Roasted Grapes – Appetizer or Dessert

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

It’s always a good idea to have a repertoire of simple, tried-and-true recipes that you can whip up in a hurry when company’s coming. Here’s a super-easy one to add: Roasted Grapes, a recipe by Lori Powell, our “One or Two Bites” blogger.

Lori, who blogs on Special Fork about cooking for one or two people, devised this recipe as a way to use up an abundance of grapes. But it’s also a versatile choice for company meals when you’re too busy to cook.

While she serves two or three with this recipe, it will stretch for four. Or you can simply multiply the recipe, as needed.

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Mother’s Day Breakfast

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

I remember the first time I delivered a breakfast tray to my mom on Mother’s Day morning. I couldn’t have been more than eight years old. I don’t recall what I made, though I’m sure it was something simple. It certainly wasn’t a fancy tray of food, nor a gourmet one, but what I lacked in skill, I made up for in effort. I couldn’t remember ever seeing mom so happy.

Many years later, now a mom myself, I must admit I’m overjoyed to see my boys go out of their way to do the same.

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Fruit Fools

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

Fruit, in all of their glorious colors and flavors, are showing up in the market right now, including the first of the season’s strawberries and blueberries.

One of the easiest and quickest desserts that I know of is a fool, an English dessert that is usually made by pureeing fruit and folding it into freshly whipped cream. A fool is simple and quick enough to make for one, or if company is coming, it can be made at the last minute with just three ingredients on hand.

I happened to have an overripe mango, which is perfect for pureeing, so I was inspired to make the recipe below. Instead of the whipped cream I decided to healthy it up and use Greek yogurt which will give you a rich, thick mouthfeel as cream would have, plus the added nutritional benefits of yogurt.

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Breakfast? Make Mine Sweet!

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Throughout my life, I’ve noticed there are two types of people: those who like a savory breakfast and those who like a sweet one. And while I’ve met far more that prefer savory, I’m proud to say I’m in the sweet minority.

That hit of sugary richness is a boost to my morning, and the way I see it, if I eat sweets in the morning, I have all day to burn off all that sugar by the end of the day; it keeps me from binging on a giant slice of cake in the afternoon.

In actuality, most times my breakfast is a slice of cake. But these muffins are as close to cake as one can get while still feeling less indulgent than consuming traditional cake. And they’re mini so you can have a two or eight and it’s still better than cake.

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Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If there’s one thing that reminds me of my childhood – and I’ve been thinking more about my childhood since my mother passed away recently – it’s peanut butter cookies. The ultimate comfort food, this cookie is simple, sweet and captures the essence of every kid’s favorite spread – the next best thing to scooping peanut butter out of a jar and eating it outright. (And don’t tell me you never did that!)

As far as I’m concerned, a cookie can only be called a peanut butter cookie if it has the crosshatch pattern on top, made by flattening the ball of cookie dough with the tines of a fork. Whoever came up with that idea met two practical needs at once: providing a way to shape the cookies easily and giving them a distinctive identity.

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