Imagine you’re distracted for just a moment—a ringing phone or a knock at the door—while a pan of oil heats on the stove. In the blink of an eye, a quiet kitchen can transform into a life-threatening inferno. While we often ask exactly how hot oil needs to be before it catches fire, the truth … Read more
If you’ve ever felt a twinge of guilt about adding a splash of wine to your Sunday gravy or wondered if the vodka in your penne sauce is ‘safe’ for the kids, you’ve likely been spooked by the wrong data. You might have heard that alcohol doesn’t actually ‘burn off’ during cooking. And technically, that’s … Read more
Buying shrimp is confusing. With so many sizes and labels, the biggest question is usually: Should I buy fresh or frozen? The Short Answer: Unless you are buying it off a boat, “fresh” grocery store shrimp is almost always just thawed frozen shrimp. Your best bet for quality and safety is to buy it frozen. … Read more
Don’t let your kitchen become a battleground for rigid culinary snobbery and the endless debate over dried herbs vs. fresh herbs. Some “culinary experts” insist that dried herbs are a crime against cooking, but your taste buds likely tell a different story. In a perfect world, we’d all have a lovely herb garden at our fingertips, … Read more
While the ‘Pink Slime’ headlines died down years ago, the product itself never actually left. In late 2018, the USDA officially reclassified Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB). It is no longer legally an ‘additive’, it now meets the regulatory definition of ‘Ground Beef.’ This doesn’t mean you’ll find trays of pure LFTB in the meat … Read more
I’ll start with my own anecdotal experience: I’ve never had the timing of adding the oil make any difference as to whether the food sticks. First, let’s look at what this age-old and oft-repeated cooking tip is saying. We are being told that if we heat up a dry pan first, until it is very hot, … Read more