Great Gifts $25-50

Here’s the dilemma: you know that weighing your ingredients is a much more reliable practice than than any other form of measurement (see this week's Cool Tip, and even when...

I’m pretty much a disaster when it comes to plastic wrap; it seems to stick to everything except the bowl I'm trying to cover.  And the green side of me hates to use it once...

There are so many times that we all want freshly grated cheese on some dish: for us, last night it was grilled eggplant slices. Tonight it’s haricots vert. Every other night...

As we’ve said often before, we love salt! We cook with it, and we dress our dishes with it. So we always want some salt - and sometimes two varieties - immediately at hand in...

There are at least 2 major issues with Champagne stoppers: they take up too much space on your refrigerator shelf and in your drawer and they’re awkward to use. Often they...

Tongs are an essential grilling tool: you want to move things around the cooking surface, you don’t want to pierce the crust and lose the juices, and you want to avoid burning...

A sharp knife is a beautiful thing--it makes any cutting, slicing or chopping job easier and the results better and, if you cut yourself, it’s actually less painful and...

OK, we’ve already established that if I can substitute one squeeze for 10 knife cuts, without sacrificing the quality of the result, I’ll do it in a heartbeat. I’m all about...

Nutmeg is a wonderful spice; it may not be something you use everyday, but if your recipe calls for it, there is no real substitute...and you don’t want to use it pre-ground!...

I was about 10 or 11 years old, when my family took our first vacation to California from Chicago; and that was the first time I had fresh pineapple.  Wow, it blew away...