Hot Food Hacks How-Tos
How To: Build Your Own BBQ Chimney
When I was in college, I invited a girl over for a date. It was a glorious spring day, and I thought it would be the perfect time to fire up the unused barbecue that had been sitting on my patio all school year. I prepped all the food, chilled all the beer, and then I realized I had no way of lighting the coals for the barbecue.
How To: Cook Broccoli, Kale, & Other Brassicas So They Actually Taste Good
It's universally known that broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and all cruciferous vegetables (also known as brassicas) are good for you—but you probably don't know exactly how good they really are.
How To: Squeeze More Juice Out of Lemons & Limes—Without Getting Any Seeds
The late, great writer Laurie Colwin once wrote that if she were allowed to have only one fruit in her kitchen, she would always choose lemons (or limes, since they can often be used interchangeably).
Browning Prevention: This Food Hack Keeps Sliced Fruits & Veggies Fresh & Bright for a Full Day
Prepping fruits and vegetables ahead of time makes putting together the final dish a lot easier, but once you cut them up, they start to turn brown almost instantly. However, thanks to this quick and easy tip from America's Test Kitchen, you can keep them looking fresh for much, much longer.
How To: At Last—We've Hacked Thai Rolled Ice Cream So You Don't Have To
Yes, I know it's autumn and the trees are losing their leaves, but the seasons do not decide when I can or cannot enjoy ice cream. No matter how warm or cold is is outside right now, I will remain completely fascinated by rolled ice cream. Yes, rolled.
How To: This Secret Ingredient Strains Your Dirty Frying Oil for You
I fry foods a lot. A LOT. We're talking wings by the dozen here. As a result, I go through a ton of frying oil. Now, frying oil isn't the most expensive ingredient out there, but it adds up when you fry regularly. Of course, I always reuse my oil, but straining it can be a huge mess and it gets to a certain point where enough is enough. It's time to start fresh.
How To: Make Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme Bars
Cookies 'n' Creme is one of Hershey's most popular candy bars, right behind their classic milk chocolate bar, Kit Kat, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
How To: The Number One Way to Use Up All That Mustard Powder in Your Pantry
We're maniacs for mustard: we put it on our sausages, our salmon, our turkey club sandwiches... you name the dish, we find an excuse to spread mustard on it. So it's not surprising that it's a common item on our grocery list.
How To: Eat More Sprinkles with These 12 Fairy Bread Creations
If you've spent any time at all recently on social media, then you've probably seen pictures of fairy bread. This magical creation comes to us courtesy of Australia, so we have yet another thing to thank those clever folks Down Under for... along with shrimp on the barbie, Vegemite (the Aussie cousin of Marmite), and Hugh Jackman.
How To: Keep Garlic from Sticking to Your Hands & Knife
It's a shame that one of the world's tastiest foods can be such a pain to prep. Most cooks are familiar with this conundrum: chopping or crushing garlic releases a pungent liquid that causes bits of garlic to stick your knife and hands, creating a messy affair. So what is going on here? The common assumption is that the garlic is releasing some kind of oil, but the truth is that this liquid rinses away easily in water. Yet one of the basic precepts of chemistry is that oil and water don't mix.
How To: The Food Hacks Guide to Breading & Frying Meat to Perfection
Whether you call it chicken-fried steak, country-fried steak, Milanese, wiener schnitzel, or breaded cutlet, there's something irresistible about a piece of meat that's been treated until it's thin and tender, dredged in beaten egg and flavorful bread crumbs, then fried until the coating is crisp enough to shatter when you bite into it.
How To: Pit Apricots, Plums, Nectarines, & Other Stone Fruits Like a Chef
Summer is the season to enjoy stone fruit: peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots are all kissed by the sun and bursting with juicy flavor—which is all well and good when you're eating them as is.
How To: Get Drunk in Public on the Sly
Though nobody's going to hide the fact that they're getting sloshed on major holidays, you might want to be more discreet when it comes to your morning pick-me-up or lunchtime tipple during the rest of the year. It used to be that having four martinis at lunch was acceptable and even desirable, but that's really not the case anymore.
How To: Keep Your Fingers Clean While Eating Cheetos, Chocolate, Chips, and More!
Cheetos fingers is defined as the unpleasant (but mostly pleasant), oddly-colored residue left on the thumb, index finger, and middle finger after ravenously eating through a bag of—you guessed it—Cheetos. It can usually be cleaned up by licking your fingers (my favorite) or washing your hands (boooooo). For the folks who enjoy the latter, Cheetos fingers are an annoyance. As someone who enjoys this idiosyncrasy, I've never quite understood the disgust in getting your fingers all cheesed up.
