My Go-to Holiday Appetizer

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I love to throw a big holiday party, but it’s so much work, I’ve forsworn doing them. I shared my party tips with you during my last big holiday party, ever.

It doesn’t mean we won’t deck our halls. As I write, there are hundreds of ornaments collected over the years, sorted by type, waiting to be hung on our nine-foot Noble Fir, purchased, as in years past, from a Delancey Street lot where the trees are beautiful, the service is excellent and the cause is admirable.

Delancey Street is the country's leading residential self-help organization for former substance abusers, ex-convicts, homeless and others who have hit bottom. All of the cheerful and helpful staff at the Christmas tree lot are working their way out of their various life issues through Delancey Street programs.

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Quick Chicken Dinner

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

As we enter the holiday season, remember to pause, take a break, and cook yourself up a delicious but simple and quick dinner at home.

The recipe below is one that you would be proud to serve for company as well. It’s not a new way to cook the chicken but a great way to dress it up for the holidays with a quick grape pan sauce.

Grapes are extremely versatile as they can be eaten out of hand, fresh or frozen, and can easily be made sweet or savory or a bit of both. Here they are given a quick cook to bring out their jam-like quality to add a sweet note to our sauce.

The jewel color alone says holiday. The garlic, the anise note of the tarragon and the acidity of the wine only enhance the grapes further. If tarragon is not your herb of choice, then simply substitute rosemary.

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French Onion Soup with a Twist

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

When it’s blisteringly cold outside and I’m running low on funds, a hearty soup is always the dish I go to first. And my favorite soup of all is French onion. The way the onions reduce to an almost meaty caramel and then get topped with cheesy bread –there’s nothing better.

I found myself without the usual dry sherry I use in making onion soup and in the spirit of changing up my routine, I grabbed the bottle of bourbon from my cupboard instead.

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Entertaining Tips from a Star Chef

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If you’ve ever participated in a Twitter party, you know how fast it goes. So much great information is passed on so quickly, that it’s hard to retain all the gems that fly by your screen in 140-character bursts.

Recently, I coordinated a Twitter Party and blogger event in New York City for Kerrygold, the one PR client I have continue to represent, while working on Special Fork.

Our guest star, Chef Neven Maguire, one of Ireland’s hottest TV cooking hosts, was a wealth of information, tweeting ideas enthusiastically. But it all went by so quickly that by the time the Twitter party was over, I’d forgotten some of the tips I hoped to use. So I went back over the hashtag, #kerrygoldpartytips, and gathered up some of Neven’s best tweets for myself and to share with you.

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Stuffing in 30 Minutes

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

I can’t wait for Thanksgiving! We always observe the holiday at home and it’s always a cooking fest spanning several days. But I don’t mind the work. I love to prepare the meal and I love the leftovers.

Every family has dishes that are sacrosanct. In our house, it’s the stuffing. The cornbread one I make, from The New York Times International Cookbook, takes hours to prepare – chopping vegetables, mincing herbs, cubing and toasting white bread, making cornbread, and using a food grinder to grind the giblets.

Growing up in Hawaii, my mom’s was a Portuguese stuffing studded with pimentos, sliced olives and chopped linguisa.

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