Find a good work area where you can sit down and be comfortable. A kitchen table works perfectly for this. Be sure to cover the surface of your table with a plastic garbage bags and a thick layer of newspaper to soak up spills and prevent damage to your table's surface. Get all your supplies ready at hand. You don't want to be hunting for them mid nail removal. Have them all spread out in front of you on the table. Using a pair of nail clippers, cut the acrylic nails down as short as possible...
Is your BFF getting married? Looks like you have a bridal shower to plan! Organize a bridal bash that people will actually want to attend using these innovative ideas.
Testing products for a living is a bit more complicated than it sounds. You Will Need
If even the bats are intimidated by the clutter in your attic, it’s time to tackle the mess. Watch this video to learn how to clean out your attic.
Sound Like a Duck or a Fog Horn! All sounds are created by vibrations. You can discover this next time you're out at a fancy restaurant. All you need is that straw in your soda and a pair of scissors. Makes sure you flatten it out really good to make this work, then make sure you parent tip your server well.
Redoing your floors can be expensive unless you know how to do it yourself. Learn the basics for installing a new engineered wood floor in this how to video. Watch the short DIY show clip and follow along so that you too can install a new engineered floor in your kitchen.
On this episode of FoodGear add a little spice to your summer fruit consumption. At a standard kitchen store, you should be able to find every kind of fruit cutting gadget under the summer sun. Watch this instructional cooking video for advice on choosing grapefruit knives, strawberry holers and melon ballers. Remember, a fruit cutting tool won't actually make the fruit taste better.
Ceramic herb planters are perfectly shaped to sit on a windowsill in the kitchen. Learn how to making your own ceramic herb planter in this free ceramics video series.
Hungry for fish? Learn how to make grilled salmon and pan fried sole, including tips, tricks and kitchen rules-of-thumb in this free video cooking series by professional chef Laura Bandford.
A food waste disposer can be very helpful in preventing your kitchen sink plumbing from clogging. In this video, Joe Schmidt of YouToo Can Do shows you how easy it is to install a food waste disposal. For this installation, you'll need plumber's putty, channel locks, and a regular screwdriver.
Review these guidelines to fold a traditional origami kettle. This little origami kettle can't hold water, but it is a very cute construction. When finished folding, you need to blow up the paper kettle and it will stand on it's own as a pretty decoration for any kitchen.
Bokashi is a fermented wheat bran used to pickle kitchen food waste to help it compost quicker without foul odors. Watch this how to video to learn how to ferment bokashi with molasses. Use the fermented bokashi to clean the septic system, pickle, or even to compost.
Your countertops and other kitchen surface can be easily damaged. This how to video shows you how to properly polish granite and gold countertops.
The world around us keeps getting smarter. Not only do we have advanced AI services like the Google Assistant, but now we've got the Internet of Things connecting physical objects to the digital world. It's amazing when you think about it, but the real sci-fi stuff starts to happen when these two technologies intersect.
Foodborne infections often occur through the contamination of equipment, food-prep tools, and unsanitary surfaces. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds us that breast pump parts are part of the food-delivery chain — and they can become contaminated too.
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.)
We love shredded chicken in our tacos, casseroles, quesadillas, salads, sandwiches... okay, we just love shredded chicken. What we don't love is the actual process of shredding it.
From vodka to beer, booze is great for drinking, great for mixing, and, yes, great for cooking with. But there's really no alcohol better for bringing into the kitchen than wine. From savory dishes to sweet ones, wine is so versatile that it can make almost any meal better. And contrary to popular belief, it's easy to cook with.
There's a common saying that separates cooks from bakers: baking is a science, while cooking is an art. When baking, one little misstep can alter the texture, taste, and consistency of any recipe.
If you're here, you're probably one of the seven people dedicated to making Mac n' Cheetos a permanent part of the Burger King menu.
Caramel is delicious, but it can be a tricky flavor to incorporate into baking. Traditionally, caramel is a liquid, and that doesn't always suit dessert preparation since adding extra liquid to baked goods can ruin them. So how do you get that buttery, toffee-like flavor?