How To: Hate Separating Eggs? Use a Plastic Water Bottle to Surgically Extract the Egg Yolk
You can buy special utensils to do just about anything these days, and separating eggs is no exception. If you don't have (or want to buy) a fancy tool to do it, the classic method is simple—just crack the egg and transfer the yolk back and forth between the two halves. But even though egg separators are pretty cheap and using the shell (or just your fingers) isn't hard to do, neither is as fun as this trick by YouTuber jifenzhongDIY.
How To: Hot Damn! 10 More Epic Popsicle Flavors
The freezer section at your local grocery store may have plenty of popsicle flavors, but they're mostly going to be the same old fruit-flavored varities you've been shoving in your mouths for years. None of those will truly get your tastebuds rolling like some creative homemade versions will. We've already shown you some crazy sounding ones made with Oreos, veggies, and coconut flakes, but now we're back with some more chilling ideas. Just wait until you get down to the corn one!
How To: 6 Wonderfully Weird Sorbet Flavors You Have to Try
Ah, the sensation of that first bite of sorbet in the heat of summertime: icy, refreshing, decadent in flavor and texture. We love sorbet almost as much as we love ice cream, and making it at home is actually pretty simple. Most recipes call for just water, sugar, and a base fruit of some sort (like strawberries or watermelon).
How To: Use Clarified Butter! & 9 Other Pro Tips for the Best Pancakes Ever
A stack of light-as-air pancakes can make a weekend morning truly golden. While fluffy pancakes may not seem like rocket science, the reality is that there are many little details that can contribute to a pancake fail that's either too dense or too crumbly.
How To: 12 Easy Snacks You Can Make for Your Next Road Trip
Gas stations may be convenient for travel snacks, but the cost of shopping there sure can add up. If you're looking for easy, on-the-go snacks that fit into your travel budget, look no further. We've got 12 kid-friendly, portable food ideas you can make before leaving on your journey. You'll be amazed by how much money and time you will save with these satisfying travel snacks.
How To: Turn a Bottle of Coke into Jello… Shaped Like a Coke Bottle
Soda bottle jello went viral when the popular YouTube channel AwesomeDisneyToys posted video directions for this revolutionary gelatin confection. I just had to try it out to see what the hype is all about.
How To: Make Perfectly Crispy Hash Browns at Home with This Trick
Delicious hash browns are ridiculously easy to make at home. So skip the diner and save your money—use this salad spinner trick instead to make crispy and seasoned hash browns quickly and with ease.
Polenta vs Grits: Why Grits Wins (Even When a Recipe Calls for Polenta)
Polenta can cause risotto-like anxiety for the most experienced cook. First of all, making polenta is time-consuming—it can often take upwards of 45 minutes (unless you use this shortcut). And in the midst of this long cooking time, you're constantly stirring to keep the polenta from becoming lumpy. Even after taking the utmost of care, the polenta can still turn out too loose, too firm, or too grainy.
How To: The Simple Trick to Rescuing Over-Toasted Food
It's Friday night, you're in the kitchen, and your guests are arriving way sooner than you want them to. The soup is not thickening like it's supposed to, the salad still needs dressing, and the pine nuts for the salad are... wait, what's that smell? Crap, the pine nuts!
How To: Make Instant 'Aged' Bourbon Out of the Cheap Stuff
Step aside, vodka—whiskey will soon be the best-selling hard liquor in the United States. The whiskey renaissance has been largely attributed to the current trend for locally- and artisan-produced goods. Local whiskey distilleries are rapidly increasing in number across the nation while bars in every state are including the old-fashioned cocktail on their menus in an attempt to capitalize on the trend (which we can probably thank Mad Men for).
How To: Get Rid of Headaches & Anxiety with Homemade Lavender Lemonade & More
Rather than reaching for aspirin the next time a headache strikes, try grabbing a drink of lemonade instead. Not only can it help ease your head pain, but it can also help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. But not just any old lemonade will do the trick—reach for the lavender lemonade.
Super Bowl Snacks: Gatorade-Infused Treats for Game Day
Gatorade and football go hand in hand, from player endorsements to the traditional Gatorade shower that coaches get at each Super Bowl. So, get in the game-day spirit with these Gatorade-infused drinks, desserts, and snacks. The good thing about Gatorade is that it comes in every color of the rainbow—so feel free to make these in your favorite team's colors.
How To: Make One-Pot Pasta That Doesn't Suck
The other day I was perusing my Instagram when I came upon a curious hashtag... #OnePotPasta. Intrigued, I investigated further and discovered a whole world that was previously unbeknownst to me.
