Tag: Tips & Techniques

People Are Just Discovering How to Store Knives Correctly, Thanks to Ina Garten’s “Brilliant” Hack

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Ina Garten is the queen of the kitchen — in more ways than one. From food hacks to hosting tips and the best recipes, the television star has saved us in the kitchen more than once. Lucky for us, the cooking whiz has a new trick that will ensure you always have sharp knives on hand. While Garten mentions that she typically opts for knife blocks that hold the knives sideways, her suggestion for blocks that hold knives vertically will save your blades.

As Garten demonstrates in a recent Instagram video, when you place your knife into a wooden knife block right side up, the blade scrapes against the wood as you slide the tool into place. So, the star flips the knife upside down so when it’s time to put the knife away, it will glide in without the cutting edge skimming the wood, ultimately saving the sharp side from extra abrasion.

It’s crucial to have sharp blades in the kitchen to prevent any serious injury. When the blade is dull, you will have to provide more pressure to slice food, making it much easier for the knife to slip. While knives will inevitably dull down over time, this hack will increase the longevity of your tool before having to manually sharpen it. It’s recommended to sharpen your knives every couple of months, but you may just want to take notice of when your knife stops seamlessly gliding through your food — then you know it’s time.

Commenters on the video were loving the trick and some even chimed in with their own suggestions. One user even recommended keeping your knives out of the dishwasher to extend their lifespan.

Well, Garten has done it again, and we can’t wait to see what other tricks she has to share.

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Emma Taubenfeld

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February 4, 2024
The One Ingredient That Makes Brownies 100x Better (Homemade or Boxed!)

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One of my favorite discoveries from my life as a professional baker is malted milk powder. It’s an unassuming ingredient that pretty much hangs out in plain sight in the baking aisle of any grocery store. Made from a simple combination of malted barley, wheat flour, and dried milk, it makes any dessert taste infinitely better.

Nowadays, I always level up a batch of brownies, whether they’re chewy homemade or from a box (like our pecan pie brownies), by adding malted milk powder directly to the batter. A few tablespoonfuls is all you need to take your brownies from good to great.

Whether you’re new to this hack or need a reminder about the greatness of malted milk powder, here’s how to add this game-changing ingredient to your baking routine.

Why Malted Milk Powder Makes Brownies Even Better

In the baking world, malted milk powder is known as the “umami bomb of desserts,” on par with soy sauce and miso on the savory side of things. This unique blend of ingredients — malted barley, wheat flour, and dried milk — adds a deep, rich, toasty, and caramelized flavor to brownies (and really any baked good). You’ll also notice a roasted and slightly earthy flavor in your final brownies, which helps to temper their sweetness.

How to Use Malted Milk Powder

When preparing your batter (or cookie dough), simply add a tablespoon or two to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine — it couldn’t get any easier! I like two tablespoons in my brownie batter, but if you’re new to this ingredient, start with one tablespoon. Taste and see how you like it. If it’s spot-on for you, stick with that amount, but if you’re curious, go for a full two tablespoons.

Other Ways to Use Malted Milk Powder

When you’re ready to venture beyond brownies, here’s a roundup of other sweets you should be adding malted milk powder to.

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Kristina Razon

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February 1, 2024
The Surprising 3-Ingredient Sweet Potato Recipe I Make Every January

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When January rolls around, I like to take things easy in the kitchen. After the highs (and the lows) that come with the holiday season, I’m all for lazy cooking and tend to stick with delicious, super-easy, tried-and-true recipes.

That’s where this brilliant dessert comes in. If you already love sweet potato casserole with those itty bitty marshmallows, this will be right up your alley. (And if you don’t, I’m here to make you a believer.) Introducing one of my favorite 3-ingredient desserts: a roasted sweet potato topped with fluffy whipped cream and toasted chopped nuts.

What Makes This 3-Ingredient Sweet Potato Dessert So Amazing

This easy dessert is creamy, slightly crunchy, pleasantly sweet, and altogether so much greater than the sum of its parts. Even better, it uses ingredients you probably already have — a sweet potato, whipped cream (or heavy cream if you like making your own), and roasted nuts of some sort — and the oven does all the work for you.

