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.
Having a store-bought cold pack on the ready is the perfect solution for minor bumps, bruises, sprains, and strains, but why spend money on bright blue ice packs when you can make your own right at home?
There is something so satisfying about dipping your spoon into a perfectly smooth slice of cheesecake. There is something a bit less satisfying about it if the top of the cheesecake is cracked and cratered.
When you look at an Italian flag, what do you see? Green, white, and red? Well, I see a Caprese salad. And no, I do not need to have my vision checked. It simply means that I have the eyes of a chef.
When I first heard about the Thermomix, an all-in-one kitchen appliance from Australia, it sounded like an old SNL commercial parody: It slices! It dices! It heats! It kneads! Is there ANYTHING this machine CAN'T do?
Few things in life are as exciting and magical as fire. And setting things on fire while cooking? Well, now you're speaking my language. I'm not talking about grilling, though I do love some outdoor cooking. No, I'm talking about the most badass trick in any cook's arsenal: the flambé.
As much as I love eating weird foods, when it comes to my favorite food, there is only one simple choice: cheese. Since cheese is my favorite to eat, it should come as no surprise that it's one of my favorites to make as well.
Ah, bello risotto. There are few comfort foods in the world that provide the same savory creaminess. Yet for all its simplicity, risotto has gotten a bad rap as a difficult dish to cook. In actuality, nothing is further from the truth.
Food waste is a topic near and dear to my heart, but the truth is, no matter how dutiful we are about finding ways to double-down on food scraps, a lot of stuff goes into the trash needlessly.
When I was younger, my family would go to fancy restaurants and I would invariably order a Shirley Temple. (Ironically, the real Shirley Temple actually didn't like it much.) But it's hard to really find anything offensive in this kiddie cocktail: It's ginger ale with a splash of grenadine. There's also the less famous Roy Rogers, which is Coca-Cola with grenadine. The grenadine, red and sumptuous, always made its drinks look and taste much cooler.
We are living in a golden age of craft beers. Originally invented by the ancient Egyptians, every culture now has its own tastes regarding beer. The process of making beer is so multi-faceted, it's a miracle that any gets made at all.
If you're a fan of Thai food, I'm sure you're familiar with sticky rice. There is something so special about its chewy texture and sweet flavor. If you have a desire to make it in your own kitchen but don't have the proper tools such as a traditional bamboo basket or stackable steamer, there are several other methods that work just as well. Once you try these alternative methods, I'm sure you'll be "sticking" to them for a while. What Makes Sticky Rice So Sticky?
Dulce de leche is a beautiful, caramel-like spread that you can slather onto bread or use to flavor cakes, cookies, or flan. You can also use it as a drizzle for ice cream, chocolate candies, and pastries. It tastes like heavenly toffee, translates roughly to "milk candy," and is popular all over Latin and South America. A version of the confection is also popular in the Philippines, in Russia, and is known in France as "confiture de lait." The traditional way to make dulce de leche is to slo...
Whether you choose to hang an authentic or artificial pine Christmas wreath on your door — or an entirely different type, like ones made of paper waste or even food — chances are you've spent a year or two struggling with how to keep your decor hanging. With one easy to apply, quick to remove trick, you can skip the shiny wreath holder and any further damage to your front door.
When I was 12, for some mysterious reason, my dad put my little brothers and me in charge of cooking the Thanksgiving turkey. Naturally, my brothers and I spent the rest of the day playing hide-in-seek in the backyard and forgot all about the humble bird defrosting in the sink.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that lasagna, pizza, cannoli, and other dishes are actually Italian in origin; they're so much a part of the American culinary landscape at this point. Wherever they come from, Americans of all kinds love to eat 'em. This guy was released from a North Korean prison, and after two years, the first thing he wanted to eat was fast-food pizza.
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.
Certain ingredients that a professional chef might work with in a restaurant-style setting may seem bizarre, dangerous, and even downright scary to a home cook, and for good reason.