Coffee Mugs: They're Not Just for Coffee
Coffee mugs: nothing proliferates more quickly in my kitchen cabinets. People are always handing them out as gifts or as swag, plus I always seem to find a vintage model or two at a garage sale that I'm compelled to buy. I used to do a yearly purge of my excess muggage, but it turns out it's a good idea to hold on to one or two extras.
Food Hacks Explains: What Makes or Breaks a Perfect Pie Crust (& Why)
Making a good pie crust can seem intimidating to the uninitiated, but once you master this skill, a whole world opens up to you. Not only can you make all manner of fruit, custard, and cream-filled pies once you know all the tricks, you can branch out into the world of quiches, savory pies, and flaky, crispy turnovers, too. We've already told you how to get perfect, firm fruit pie fillings, so now, let's learn about crust.
Nature's Secret Code: How to Select Vegetables at Their Peak
There are a lot of people out there who don't like vegetables, but I would contend that that's because they haven't eaten any really good vegetables. I thought I hated tomatoes (okay, technically a fruit, but used mostly as a vegetable) until I ate some fresh from a garden. One bite of a juicy, ripe heirloom tomato made me realize that I love tomatoes—it's those bland, mealy supermarket tomatoes that I hate.
How To: Tell When Your Chef's Knives Are Truly Sharp (And Keep Them That Way)
After years of making do with a cheap knife, I finally bought a really good 8" chef's knife—a Henckels, although I was also eyeing a Global santoku. It quietly but literally changed my life.
How To: Make Bitter Coffee Taste Better with This Secret Ingredient
Finding the formula to the perfect cup of coffee for your taste can take a while. I finally got around to buying a French press a few weeks ago and I'm still tweaking the right ratio and brewing time to get it just right (though I am drinking it at the right times each day).
How To: Keep Tiny Dust Crumbs Out of the Last Bowl of Cereal for More Crunch, Less Mush
Cereal may be the most popular of breakfast choices, but one thing that has always bothered me about it is the crumbs. Just like a bag of potato chips, when you reach the last third of cereal in the bag, you're left with nothing but shattered remnants of what used to be. At least with a bag of chips, you have the choice to skip the tiny crumbs or not. It's a little harder with cereal, especially when it's mostly dust that flies right into your bowl.
DIY Rehydration Drinks: How to Make Your Own Electrolyte-Enhanced Water for Cheap
While it's easy to make fun of water with "electrolytes," there's actually some science behind it. Despite the name, electrolyte-enhanced water isn't all that high-tech, it mostly means that it's been infused with vitamins and minerals such as potassium and sodium, which are very helpful in preventing dehydration. Unfortunately, electrolyte water isn't especially cheap, and compared to the tap, it's downright expensive. Luckily, there's a few recipes out there that can help you mix your own e...
How To: Apple Roses Are the Classiest Way to Make a Fruit Tart
I used to brag that I could make a swan out of an apple, but chicks don't dig swans—they dig roses. So now I'm going to brag about making apple roses, because you would, too, if you could get them to look like this: Now that's an apple tart that will win the ladies over. (And definitely 100% tastier than the usual bouquet of roses, and 100% less greasy than a bouquet of bacon.)
How To: Feel Alive Again with Maca Root
I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that has googled "Why am I always tired?"... and I'm definitely not alone when I say that all of the advice I've found so far is useless:
How To: Use Leftover Pickle Juice When Making Dill Bread for Increased Flavor
Pickles are insanely versatile: we eat them on their own as a snack, as a tasty zing on burgers, and some of us even like them in a sandwich with peanut butter. And if you're already an avid reader of our site, you'd know that we're even crazier about pickle juice and its myriad uses.
How To: Chickpea Blondies Are Vegan, Delicious & Packed with Protein
We've seen these bean-filled blondies trending on social media for a while and, with some inspiration from The Kitchn, we finally decided to grab some chickpeas and give them a go.
How To: Use Any Bottle to Make Too-Cute Ice Flowers for Your Punch Bowl
We love a good bowl of punch just as much as the next partygoer. But you don't want to be the one to make his or her way to the bowl after all the ice melts and turns that beautiful beverage into a watery wasteland.
How To: Who Knew? Turn Radishes into Chips for a Sweet & Spicy Snack
Consider the radish. This root vegetable is so sadly misunderstood sometimes, and that makes us sad because we adore its spicy flavor and crunchy texture. We're always on the lookout for unique food items that can be turned into a dish of wow and wonder with just a few simple steps, and radishes truly fit the bill.