About Today: 5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Cooking 10/11/10

From Jen Hubley, your About Today Editor Regular readers know that I'm not exactly a wizard in the kitchen. Unless by "wizard," you mean, "able to produce large quantities of smoke from seemingly nowhere." In that way, I am definitely a kitchen wizard.

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Cooking This is no problem, though, because my job involves reading about things that our writers do well and I don't do at all. I can't help but pick up a few things. What Is Cooking? Getting Food Hot See More About: cooking tips culinary basics cooking with butter

How to Use a Knife Like a Chef One thing I'd like to pick up: One of those snazzy knives that chefs wield so gracefully on TV, while I watch from the sofa with my TV dinner. Video: How to Sharpen a Knife With a Whetstone How to Convert a Recipe Quantity See More About: how to use a chef's knife how to chop an onion knife cuts

How to Cook Anything But maybe not for long. There are cooking techniques here that I've heard of before - sauteing, for example - but have never learned how to do. It sounds much less scary in this article, though, than it was in my head. Video: How to Saute Vegetables Food Safety Quiz See More About: cooking methods moist-heat cooking dry-heat cooking

How to Wash Your Hands What's washing your hands have to do with cooking techniques? Hopefully a lot, or I'm never eating at your house. (Smiley face!) Recipe for Chicken Stock Recipe: Danilo's Everyday Salad See More About: food safety bacteria food poisoning