Garlic—it stinks so good! It's one of nature's most wondrous foods, being both delicious and incredibly healthy. What's not to love? Well, it is kind of a pain to prep, whether you're peeling a couple of cloves for a sauce or a whole head and trying to mince it finely. One way to get around the whole peeling and mincing issue every time you want garlic in a dish is by buying pre-made garlic-infused olive oil, except that stuff is pretty pricey. Learn to make it at home and you'll get all the ...
In this tutorial, we learn how to make no-knead ciabatta bread. First, place 3 cups of flour into a large bowl with 1/4 tsp yeast, 3 tsp salt, and 2 c of warm water. Stir all of these ingredients together, then place a piece of foil over the bowl. Leave this in the room covered for 18 hours. After this, the dough will be bubbly and soft. Punch the dough down with your spatula, then oil a sheet pan and sprinkle it with corn meal. Then, spray your work surface with water and place plastic wrap ...
In order to make your own personal lubricant out of flaxseeds, you will need the following ingredients: 2 1/2 tablespoons. of flaxseeds, 2 cups of water, and a pot.
Things are really heating up now with that the Russians are putting on the pressure in Battlefield Bad Company 2. This time your helicopter gets hit by an RPG and you need to put it down and make your way through the clearing in the jungle. Destroy all the M-Com Stations, and nobody can die. Watch this video walkthrough to learn how to complete the No One Gets Left Behind mission in Bad Company 2 on the PS3.
Start with one cup of boiling water then a one stick of butter to the boiling water and let it melt. Add one cup of all purpose flour slowly. It will get really thick and form a ball. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool while you prepare the filling for the eclairs. Add 1/4 cup of cocoa six table spoons of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt an 3/4 cup of sugar in a pan and stir together. Slowly add 3 cups of milk unit all dry ingredients are wet. Cook over medium heat until as thick as mayonaise. ...
In this how-to video, you will learn how to make potassium trichromate. You will need potassium chromate and dichromate. It is easy to go between the two. You can add a base to the dichromate to make the chromate. It will go from orange to yellow. The trichromate can be produced. You will need nitric acid, potassium dichromate, and sodium disulphate. First, make a solution of sodium sulphate. Take a long test tube and the potassium dichromate to it. Add double the volume of concentrated nitri...
David L. Spies shows us how to make the best toffee in the world. It only takes four ingredients - butter, sugar, Macadamia nuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Chop or crush the nuts and have them ready for the final step.
In this how to video, you will learn how to make the finishing edges on pieces of ribbons. The hardest part is getting the spikes even on both sides. Fold up the ribbon so the two ends meet. If the spike is just a single angle, tape the edges at the top. If the spike has a center to it, bring the ends together and fold it in half. Take a piece of tape and place it around the ribbon ends. This will hold them in place for when you make the cut. If you want to make an angle cut, take your scisso...
Chocolate curls can make any dessert look rich and exciting. Melt together six ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Keep the pan on a low heat and add two tablespoons of shortening. Stir it and be sure the chocolate does not burn. Once the chocolate has melted and looks silky and smooth transfer the chocolate mixture to a loft pan lined with foil. Refrigerate for two hours until the chocolate has set. After the chocolate has firmed back up remove the foil from the pan. Now remove the foil fr...
County expert John White determines how to solve some pesky plant problems for the area. The first problem - cutter bees on Crepe Myrtle - is an obvious one, with the deep curved "bites" showing on most of the leaves. He suggests using an insecticide but then points out the signs of a second problem - beetle damage. Crepe Myrtle is prone to beetle infestations and he advises to get out a flashlight and look for them at night when they are at their worst. A problem with heat scorching on Euony...
Alishan Mao describes how to fix a flooded Nitro Engine on an RC car, remove the excess fuel, and start the engine. Flooding of the engine can occur when priming the engine. If you prime the engine too much, the engine can get flooded, making it difficult to pull the pull start. A simple way to fix this is to remove the glow plug. Cover the top of the engine with cloth or rag and hold it there so that the fuel does not splash all over the place. Pull the pull start several times. The fuel wil...
