Pre Dinner

Please read the following in Rod Serling's voice. Picture, if you will, a mother. She comes home after a long day at the office, relieved that she took some chicken breasts out to thaw and will be able to make a quick and easy dinner for her family. She opens her refrigerator ...more

Thanksgiving is almost here, so now is the perfect time to figure out how you're going to cook that Turkey Day bird for dinner. Choosing a high-quality turkey is important, but if you haven't even gotten yours yet, the pickings may be slim, so do the best you can. Brining the ...more

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 ...more

Is dessert your deadliest vice? Try adding even more decadence to the equation—heavy, gooey chocolate with hints of crispy bacon and smokey bourbon, AKA the calorie-rich bacon bourbon brownie. Adapted from Slash Food, this after dinner treat isn't for the faint of heart. Baco ...more

If you have any little ones in your life (or you're simply a grown-up kid yourself), Just Bento has has posted Maki's Top 10 Bento Rules for Back-to-School. Rules listed below, click through for full explanations. If you're inspired, explore Just Bento or another WonderHowTo ...more

During pregnancy, women will end up carrying a good amount of extra weight. While a third of the weight gained will come from the baby, the other two thirds come from the changes that happen in your body while you're pregnant. Losing this extra weight can prove to be difficul ...more

Obesity has ballooned into a worldwide epidemic. The World Health Organization estimates that 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and 700 million will be obese by 2015. Over 20 million children are overweight today. The reasons for these distressing figures are common knowle ...more

We used to saunter into the grocery store and gaze longingly at the pre-made roasted chickens, wistfully thinking of things we could do with the golden fowl if only we didn't already have dinner plans. You see, we used to grab them only if we were having company or knew we wo ...more

Oven space is scarce on that fated fourth Thursday of November. Even if you can find a spare space for pumpkin pie on the bottom shelf, you risk turkey drippings overflowing from above and ruining your beautiful dessert — not to mention a burnt crust from different temperature ...more

Last year, The New York Times wrote that certain restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn banned patrons from taking photos of their meals. That means no flash photography, no standing on chairs for a better angle, not even a quick pic for your Instagram followers before the firs ...more

Ah, the sensation of that first bite of sorbet in the heat of summertime: icy, refreshing, decadent in flavor and texture. We love sorbet almost as much as we love ice cream, and making it at home is actually pretty simple. Most recipes call for just water, sugar, and a base f ...more

I think we've all had that childhood (or adult) desire to have ice cream for dinner. But veggies for dessert? It's something I had nightmares about as a kid. That being said, the truth is that when properly prepared, veggies can easily star in desserts as the main ingredient. ...more

To be twentysomething is an awkward time for entertaining. As we graduate college and begin to work in “the real world,” there is a yearning to transition from keg parties into dinner soirées. However, though the desire is there, often the bank account is not. Here are some wa ...more

When you have a parent who cooks—and has you act as sous chef—the kitchen automatically becomes a less intimidating place. In other words, kids who know their way around the kitchen will most likely become adults who cook for themselves, which also means that they'll eat more ...more

How often do you make a pie from scratch? If your answer is "only during the holidays," you're not alone. Unless you're an experienced baker, homemade pies can be pretty tough to tackle. And the most common problems are the crusts coming out of the oven soggy or scorched. I'v ...more

The debate over whether to deep-fry or roast a Thanksgiving turkey can get pretty heated. Both have their merits, but it's hard to argue with that crispy, golden brown skin and moist texture that the fryer gives. But what's better than a deep-fried turkey? An entire deep-frie ...more

Great ideas often strike at random times, but messaging friends and loved ones at an inopportune hour not only risks their wrath, but also increases the chances of your message not being paid proper attention to. Thankfully, there's an app that lets you create and post WhatsAp ...more

While restaurants and classrooms have enacted policies banning cell phones, one father has had enough of his kids' obsessive phone habits. Dr. Tim Farnum is now seeking to ban the sale of smartphones to children under 13. Yes, you read that right. Farnum was inspired to propo ...more

"You can even eat the dishes," claims the song "The Candy Man Can" from 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The idea of edible cups, even back then, grabbed my attention—any kid would much prefer to eat her dish instead of clean it afterward, of course! Don't Miss: ...more

The potato masher is one of the most dreaded tools in my kitchen; it always gives me flashbacks to when I had to mash potatoes for Thanksgiving dinners while growing up. Don't Miss: 8 Essential Instant Mashed Potato Hacks If you're not fond of mashers either, or just don't ...more

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, which can only mean one thing: Christmas is nearly here. It's the time of year we're supposed to spend with family and friends, but usually we spend it stressing out over what to buy everyone on our list without going over budget, or sho ...more

I recently had a small gathering of friends over for a quick cookout consisting of mostly burgers on the grill. One of my friends informed me beforehand that she didn't eat red meat, but that she would be perfectly okay with eating a turkey burger. It would be impossible for ...more

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 ...more

A carefully constructed frittata is one of the culinary world's perfect wonders. It's inexpensive to create, can be made with all sorts of leftovers, and is outstanding to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. However, frittatas can go downhill fast and come out spongy, tastele ...more

When you're trying to cut some calories or just eat more veggies, it's important to enjoy what you're eating. If all you're doing is telling yourself "no" and focusing on what you can't eat, you are pretty much destined to fail at your diet. Don't Miss: Cut 500 Calories Each ...more

If you have a local Trader Joe's, you know first-hand how enchanting the frozen aisles are—almost every item offers the promise of a delicious meal or dessert. (We're always tempted to open the package and eat the cookie butter cheesecake, stat.) While cooking from scratch is ...more

My daughter moved into her first apartment last year, a huge rite of passage in any young person's life. With a mother and two grandmothers who are good cooks (to say the least, in the case of the latter), it's not surprising that she turned to us for some advice about how to ...more

The ability to make a meal for yourself used to be one of those life skills you had to learn or otherwise you would starve, but the rise of convenience foods, takeout, and other aspects of modern living have made it entirely possible to be a grown person and not know what to d ...more

The beauty of a grilled cheese sandwich is that even a mediocre one still tastes pretty good (I find the same is true with pizza). However, chefs and cooking pros have come up with some great tricks that will turn a regular grilled cheese sandwich into something sublime. Once ...more

Marinades are among my all-time favorite tricks as a cook for several reasons. They're easy like Sunday morning, they let time do what it's supposed to, which is work for you, and you get a huge return for relatively little effort on your part. In a pinch, I've used store-bou ...more

Whether it's for health reasons or just to look better, many of us want to get in shape. It's a long process that starts with nutrition, and dieting is never easy. Fortunately, there are some great food-tracking apps that will make it a lot easier to become a healthier version ...more

Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's ...more

Your iPhone is full of features, many of which you might not even know about yet. Still, Apple keeps adding feature after feature with each new iOS update, and iOS 14.5 is no exception. The latest iOS version adds at least 69 features for your iPhone that you should be happy a ...more