separator/chill and fat removed. It makes a wonderful addition to gravy or sauces. Save in freezer juices (well labeled) from an earlier roast turkey so Thanksgiving Dinner gravy can be prepared ahead. In my home one turkey is...

You can loose your mind on nearly necessary items, but you really need very little to get started. Think about the cooks in your family - what cooking utensil do you see them with when you imagine them cooking? - A Cast Iron...

developed an addiction to Rizzo’s, but there’s also a great family bakery near the southwest corner of Ditmars and 31st (at the end of the N line) that serves an excellent Sicilian slice from their back counter....

Well, my family and friends and I loved these fries when we had them at Hayes St. in June. My daughter’s boyfriend still talks about them. We do like well done fries, though. Different tastes, I guess. —NancyB

" at dinner. Hmmm. - We don’t have the Angus burger in Toronto, but we do have the “BigXtra” - a patty larger than standard but less than a 1/4 pounder with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and onion. Many store menus...

Please tell me your favorite Bay Area bread. We’re trying to come up with an everyday bread for our family and I’m ashamed to say, in the bread-paradise that’s the Bay Area, that we still haven’t found...

Although I think Chicago has the best street food in the US, I hesitantly agree that looking for a top-notch cheese steak in Chicago is probably a thankless task. (In the interest of full disclosure, my family has ties to Philly,...

Lets see. A Sonny Bryant’s BBQ (Inwood Rd., Dallas), a Blue Goose, excellent Tex-Mex, a Snuffer’s hamburger (the best in Dallas). Off to Ft. Worth for "the dinner" a Joe T Garcia’s or maybe some ribs at...

What about a bag of pistachios, a container of great olives, or gourmet potato chips – or all 3! I think I saw Barefoot COntessa talk about serving those as munchies before dinner. I do it all the time when entertaining. It...

to outdo each other’s name dropping. Growing up in Monterey Park, I have had the best sushi at small family run places with mainly Asian clientele

I lived in SF many moons ago and swore by a family-owned Italian restaurant called Vince’s. I heard later that Vince sold it to Gaspare who still runs it pretty much the same old way. Great pizza, especially the Bruce...

For the truly toaster oven committed, there’s a cookbook out there: “The Gourmet Toaster Oven” by Lynn Alley. Saw a reference to it in a NY Times Dining section article in August 2005, in which the writer cooked...

to participate. Is there? They don’t require you to make all (or any of) the recipes so something that stretched your budget could be skipped, and either way, you’re going to cook something for dinner right?

My husband and I are visting Minneapolis in late February for a wedding. I’m looking for lunch and dinner ideas. I’d love to eat at restaurants that are not too pricey but also unique. Also we hope to try restaurants...

versions of the classics would be greatly appreciated. The guys who work there are a bit sullen as well. A theory has been put forth that we need to track down the family matriarch to come down and shape up the staff to clean up...