kitchen tips

A poorly organized kitchen can really take the fun out of cooking. If you find yourself running around the kitchen for various items needed for cooking, if pots and pans crash around each time you cook, or if you find yourself thinking you…

There many reasons cooks love cast iron pans. Cast iron is an excellent conductor of heat, heating consistently and evenly. It also goes from stove to oven, you can use cooking tools or utensils of any materials on it, and it cleans easily.…

Many home chefs would never cook a steak without marinating it first, but they neglect to do one something similar to improve their poultry: Brine it. Brining poultry is very like marinating steak; it makes the food more tender and…

Many amateur chefs are afraid of adding flavor to their food. They worry they will overpower the dish, or make it unhealthy – or they simply don’t know how to add more flavor to the ordinary white rice or chicken breast nobody seems…

Glance through any cooking tool catalog for home chefs and you’re sure to find a wide selection of non-knife chopping tools. But the truth is, you really only need a good knife set and a little know-how in order to make cutting up foods…

I have a confession: I’ve long hated cutting boards. I hate hauling them out of the cupboard, finding space for them on an already cluttered counter, finding room on the board for everything I need to prepare, and cleaning them. I…

Deglazing is one of those basic cooking techniques everyone should know, but many have never taken the time to learn properly. To "deglaze" is simply to pour cold liquid into a hot pan with the purpose of moving all the brown bits stuck on…

This Christmas or holiday season, chances are you’ve consumed a bit of bubbly. Or perhaps you save champagne for New Year’s. If you have some left over, you may wonder what to do with it. Why, cook with it, of course! Cooking with…

Apple cider isn’t just for drinking! In fact, apple cider makes an excellent cooking ingredient for everything from desserts and condiments to main dishes. It’s not just tasty, either – it’s healthy. Apple cider is full of flavonoids…

According to cookbook author Kate Heyhoe, a slew of cookbooks focusing on vegetarian food or cutting back on meat are coming. Heyhoe applauds this at least in part because she considers it more "green." Eat less meat, she says, and you…