cooking tips

Pretzels. Hot dogs. Sandwiches. It's easy to find a use for a can of Dijon mustard, but the same can't really be said for dry mustard. After all, how many of us admit to having a tin of Colman's mustard powder at home that's been open (and unused) for months or even years?

In truth, powdered mustard, as it's also known, is really just the dehydrated equivalent of the world's favorite condiment, which means it's just as versatile in the kitchen. Here are a few ways to make the most of it.

• Add a pinch to achieve intense, saturated flavors in your favorite deviled egg recipe.
• Incorporate powdered mustard into any spice rub and use on barbecue chicken, smoked ribs, and more.
• Add a straw-yellow color and acidic bite to a casserole like baked macaroni and cheese or potatoes au gratin.

See a few more of our suggested ways to use dry mustard when you read on.

Nonstick pans have gotten a bit of a bad rep over the last few years, but it's not all necessarily worth fretting about. While the slippery surface makes cooking healthy foods likes eggs and veggies easier, it is made from a special paint manufactured using a toxic chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Although this chemical is almost always removed in production, there may still be trace amounts of PFOA in the final coating, causing concern. While the EPA has yet to issue any definitive warnings on the use of nonstick cookware, it's better to be safe than sorry. Just in case, keep these tips in mind when cooking with this type of cookware.

1. Avoid cooking under high temperatures: It is suggested that when cooking with nonstick pans, avoid foods and recipes that require high temperatures above 500° F. This is because the pan may begin to decompose, emitting PFOA fumes. Most foods don't need to be cooked at such high temperatures, but steak is an exception, making cast iron pans a better option.
2. Avoid preheating your pan: Preheating a nonstick pan is similar to cooking foods at high temperatures. Doing this overheats the pan quickly, shortening the lifespan of the pan. If you do a lot of cooking, then consider investing in a heavier-weight pan. Not only will this hold up over the years, but it also withstands heat better, in turn saving you the cost of frequent replacement.
3. Avoid chipping the surface: This is key for nonstick cookware. Using metal spatulas and utensils may scratch or chip the coating, increasing the likelihood of exposing the chemically coated surface. Instead opt for a wood or plastic spatula. In addition, clean with care. Do not wash with steel wool or metal scrubbers. These pans are dishwasher-safe, and since the smooth surface makes cleanup easy, they can be washed with a sponge and detergent.
4. Be choosey with recipes: Although nonstick pans are arguably safe, minimize any chance of concern by only using them when needed. There are also several cookware alternatives like glass and cast iron. When in doubt, keep it simple: line your trays with wax paper or cooking spray.

Asparagus is delectable whether roasted, steamed, blanched, or in one of our favorite preparations: raw and ribboned. Remove heat from the equation, and asparagus's true nature shines, tasting grassier, lighter, and crisp. Moreover, willowy ribbons are visually pleasing, an important consideration, as — let's face it — we all eat with our eyes first.

Thankfully, this elegant preparation is extremely simple, and requires naught but a very sharp vegetable peeler and a small amount of patience for prep work. To begin, rinse the asparagus stalks and snap off their woody, desiccated ends.

Keep reading to learn how to shave asparagus.

Imagine this scenario: you have just sat down to a beautiful plate of french toast and begin to pour sticky maple syrup over the stack, when out plops a funky black lump from the bottle. This picture-perfect moment is ruined, and you can't help but leap back from the table from shock and disgust. What the heck could be growing in the bottle?

This not-so-pleasant predicament actually happened to me, so I'm sharing my learnings with you. Maple syrup, as it turns out, should always be refrigerated upon opening, otherwise you could wind up with the situation I just described, with mold growing inside the bottle. Personally, I have never refrigerated any sugary syrups (agave, honey, brown rice syrup), so I can't believe I've lived this long not refrigerating maple syrup. While some claim you can scrape off the mold and boil the syrup to kill the remaining strands of bacteria, I prefer to live by the mantra "When in doubt, toss it out."

Can you relate to this experience? Did you know to refrigerate maple syrup?

Arguably the sharpest (and most dangerous) knife on the block, the serrated knife tears through crusty bread like it's no big thing (and thumbs too, as I unfortunately learned in culinary school). But despite my love-hate relationship with the serrated knife, there's no denying its toothy blade has many functions. Besides the obvious cutting of bread, here are three more ways to utilize the serrated knife.

• To cut through dough: When making cinnamon rolls or other delicate doughy treats, the serrated knife slices through the dough without squishing, pulling, or tearing it.
• To slice watery vegetables and fruits: The watery, fragile interiors of tomatoes and melons can turn into a puddle if not sliced with a serrated knife.
• To layer cake: Most layered cakes are not baked in thin sheets, but rather they are carefully cut in half using a serrated knife, like in these layered petit fours.

In what other kitchen tasks has your serrated knife proved to be useful?

Before we proceed, the instructions I'm about to expound upon are not for the most convenient way to make toast. Rather, this is how to make the platonic ideal of toast. While that is not to say that other methods are bad, unsatisfying, or wrong, you should follow these steps when nothing but the best will suffice.

Here's what you'll need:

• A toaster oven
• Your favorite bread
• The best unsalted butter you can get your hands on, at room temperature
• Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or fleur de sel
• Jam, marmalade, or preserves (optional) if you're jonesing for a sweet and salty breakfast treat
• Black pepper (optional), for savory toast

The six steps to perfect toast:

1. Turn your toaster oven to the toast setting, place the slice of bread on the rack in the toaster oven, and toast until the bread has just begun to hint at browning.
2. Spread a generous pat of butter over every square inch of one side of the bread, nestling it in every nook and cranny.
3. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
4. Return the bread to the oven and cook until the butter is bubbly, the bread (and more importantly the butter) is a deep golden brown, and the bread is crisp on the outside, but tender inside.
5. Spread with jam or fruit (if using) for a sweet, salty, and buttery treat. Alternatively, dust with a few cracks of black pepper.
6. Enjoy, repeat, and tinker until you find your perfect toast formula.

In addition to Pi Day, March 14 also happens to be National Potato Chip Day. While it's easy and satisfying to eat them right out of the bag, it's even more fun to come up with creative ways to add some crunch factor to your food. There's no doubt about it that potato chips are dangerously addictive on their own, but incorporated into other dishes, like sandwiches or even baked goods, they reach an entirely new level of awesome. So grab your favorite bag of chips and get creative!

• Add them to your burgers or sandwiches as a contrast to all of the soft textures. Bobby Flay refers to these burgers as "crunchified."
• Crumble them up and toss them in salads for an unexpected and unusual flavor combination.
• Use them in your next Spanish tortilla in place of sliced potatoes.
• Sprinkle them on top of ice cream for a sweet and salty treat.
• Swap out pretzel sticks for chocolate-dipped potato chips.
• Bake with them! Potato chip cookies are all the rage these days.

What do you love to add potato chips to?

Unless you're working with asparagus that's freshly harvested from the garden — and sometimes even then — one must discard the woody, slightly dried out ends for enticingly tender results. The problem is knowing how much to discard in order to waste as little of the oft-pricey vegetable as possible. Conventional wisdom will have you bend each stalk till it snaps, as they're more flexible in their tender parts, but this can become tedious fast. Instead, snap two stalks out of the bundle, line up the remaining asparagus with their tips flush, and cut through with a sharp knife between the snapping point of the two. If your stalks are particularly thick, take a few passes with a vegetable peeler on the ends, otherwise you're good to go whether the asparagus will be blanched, roasted, ribboned, or steamed.