A recent article on The Kitchn titled 5 Reasons Why a Recipe Might Fail left me thinking about some of my biggest disappointments in the kitchen. One of them was many years ago when I was at a friend's house, and we decided to go a bit overboard on the baking substitutions, using applesauce instead of butter, Splenda in lieu of sugar, and baking powder rather than baking soda. Needless to say, Read more

There's nothing worse than a bad recipe! Over the weekend, I had a horrible time making pepper jack cheese fondue. I followed the recipe exactly, but the fondue was a soggy mess. It consisted of a bottle of beer, which was brought to a boil. It simmered with garlic and cayenne pepper for several minutes. Then, I added in a pound of grated pepper jack cheese by the handful. However, while the Read more

Whenever you resolve to eat healthier or fewer calories, it can be easy to fall into the diet trap — thinking that you just have to power through for a few weeks eating only lettuce in order to meet your weight goals. But instead of dreading the idea of healthy eating, think of your new goals as a lifestyle change, not a diet, with these tips. Get creative in the kitchen: When you've resigned Read more

Jay-Z wrote a song to honor his newborn daughter, Blue Ivy Carter! In record time, Jay got together the lyrics and music for "Glory," which even features some audio from the little one. In the track, Jay refers to Blue as "God's gift" and "the most beautifulest thing in the world." The new dad rapped, "Words can't describe what I'm feeling, for real." He goes on to say "my greatest creation was Read more

Creamy shrimp and arugula crostini is too good to be true. Don't have much time? Here are 10 tricks for livening up rotisserie chicken. Settle into this year's Oscars with some house-made movie munchies. Top Chef Chicago's Jen Biesty weighs in on this week's All-Stars. Take a look at Wolfgang Puck's Oscar menu. Change it up this season with a well-planned Winter picnic. Do dish: what's been Read more