Brining

When it comes to home cooking, celebrities are just like us. Last night, on The Late Show With David Letterman, Kate Winslet admitted she loves to cook but can be a little accident-prone in the kitchen.

On the upside, the Revolutionary Road actress admits she loves to eat and cook. "I do know how to cook. I had fun with my turkey this year," she says. "I decided to go for the brining technique. Oh my gosh, this brining thing is so amazing."

But she didn't emerge from the holiday season unscathed. "The injuries I've sustained!" she laments, holding up her forearm to the camera. "This was a really nasty burn when I was pre-preparing Christmas things . . . And then . . . I sliced off a piece of my finger and saw it fall onto the chopping board with a piece of nail still attached!"

I'll admit: I was surprised that she cooks and even more shocked to learn that she's had as many gory moments in the kitchen as I have. Do you have any kitchen battle scars? To hear the actress extol the virtues of brining and rave about pork, read more

Last week, I asked how many of you were planning to brine your turkeys this year. Although more than half of you responded yes, at least 20 percent of you weren't sure what a brine was!

For those of you who didn't know, brining is a cooking technique often used to maximize juiciness in cooked poultry and meat, and it's particularly popular with Thanksgiving turkeys. Various techniques recommend soaking turkey anywhere from six hours to three days in a brine, a saltwater solution that often includes herbs and sweeteners (like our must-have version). To understand how brining works, read more