The Day After: Thanksgiving Leftovers

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Thanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet, and already, I’m thinking about the leftovers—for ourselves and our guests.

If you saw my post last week, you know I’m roasting one turkey the day before, for leftovers to share and to give me drippings to make gravy in advance. I’ll be able to carve that turkey without distractions, sort the pieces, bag and refrigerate them, cutting down on Thanksgiving Day stress. The second turkey will be roasted on Thanksgiving Day—that’s the one we will have for dinner. We’ll see how this plan works out....

Click to read more ...

Thanksgiving Tips from the Special Fork Kitchen

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Last Thanksgiving, I had the brilliant idea of spatchcocking my turkey. I had the butcher take out the backbone so I could roast the bird, butterflied. The turkey cooks faster and the skin gets nice and crispy; even on the underside of the bird. I do this to whole chickens all the time.

Big mistake. I hadn’t considered how much space an 18-pound turkey would take, flattened out. It didn’t fit any roasting pan or sheet pan, and I ended up having to cut the bird in parts, dismembering it.

So this year, I have a new plan: I’m roasting two smaller birds—one on Wednesday and a second one on Thursday. Why this madness?

Click to read more ...

An Introduction to Southern Foodways

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Looking back, I realize that for all the business travel I’ve done, I haven’t been to many cities and towns in the American South: New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta and High Point (North Carolina)…that’s it!

And while I enjoyed the food, I never gave much thought to the role of African slaves in the development of the cuisine. Sure, I knew that peanuts (groundnuts) and okra came from Africa. And that the cooks in the great Southern plantation houses were enslaved Africans.

My eyes were opened in Charleston, South Carolina, last week at the annual Les Dames d’Escoffier International Conference.

Click to read more ...

Cooking Up Some Fall Favorites

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

We don’t really see changing seasons much here in California. But we do enjoy changing produce as summer fruits and vegetables disappear, giving way to the fall harvest.

Here in San Francisco, our markets are all about apples, figs, pears, winter squash and root vegetables like beets and turnips.

I’ve gathered some selection and storage tips, with recipes from the Special Fork database, of some of our fall favorites.

APPLES
How to select: Squeeze apples gently; there shouldn’t be much “give,” a sign that the apple is old and spongy. Look for apples that are heavy for their size. Apples should smell lightly fragrant. Select apple varieties according to intended use—baking, eating out of hand, for applesauce and so forth. When choosing apples for a pie, it’s a good idea to have a mixture of baking apples: sweet and tart ones for flavor balance; and tender and firm ones for a balance of texture. There are so many varieties of apples, many regional, that it’s best to ask the farmer at the farmers’ market or the produce clerk in the supermarket to help you pick appropriate types for your use.

Click to read more ...

Tracking Down a Cauliflower Recipe

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I find that, while perusing culinary magazines, if you come across a recipe that you want to try, you have to flag it immediately with a Post-It. Otherwise, the issue gets tossed back in the magazine pile and good luck in finding it again.

This was my situation when I looked for a cauliflower recipe that had intrigued me, where you cook the florets in crab boil seasoning. I had bought the seasoning but it was only last week that I happened to have a head of cauliflower in my fridge and remembered my intention. Usually I simply roast or steam the florets, or use them in stir-fries.

I couldn’t remember where I’d seen the article, so I did a web search and found it on Epicurious. The recipe, Poor Man’s “Shrimp” Cocktail, was by Chef Kevin Roberts and had been published in Bon Appétit three year ago (time flies).

Click to read more ...