Dad’s Pistachio Pudding Cake (and Your St. Patty’s Day Dessert!)

By Katie Barreira

All this week, Special Fork bloggers will be sharing recipes for St. Patrick’s Day. And to celebrate, Special Fork is giving away a prize package of a year’s supply of delicious Kerrygold Butter and cheeses, imported from Ireland, courtesy of Kerrygold! It’s easy to enter the sweepstakes.

While reminiscing over a box of long-collected recipe cards my mom asked me whether I “was around” for dad’s pistachio cake. Now, my father is an ace on the grill and the man makes a mean pb+j, but in my life, I have never seen him navigate a baked good.

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Cheese, Please for St. Patrick’s Day

By Sandy Hu

All this week, Special Fork bloggers will be sharing recipes for St. Patrick’s Day.  And to celebrate, Special Fork is giving away a prize package of a year’s supply of delicious Kerrygold Butter and cheeses, imported from Ireland, courtesy of Kerrygold! It’s easy to enter the sweepstakes.

The grass is greener in Ireland.  Driving through the countryside, you can’t help but envy the cows grazing leisurely in lush pastures.  Fresh air, no growth hormones, well-cared-for on small family farms --cows are happy in Ireland.

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Soup in a Hurry

By David Hu

There’s nothing quite like a nice, comforting bowl of soup when it’s cold outside. While many soups are time consuming, today’s Mexican-inspired chicken potato soup is not. From start to finish this recipe should take about 30 minutes.

If you have the time, let the soup sit for a day to allow the flavors to develop. But if you’re like me, you simply won’t be able to wait that long because it smells so good. I particularly love serving this soup with baked tortilla strips, which I like to add a little at a time to enjoy a nice crunch before it goes soggy.

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Umami Generation

By Andrew Hunter

Ben and Nick are my best taste testers. Their young palates are sensitive and bright. They are Generation Z…a generation of young foodies who unknowingly love bold flavors and appreciate the umami sensation. Even though they giggle when Marilyn and I say that “silly word!” So what does this silly word mean?

We all taste sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and the fifth taste is umami. A Japanese scientist who was doing research on amino acids and their effect on flavor discovered it. Commonly described as brothy, meaty or delicious, umami is difficult to explain, though you know the sensation when you eat a gorgeous tomato, aged Parmesan, stir-fried mushrooms or just a whisper of naturally brewed soy sauce. Then you know umami.

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Eggplant Parmesan

By Lori Powell

I was surprised to find out the other day that chicken Parmesan is an Italian-American invention. I’m just scraping the surface on what the story behind this dish might be….

Most likely it was a hybrid or a version of a dish related to a veal cutlet that was breaded and deep-fried but was not served with sauce or with cheese from Parma, Italy. The American version might have evolved due to the expense of veal, creating chicken Parmesan, but using mozzarella rather than Parmesan. Still confused? So am I, but I didn’t invent it. It does kind of make sense…yes?

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