Store-bought marinades and sauces have an ability to jazz up the simplest items. But after a while, those favorite tastes seem a bit repetitive and mundane, and that got us to experimenting with different add-ins to make our marinades stand out. Fruits, herbs, spices—all of the usual suspects were delicious, but not spectacular.
The original frozen hot chocolate is from Serendipity 3, an extremely famous eatery in NYC. However, its fame had created many copycat recipes, which eventually prompted its owner, Stephen Bruce, into releasing the delicious recipe in 2004.
While a hot dog with all the typical American condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish) is heavenly for kids, as an adult, I realize there is nothing wrong with switching things up a bit and getting creative. In fact, a plain hot dog can be a fantastic blank canvas for chefs to work with—a great, edible example of going from drab to fab.
I know I'm in the majority when I say that grilled cheese sandwiches are one of life's simplest and best pleasures: gooey, rich, melted cheese, sandwiched between two perfectly-buttered pieces of toast... perfection.
Let's set the scene: you're at home, it's late in the evening, and you have a hankering for those deliciously decadent chocolate-wrapped squares of ice cream goodness. You could drive to the store and pick up the usual pack of Klondike Bars in the ice cream aisle... or, you can easily make these babies in the comfort of your own home with only three ingredients for a fraction of the cost—in any flavor you want! The choice is obvious. So, without further ado... Ready, set, Klondike!
Local cafés and food bloggers are catching onto a gourmet toast trend that makes bread and butter look like movies before color TV was invented.
Today's smartphones and tablets offer a great way for children to learn through interactive sight, sound, and touch, but they can also provide hours of genuine fun. If you have a spare tablet laying around—or at least a nice, durable case—the only thing you need to get your child started in this world of fun and learning is a handful of good apps.
If you're anything like me, the urge to bake comes in waves. Winter constitutes an especially large wave; when I need to put on a few extra pounds for insulation, I go a bit carb crazy and take any opportunity to make breads, pies, and cakes.
The first written account of "stock" as a culinary staple goes back to 1653, when La Varenne's Cookery described boiling mushroom stems and table scraps with other ingredients (such as herbs and basic vegetables) in water to use for sauces. But really, the concept of stock has probably been around for as long as people have been using water to boil food.
I always have several sheets of puff pastry in my freezer. It's unlike any other pastry dough: the layers of butter let out steam when the dough bakes (hence, the "puff" in puff pastry). The dough's flakiness perfectly compliments sweet and savory dishes, which makes it a totally versatile—and completely necessary—fixture in your kitchen!
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?
As the days get shorter and the weather cools down, I prepare to "hibernate." I add piles of blankets to my bed, wrap myself in layers of flannel, and—most importantly—eat as if I'm storing energy for winter.
Many of you have heard of "ricing" cauliflower. If you haven't, you're missing out making this one-note vegetable into a variety of main and side dishes. The ricing process is so simple, fast, and easy that even the most novice cook can swing this. One you complete this prep step, you will have an ingredient so versatile that you can easily fool your kids into eating their veggies without them ever knowing it.
I like to think of myself as a pretty calm and even-keeled person. I rarely get angry or annoyed, and I don't even get peeved very frequently.
Your grater and microplane may look like single-purpose tools, but they're actually one of the most diverse appliances in your kitchen. Sure, everyone knows to use a grater on cheese and a microplane on citrus zest, but why stop there? Here are 10 things you may not have thought to grate:
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.
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." We've all seen the quote, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, on numerous shirts, glasses, and bar signs. It's a good, if overused slogan. It makes one clear, indisputable point: beer is great, and life is better with it.
The fridge is the heart of the kitchen; take it away, and the whole operation falls apart. Yet, despite this, the fridge is also one of the most overlooked appliances in any kitchen. Most people organize their drawers and shelves for maximum efficiency, while many others buy islands simply to make their culinary playground more space efficient. Heck, I know some people who have passed up on otherwise great apartments because the counter space simply wasn't large enough.
Sriracha has quickly become one of the country's most universally loved condiments. The addictive and affordable chili sauce seemingly goes on anything, and with anything, and never seems to get old. To wit: when I studied abroad, all of our food was boring, pre-packaged Sysco shipments; for three months, I smothered every breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Sriracha. And after all of that, I still eat it almost religiously.
