Dubliner Breakfast Toast

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

One of my favorite food memories as a kid was making cheese toast with my brother. We would toast regular white bread, layer on thick slices of yellow cheese, then add “too much pepper and garlic salt, ” which was just enough by our standards, and then broil them in the oven until mouth-burning hot. I’m sure the cheese dripped down onto the floor of the oven making a mess for mom to worry about.

But alas, our tastes have grown up and we now have our own ovens to clean. So I have refined this childhood favorite in the spirit of St. Patrick. Instead of white sandwich bread, I slice artisan sourdough, and instead of sliced yellow Cheddar I grate Dubliner cheese and sprinkle with minced fresh garlic. The sharp, nutty flavor of the Dubliner takes this dish to a whole new level. Dubliner Breakfast toast is quickly becoming one of Ben and Nick’s childhood favorites too!

Click to read more ...

A Lenten Fish and Chips Dinner

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

It’s great to be back! I just finished shooting the premiere season of a new reality show, Supermarket Superstar, airing soon on Lifetime Network. I’ll share more information as it gets closer to the launch date.

In the meantime, here’s a great family fish recipe just in time for Lent. As we approach the fourth Sunday of Lent and the Feast of Saint Patrick, we’ve been eating a lot of fish in our house, especially on Fridays. While I prefer a grilled salmon filet, there’s something to be said for Friday night fish and chips dinners.

Not surprisingly, if you asked our boys, they would tell you that fish and chips is their favorite seafood dish. There’s a great fish grill we can walk to from our house where the fish is fresh and the beer is cold.

Click to read more ...

Holiday Butter Tarts

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

My Grandmother Love personified her name. My mother’s mother, she married into such a gentle family name. Grandma was of the generation that didn’t work, though she had a nursing degree. In fact, she didn’t even drive. As a child I wondered how she got the most basic things, like grocery shopping, done if she had to wait for Grandpa to come home from work.

Evidently their strategy worked, as there was never a lack of food on the table. The Loves, of Youngstown, Ohio, back in the days when it was a thriving industrial town, had a big grand wooden porch with swings. I remember swinging on the swings at night after dinner. The adults talked and the kids listened.

Click to read more ...

Pan-Roasted Winter Fruits

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

Yukon Gold potatoes are included in this trio of winter fruits because their flesh is slightly sweeter than other potatoes. The combination of potatoes, apples, pears and chestnuts roasted in butter and olive oil produces a side dish that’s both sweet and savory and a perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal. Marilyn and I have been making it during the holidays for years.

The boys think it’s strange to take perfectly crisp and cool apples and pears and make them soft and warm. I understand their logic but think they’ll grow into the idea as their tastes mature.

Click to read more ...

Holiday Champagne Cocktails

Special Fork celebrates Entertaining Week. Stay tuned for party tips and recipes from our Special Fork bloggers all week long. This week also kicks off our annual holiday kitchen tools sweepstakes. Please check our Facebook page to learn about the tools we've selected for the sweepstakes and how you can enter to win our prize package (estimated retail value: $122).

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

Champagne, “Come quickly, I’m drinking stars!” said Dom Perignon, the monk who’s given credit for putting the sparkle in wine. We all owe this gent a debt of gratitude for the hard work in figuring out how to capture joyous bubbles. But his life couldn’t have been all work and no play, drinking his fermented mistakes.

Click to read more ...