Garlic Butter Rice

Enter to win a collection of food items from France, selected by Sandy, along with Around my French Table cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. To enter the sweepstakes, go to http://bit.ly/YGrDyy. Follow Sandy in France on Twitter to keep updated on new goodies for the prize package.

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

I’ve always believed the first bite of every dish is the best bite. That’s why Andrew and I often skip the entrée at a restaurant and order appetizers and small plates only.

In fact, even when sharing an entrée, it’s a challenge for us to finish. It’s no wonder I’ve been enjoying the premiere season of Tony Bourdain’s show, The Taste ... a show about hooking people in a bite.

During our 12 days in Japan, we ate lots of delicious food, much of which, like nigiri zushi (hand-formed sushi), is designed to be a bite or two. But I came across a dish that was so good that the first bite took my breath away, and it got better as I finished the very last grain in my bowl. It made me wonder how I would survive without knowing how to make it at home.

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Tuscan Roast Pork Loin

Enter to win a collection of food items from France, selected by Sandy, along with Around my French Table cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. To enter the sweepstakes, go to http://bit.ly/YGrDyy. Follow Sandy in France on Twitter to keep updated on new goodies for the prize package.

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

When I find a small cut of meat, I have to purchase it, as it’s sometimes a bit hard to find a wee cut for myself. So when I saw this little 2-pounder pork loin with an ample strip of fat on top, I knew it had my name on it.

I love, love pork in any form. One of my favorites is organic, nitrate-free bacon. If you follow my blog posts every Wednesday, you know about the store up the road from me, Saylor’s, where they butcher their own meat, cure their own bacon, smoke various cuts and make the best homemade sausages – whether it be pork, chicken or turkey – not to mention the ground meats and bulk sausage.

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In Love with Meyer Lemons

Enter to win a collection of food items from France, selected by Sandy, along with Around my French Table cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. To enter the sweepstakes, go to http://bit.ly/YGrDyy. Follow Sandy in France on Twitter to keep updated on new goodies for the prize package.

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

Whether it’s the color, the floral scent or the memories of lemonade on hot days that it brings to mind, Meyer lemons are always the fruit that makes me smile widest. Yes, they’re basically just fancy, sweet lemons, but because of that, they’re so much more interesting and attractive.

I definitely never shy away from regular lemons in cooking, and for good reason: their bracing, strong acidity is needed in heavy dishes, both savory and sweet, to cut through the richness. But when Meyer lemons pop up, I like to use them in applications where their sweet, very noticeably floral notes come through clear and bright.

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Airplane Snacks

While Sandy is in France, she’ll be collecting little French food items as she travels, building a sweepstakes prize package, day by day. One lucky winner will receive the collection from Sandy plus Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table cookbook. To enter the sweepstakes, go to http://bit.ly/YGrDyy. Follow Sandy on Twitter to keep updated on new goodies being added to the prize package. (Hashtag: #SandyinFrance).

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

We took our boys on their first trip to Europe when Dave was seven and Chris was two. In addition to little toys, coloring books and other diversions, we packed granola bars, nuts and box juices in anticipation of days when we might not have convenient foodservice options for hungry and thirsty kids.

Steve and I woke up that first morning in Amsterdam to find that our two boys had wiped out most of the rainy-day provisions. Out of sync with the time change, they were up all night, and with nothing to do, they decided to sample the food stores.

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Almost Tomato Time

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

As the weather warms up and the days grow longer, I begin to anticipate tomato season. I’ll revel in the first good tomatoes, sweet and flavorful, drizzled with a good olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. But as the season progresses, we’ll all be challenged to be more inventive.

Some tomato recipes call for peeling and seeding the tomatoes. Tomato skin can have a plastic mouthfeel so it’s luxurious to eat it when the skin is removed and all you get is the juicy flesh. Seeding rids the tomato of the pesky seeds and when you take out the seed sacs, you also eliminate the extra moisture, ensuring that your tomato dish will not be watery.

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