For new landscapes people tend to generally plant the new 'purple leaf plum' trees in a square shaped small plots. They also plant some small plants around it to make it look good. However when the tree grows older it needs to spread its roots. At that time these plants may try to hinder the trees roots growth. Therefore it is advisable remove them once the tree starts growing bigger. Then you can also add water to the roots by spreading it around the area of the tree.Whenever there is proble...
The video shows how to effectively be aware and get rid of possible webworms or aphids on your mesquites so they won't get damaged later. Here, John White invited Annete Peterson to show how to do so. She starts by informing from what she saw that many mesquites from her neighborhood have deformed leaves and mainly several of them have stripped branches at the tips of the trees. He explains that one of the problems is a webworm on the leaf of the mesquite, and it eats the leaves of the plant ...
Do you wonder if what you are seeing on your trees or plants is a problem, or simply natural? John White and Lois Pierce discuss various issues with Manzanitas, Red Buds, Viburnums, Mexican Buckeyes, and Cacti.
First of all whenever there is low rainfall and higher heat then there are problems.You shall notice that there are brown colored needles which dry up and then drop of. Sometimes they start at the tip and then move towards the branch. This shows drought and you need to soak in lots of water to overcome. However if you notice the brown needles going from the middle to the tip then these are due to natural process. Another problem is the presence of spider mite. Take a white sheet of paper and ...
Make an easy, simple bread that will taste better than store-bought stuff. Ingredients: - 3 cups of flour- 1 tsp of salt- 3/4 tsp of yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of water Steps: 1. Mix together all the dry ingredients. If the yeast you used is bread machine yeast, mix it in normally. If it's normal yeast, which means it's a bit bigger, dissolve it into the water first. 2. Add the water, and mix it together until you can form it into a fairly uniform ball. 3. Cover and let it rise for 3 to 5 hours. O...
The famous French Chef Kondo teaches you how to make the perfect French omelets. Ingredients: Three fresh eggs. 60cc fresh milk. Different kinds of cheese. 1. Break the three eggs into a bowl. 2. Add a little bit of milk and beat it up until it is very soft. 3. Heat your frying pan until it is very hot then add some oil. 4. When you see some white smoke, pour in your egg mixture. 5. Stir it while it is frying for a couple of minutes. 6. Add your cheese. 7. Gently tip the frying pan to form th...
This a video which explains who to make treacle flapjack. To make the flapjacks requires 250g of unsalted butter, 250g of light soft brown sugar, 1 pinch of salt 175g black treacle and 500g of porridge oats. She first puts butter into a saucepan, roughly chopped, then adding the sugar and pinch of salt. She uses a scale to measure the 175 grams of treacle syrup. She then heats the mixture on a stove, waiting for the butter to melt. Once the butter is melted, the mixture is poured into the oat...
Here Judy explains us how to cook Shrimp Scampi. You use frozen Shrimp. We take about 3 /4th cups of butter and put it in a pan which is heated. Add half a cup of green onions to it after melting it. Add 4 small cloves for garlic. Put sum oil on the garlic and then put it in the pan so that it does not burn in the pan. You add half a cup of chopped parsley to this. Cook it about for 2 minutes. Now add the shrimp and cook it for about 3-5 minutes and keep stirring it. Now remove the shrimp and...
Do you spend a lot of cash on Chai tea lattes from Starbucks or Coffee Bean? In this video, learn how to make your own and homemade always tastes better than the store bought kind! So, save a few dollars, get out your favorite mug and cuddle up with a good book. It's time to make some delicious Chai tea!
Everyone likes lobster and you normally inspire thought s of fine dining but with summer time coming lobster goes great on the grill. Make an extra special bbq and surprise everyone by grilling lobster to add delicious smokiness to their buttery flavor.
Learn how to solder wires with this video. Clean the area to be soldered, scraping the wire down to bare metal and then wiping it clean with alcohol or acetone. Use rosin-core solder for electronic applications. This solder normally comes in coils. Tin (coat with solder) the soldering tip first: Wrap one or two inches of solder around the tip while the iron is cold; set the iron to the solder's temperature range; and allow the solder to melt. Clean the tip with a sponge. Set the soldering too...
