How to Grate Citrus Peel

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

Grated citrus peel, also known as zest, adds an appealingly sharp citrus bite to dishes. Many recipes call for both the juice and zest.

In this video, Jen uses two tools, a rasp (often called a Microplane, which is a brand name) and a zester to show you how to grate the peel. The rasp gives a finer grated peel. Rasps have different sizes of grating teeth, from fine to coarse, so pick the size that suits your needs best. The zester gives thicker curlicues of grated peel.

Your recipe and your own taste preference will determine which tool is better for you. Whichever tool you use, grate just the colored part of the peel; do not grate the white part, called with pith, which is bitter.

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Spring Salad

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

My friend, Chef Tal Ronnen, inspired this spring salad. He’s the guy who cooks for power vegans from Hollywood to Washington, D.C. He just opened his first L.A. restaurant called Crossroads.

Crossroads is an awe-inspired restaurant because it’s vegan … but not the hippie vegan fare composed of sprouts and garbanzo beans. Crossroads food and flavors stand up to any fine dining restaurant in Los Angeles, but without the butter and cream.

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Mashed Taters and Leek Lessons

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

Mashed potatoes are one of my favorite indulgences and when mixed with the sweetness of caramelized leeks, what could be better?

Ramps, known as wild leeks, are everywhere at this time of the year and they certainly can be used in place of the leeks. But I would reduce the amount by one-third, because the ramp, while a cousin of the leek, is from the boisterous, assertive side of the family.

Leeks are much more timid and sweeter and they are native to Mediterranean countries where they have been enjoyed for thousands of years.

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Shortbread – the Best Cookie in the World

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

I’ve been on a cookie tear recently, and it’s reminded me just how much I love shortbread. It’s arguably the best cookie in the world, especially when made with the very best ingredients. Butter, sugar and flour, that’s it, and each has to be of the highest quality to shine.

The way I like to jazz up shortbread is by simply adding spices to it and treating it like an eating utensil for ice cream. Cardamom Shortbread Cookies is inspired by ginger crunch cookies from New Zealand, one my favorites. I add cardamom and ginger to the basic shortbread dough and then add a touch of sea salt on top. This headily spiced cookie is the perfect foil for vanilla ice cream, but would also pair well with chocolate, strawberry or any classic, mellow ice cream flavor.

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In Memorium

Congratulations to Angela Y from San Diego, CA, the winner of our Sandy in France Sweepstakes.

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Some people become good cooks because their moms were bad cooks. My case was the opposite.

My mom was a really good cook, and since I took good food for granted, I wasn’t motivated to try to cook it myself.

It was only when I stumbled into a food career that I began to take cooking seriously. So I can’t say I learned from my mom, while attached to her apron strings.

But one thing my mom taught me – if only by the food she made – was what good food should taste like. And that palate – the ability to taste and to correct seasonings – was learned at the dinner table, eating her food.

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