Everything is Beautiful at the Marché

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 Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Saturday at the marché in Arles, I was reminded once again why I had wanted to make this town our home base during our vacation in Provence. We are staying, instead, in Avignon. Avignon is beautiful and we have a chic (and affordable) apartment inside the walled city. No problem there.

But the Saturday market in Arles is my favorite, and all the fabulous food stalls beckon, making me want to go home and cook. I kept humming the song from A Chorus Line...Everything is beautiful at the (instead of ballet) marché. Because everything IS beautiful, from the most gorgeous fruits and vegetables, to the luscious cheeses, the crusty breads and flaky pastries, the meats and seafood, the herbs and spices, the honey...

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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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Introducing…Hoisin Sauce

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Some years ago, when I was judging the James Beard Cookbook Awards, I ended up buying spices and sauces for a one-time use. I needed them to test the recipes to evaluate the cookbooks, but I never used the ingredients again. What a waste.

It was my fault, really. If I’d taken the time to cook more recipes from those particular books or to learn more about the ingredients, I might have used up the remainder. But I was busy and having fulfilled my responsibilities as a judge, I’d moved on.

I think the same might be true with some of Special Fork’s Asian recipes. They are quick and easy to make, but may require some ingredients that aren’t on your everyday shopping list. It may leave you to wonder, why should I take the time to source the ingredient and spend the money, all for a single recipe?

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All about Easter Eggs

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

When Chris was little, he drew a picture of a bunny in mid-flight, dropping colored eggs like a bombardier. I think of that picture every year when I am inundated with eggs after Easter.

Even with the kids grown, I continue to cook and color eggs for Easter – they make a beautiful table centerpiece. (And, truth be told, I love a few leftover eggs for breakfast the rest of the week.)

First step, of course, is to cook the eggs perfectly. For that we turn to Ben, our cooking newbie blogger, and his first post. Tip: if you haven’t bought your eggs yet, go out and get them now, because older eggs will peel better.

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