Author: Jim Stonos

Blue cheese, unlike most moldy foods, is safe to eat. In fact, it can even be good for you in moderate quantities. Here’s why.

Pasta water alone won’t clog your kitchen sink. But noodles in the water can—and the clog can be surprisingly stubborn. Here’s how to fix it.

Every so often, a recipe will call for blue cheese crumbles. If you haven’t come across one yet, try adding crumbled blue cheese to your salad, burger, pizza, or pasta the next time you make one. Its salty taste and pungent smell pair exceptionally well with sweeter ingredients like onions, pears, and dried fruit.

Blue cheese is a moldy cheese traditionally made in Western Europe. It’s also significantly more expensive than other cheeses. Why is that the case?

As I was planning to make pizza yesterday, I remembered I was out of 00 flour. It’s an Italian flour I use for practically all of my pizza dough, so I found myself in a difficult situation. On the one hand, I was craving a good pizza. On the other, I knew I was missing…

Picking out a mini fridge for your dorm, horm, or backyard? Here’s all you need to know about compact refrigerators.

Stand mixers and food processors are not generally interchangeable. I’ll help you decide which one is the right kitchen tool for you.

Yes, you can boil pasta noodles in beef broth (or any other broth for that matter). But it makes less of a difference than most cooks think.

From nutritional facts to smoke point and uses, here’s what you should know about avocado oil (and how to use it as a cooking oil at home).

Soapy water won’t kill most bacteria, but it helps to degrease your knife and wash away the poultry. Here’s how to REALLY sanitize your knife.

Food safety isn’t just about keeping your home kitchen clean. It’s also about avoiding cross-contamination. Here’s what to watch out for.

This trick is so simple and works so well, it’s almost hard to believe. Here’s how it works—and what’s the science behind it.

Here’s what to do when the taste of the sauce you bought in the grocery store didn’t really live up to what was said on the label.

As you cook pasta noodles in boiling water, some of the starches in the pasta get released and dissolve in the water. Here’s why this matters.

Shredded cheese contains additives and preservatives that most cheese blocks don’t. Here’s what they are, so that you can decide for yourself.

I know from email exchanges and comments on other articles that many of you get intimidated by sautéing. After all, the name is French, and it sounds like sautéing is something pretty darn complicated to do. The irony is that it’s one of the most straightforward cooking techniques out there. Sautéing means pan-frying food quickly,…

My favorites are Parmigino-Reggiano, Grana Padano, and aged Asiago. Come over to check out why (and see my top three cheese picks).

Your carbonara came out goopy? Come over and see how to make the perfect Pasta alla Carbonara every single time.

Bronze-cut pasta is, by all criteria, higher quality than regular pasta. It has a golden color and a rougher, more porous texture. Here’s why.

From naming pasta water in Italian to knowing how to cook pasta al dente, here are 10 words in Italian that every home cook needs to know.

The black spots on your tomato are a plant disease called anthracnose. Cut the infected areas out—and the rest of the tomato is safe to eat.

The answer is all about density. But it’s more complicated and intriguing than some of you may think. Come over and see why.

Those dried and tough white spots on the chicken in your freezer are called freezer burn. They’re safe to eat, but will come out dry and tasteless, no matter how you cook them.

Don’t cook all of your food on high heat. Here’s what high-heat cooking is good for—and what you shouldn’t really use it for.

Cleaning burnt eggs off of your stainless steel frying pan is easier than you think. Use this trick to do it in less than 10 minutes.

When pasta is chewy and crunchy, it’s still undercooked. Keep on cooking it and taste it every 30 seconds until done. Here’s how to tell.

Bacon gets slimy, smells sour, and turns grayish in color when it’s past its expiration date. Here’s what you need to know about bacon.

Jarred pasta sauce sold at most grocery store is already cooked, so you only have to reheat it. But you can also make it better.

Yes, you can make pasta at home without no. No, you won’t want to after you try it. Here’s how to use a pasta insert for best results.

To cook dried pasta nests perfectly, use a large pot, a pasta insert, and follow the 4:1:1 pasta ratio. Here’s how.

If you like the recipe and taste, why shouldn’t you? Here’s what you need to know about cooking macaroni in milk instead of salted water.

To tell if sausages have spoiled, use your senses. If you see any discoloration, smell and unpleasant odor, or feel stickiness, discard them.

You can, but you shouldn’t. The pasta noodles will soak up too much moisture and turn soggy. Here’s what to do with leftover noodles instead.

Don’t rinse pasta noodles before cooking them. Your pasta dish will come out less tasty as a result. Here’s the reason why.

On theory, you could. And you could just as easily destroy your phone by trying to do so. Here’s why this is not necessarily the best idea.

My wife and I recently rented a new apartment and decided to treat ourselves by renewing some of our cookware. As regular readers know, I’m pretty specific about the model and make of frying pans and chef’s knives that I use. Less so when it comes to pans and pots. So we ordered new porcelain…

Pasta is one of the greatest foods on earth and a true staple in many households. It’s tasty, filling, and pairs exceptionally well with different Italian and Italian-American sauces like tomato, cream, or pesto sauce. The thing about pasta is that, even though most pasta dishes have only a few ingredients and require a simple…

Freezing chicken is the best way to keep it fresh for a longer time, especially if you buy it in bulk. In our household, for example, we have a Costco membership. Every now and then, we buy packs of 24 chicken breasts or 6 whole chickens and put them in the freezer. But just how…

Stored in a cool and dry place, canned tomatoes will remain safe to eat indefinitely. But they will lose their freshness and nutritional value over time.

The most likely reasons are that you didn’t use the right type of flour, you overworked the dough, or you didn’t roll it out thin enough. Here’s why.

They can cost as much as $8.99 a dozen at the grocery store. Many say the price is 100% worth it. Here’s what makes pastured eggs better.

Adding oil to pasta water does more harm than good. Here’s why—and what to do instead to keep the noodles from sticking together.

My best tips and tricks to prevent greasy and soupy lasagna. Try them out and others will think you’ve been to a secret Italian cooking class.

Making soup can have a mixed effect on the nutritional value of vegetables. Water washes away some of the compounds while making others more digestible.

I’ve been cooking dry beans without letting them soak overnight for years. And so have the most trustworthy authors I follow online. Here’s why and how this works.

Looking for alternatives to cooking spray or simply ran out of it? Here’s four fail-safe ways to grease your baking pan instead.

A couple of years ago, I found myself hungry and in a hurry on the streets of Paris. I opened my phone and googled what a Parisian person would do in my situation. So I went to the nearest bakery and bought myself a Jambon-beurre sandwich. Jambon-beurre is a classic French sandwich made of a…

Your pasta carbonara came out runny and pooling in the plate? Here’s how to get this simple and delicious pasta dish right every single time.

Picked the best potatoes in the store? Did everything the recipe said? Yet your potato soup turned out thick and gluey… Here’s what to watch out for.

Follow these tips and tricks for making tasty pasta and you will never again end up with bland and flavorless pasta dishes at home.

The Monte Cristo is actually a variation of the Croque Monsieur sandwich. Here’s the differences between them (and how to make each at home).

Check out how to substitute plain yogurt for mayo. And learn about the best recipes where this healthier alternative works deliciously well.

You can, as long as you cook on low to medium heat. Olive oil has a low smoke point and will otherwise burn. Here’s what you need to know about using olive oil in ceramic pans.

Here’s where in Boston to find the staple spuckie sandwich. And my tried-and-tested recipe to make a spuckie at home.

This beer-battered fish recipe, three appetizers, and four drinks will awe friends and family at your fish fry.