DIY Colored Decorating Sugar

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 Katie Barreira
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Want to add some sparkle to your holiday entertaining without breaking the bank? Make your own shimmering sugars in a rainbow of customized colors! All you need is sugar, food coloring and a few resealable plastic bags.

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Stalk-Up On Holiday Savings with Broccoli

By Katie Barreira
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Doing any entertaining this holiday season? You may have the makings of a simple and remarkably healthy appetizer in the crisper right now and not even know it. Roasted, stir-fried or smothered in cheese, broccoli is one of my favorite fall veggies, but I tend to gravitate towards the dark green florets, relegating that clunky stalk to the trashcan. What a waste! Especially during a time of year when every penny saved is a present earned.

These addictively pop-able broccoli bites are so tasty guests may have trouble believing that they’re eating the infamous veggie.

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Inside Special Fork – and Beyond

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If you’ve followed us for a while, you know our mission: Trying to make the weekday dinner hour a little easier by sharing 30-minute prep recipes, a daily blog, and cooking tips and tricks.

You can follow Special Fork optimized for your mobile phone, or on your computer by visiting our conventional website. Both are reached at www.specialfork.com.

We work with a stellar team of top food experts who have held or who currently hold senior food editorial positions at major national magazines, or who work as professional chefs or culinary educators.

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A Supreme-ly Easy Thanksgiving Side

All this week, Special Fork bloggers will highlight Thanksgiving with tips, tricks and recipes for your holiday, culminating on Video Friday with a stuffed delicata squash demo, the perfect Thanksgiving main dish for vegetarians and a wonderful side for everyone else. For more recipes, visit our Special Fork database of recipes. Use the keyword, “Thanksgiving,” for your search.

By Katie Barreira
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

If the closest thing to a raw vegetable on your Thanksgiving table is a plate of celery sticks stuffed with olive cream cheese, then maybe you know how I feel. What I miss most on this day of soporific turkey, bread stuffing and green bean casserole is some nice, fresh produce. The crisp texture and bright acidity of a seasonal salad make it the perfect palate-cleansing antidote. One refreshing bite and you’ll be ready to dive back into those potatoes!

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Kalbi in a Slow Cooker

By Katie Barreira
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Traditionally, kalbi, Korean bbq’d short ribs, is prepared on the grill with a foot-long strip of rib beef that has been sliced across the bone, leaving the tips of the rib bones along the top. It’s not the most accessible cut of meat, so when I get a kalbi craving, I like to use the classic sweet and savory Korean marinade as a braising liquid for individual beef short ribs, a cut that is widely available and perfect for the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Kalbi
Think of this dish as the Korean version of tacos. Meltingly tender rib meat stands in for ground beef, white rice replaces beans, and instead of corn shells, lettuce leaves are the vehicle for getting all that goodness from plate to mouth. The fixins are distinctly Asian, but use them just as you would salsa, shredded cheese and sour cream.

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