I use a crock pot. The stock doesn't come out quite as clear as it does on the stove (since you don't skim) but the time savings is well worth it to me. I refrigerate the stock and skim off the f...

I love Julia Child's recipe for soubise, rice cooked in onions. You parcook the rice in boiling water for a few minutes, then mix the drained rice with onions and bake it in the oven. The rice is...

Date Pinwheel cookies were a staple of my childhood. The sweetness of the dates is offset by cookie dough that's slightly less sweet than usual. The cookies are crisp on the outside, chewy on the...

I always butterfly my chickens before roasting them. Just cut out the backbone and flatten it with our hand. It still cooks in about an hour, especially if you pull the thighs away from the chick...

I don't care for raw garlic, but it always seems like a hassle to dirty up a pan to cook it (or heat up the oven) if I am just adding it something. I sometimes toss a whole garlic clove into the p...

I love the combination of orange and chocolate. I make brownies by adding at least 3 oranges worth of orange zest, and substituting orange juice for any liquid. Yum.

Steel cut oats can have a texture very much like rice or bulgar wheat, depending on how you cook it. I prefer my oats firmer, so I cook them using Alton Brown's method - you start by toasting the ...

My Mom always made fruitcake cookies, which are sometimes called Texas Lizzies if you want to look up the recipe. I always preferred those to traditional fruitcake - you get the flavor of fruitcak...

I can't tell from the picture, but if the jars interlock, how do you get a jar from the center of the row? Do you have to remove the entire stack?

I have several flat wooden spatulas that I use all the time. I use them for stirring, flipping, testing food, etc. And it can be used in any kind of pan (and good for leftys!). The problem is th...

I have a Sh-Mop. This is like a Swiffer except it uses washable covers made of terrycloth. I love it. I can use any kind of cleaner I want, and the cloths clean up very easily in the washer. (I...

The biggest issue with changing the faucet in a rental is whether you have access to the water cutoff. Although you should be able to do it by only turning off the water under the sink, if somethi...

If I have some on hand, I always use pickle juice in my chicken salad instead of vinegar or lemon juice. It was in my mother's recipe, which I think she got from one of those old Southern departme...

Although I still have a large box grater, I rarely use it these days. I find that a microplane zester works much better on hard cheeses like parmesan, although I still pull out the box grater occa...

I have a mesh tea infuser basket from the Republic of Tea called the People's Brew Basket. I like it because it's small enough to fit in just about any cup. (A lot of the other tea infusers are s...

I used to keep my counters much more cluttered, but I got very tired of searching for counter space. I'd rather spend 2 minutes per day taking the toaster in and out of the cabinet and have enough...

I ate at the Woodfire Grill in Atlanta a couple of years ago. I'm not sure if Kevin was there then, but it was delicious - I had a chicken stuffed with goat cheese that was just spectacular. I've...

I like these with quartered cherry tomatoes. If you're feeling fancy, you can make a ring around the outside with the cherry tomato pieces, put them in the oven for 5-10 minutes to soften, and the...

Years ago, I had a chicken marsala dish at a restaurant that was delicious. It wasn't the typical chicken marsala since it had tomatoes and mushrooms. So I got some recipe tips from the waiter, a...

Green tea is my favorite. The secret is not to use boiling water. Let it cool for a couple of minutes, then add the water to the tea bag or leaves. The tea will have a much mellower flavor. Ver...