace bitter flavors, such as dark chocolate, espresso and hardier greens like kale.

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Easy Asian Dessert

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

When I cook Asian food, I like to serve an Asian dessert. My favorite easy choice is Fried Banana Bites. Once you see how it’s done on this video, you won’t need a recipe to make it yourself.

Aside from oil, which most people have on hand, you only need two ingredients: bananas and wonton wrappers. We use wonton wrappers a lot at Special Fork, but rarely to make wontons. Like phyllo, it’s a readymade, neutral dough that works in both savory and sweet applications. We use wonton wrappers for raviolis, as well as appetizer and dessert cups.

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Fresh Tomato Sauce for Pasta

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

Soon sweet and juicy tomatoes will be in bountiful supply. Funny gnarled heirlooms, dainty red and yellow cherry and pear varieties, and tomatoes of every conceivable shape and color will tempt us with their glorious taste of summer.

It’s time for bruschetta, BLTs, salsas and salads.

When selecting tomatoes of a single variety, pick the ones that have the most vibrant color. Store tomatoes at room temperature. I like to store mine in a single layer (so they don’t bruise) in several brown paper bags. Just don’t forget about them and let them spoil.

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Herb-Stuffed Roasted Chicken Legs

By Jennifer Knapp
A new video for Video Friday

As a professional caterer and cooking teacher, I love to cook! When I’m not busy with work, you will often find me experimenting with new recipes and throwing dinner parties. After all these years in the profession, cooking is still one of my favorite things to do in my spare time and I find spending time in the kitchen fun and relaxing.

However, just like everyone, there are times when I am exhausted from work and the last thing I want to do is spend even more time in front of the stove. All I want to do is prepare a quick dinner and kick back on the sofa with a glass of wine.

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