How to Make This 3-Ingredient Sweet Potato Dessert

Ways to Riff on This 3-Ingredient Sweet Potato Dessert

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Kristina Razon

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January 20, 2024
The $4 Grocery I Always Have in My Freezer (Especially for Nights When I Don't Feel Like Cooking)

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What started as a game — “What can we make in 15 minutes?” — to keep her son occupied during the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly turned into a full-fledged cookbook. 15 Minute Meals, out this month, is novelist, cookbook author, and TV host Ali Rosen’s bible for anyone who doesn’t have the foresight (or time!) to think about dinner hours ahead.

The long list of salads, soups, noodles, rice bowls, desserts, and more she’s created are proof positive that “there’s a lot that you can do in a few minutes.” She credits a big part of that to the veritable mountain of quality frozen shortcuts (and pantry staples) that exist today, calling it a “golden age of ingredients.”

As an often spontaneous meal planner (planner being generous), I wanted to know the one thing every lazy cook should always have in their freezer. So, of course, I reached out to Rosen to chat. Here’s what the woman who wrote the book on quick-yet-satisfying meals had to say.

Why You Should Always Have Frozen Peas (and Other Portioned Vegetables) in Your Freezer

“I would say frozen peas is my number-one thing — like I love frozen peas,” says Rosen, and maybe not quite for the reason you think. Their neutralness is what really makes them stand out: “[They] don’t add as much texture and flavor,” which oftentimes is what she’s going for when she wants to add some nutritional value into whatever she’s making — and with minimal effort.

“It’s no work, and because of their size, you don’t have to do anything to them. You’re not going to get a whole bite of them in anything, so they’re not going to ruin any flavor.” Plus, “The quality of how we freeze things has really shifted in the last number of years,” adds Rosen, who also wrote a freezer-meals cookbook. “So you’re often getting more nutrients from a frozen vegetable than you are from the broccoli you bought six days ago.”

“If you want to make mac and cheese, great! Throw some frozen peas into it and then you’re getting your vegetable quantity for the day.” Same goes for ramen, rice bowls, pasta bakes, soups (she’s a big fan of creating them from pantry ingredients like coconut milk and chickpeas, along with frozen peas), and ground meat for tacos.

Beyond frozen peas, Rosen swears by broccoli florets, medleys (like the pea, green bean, and carrot blends), and frozen spinach, which is especially great for melding into sauces and hiding from picky eaters — of all ages. “Freezing garlic and herbs in ice trays (in olive oil)” is another one of her favorites; she also recommends buying the frozen garlic or ginger cubes, like the ones at Trader Joe’s, with “as few ingredients listed as possible,” along with frozen stock and ice cream. (She grew up with Haagen Dazs Chocolate and still considers it one of the best.)

“My freezer is mostly full of ice cream — ice cream, stock, peas, and some gin.”

Buy: Cascadian Farm Organic Sweet Peas, $4.19 for 10 ounces at Instacart

What’s the one shortcut you always have in your freezer? Tell us in the comments below.

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Mara Weinraub

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January 7, 2024
4 Organizing Tricks I Learned Watching a Pro Chef Cook in a Tiny Parisian Kitchen

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In hindsight, it was pretty absurd: Fly to Paris on a couple weeks’ notice with my chef friend, stay in a 30-square-meter (about 322-square-feet) apartment, and host back-to-back dinner parties for local influencers. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, aside from doing dishes for days, everything went right!

Here’s the story: My friend Alison Settle, an amazingly talented (and James Beard-nominated!) chef, and I cooked up a plan to lead culinary tours of Paris in the spring. To kick it off, we’d get some photo and video content for promotions, and do some on-the-ground recon, so we flew over in October to put on a few dinner parties in an amazing apartment called Kai’s Kitchen I’d been obsessed with since spotting it online.

The challenge (other than our, ahem, ambitious plan to shop and plan for a menu Settle would create on the fly in 1.5 days — her first time in Paris, at that!) was that we’d be hosting 10 people (plus ourselves) in an apartment the size of about one room in most American homes. I was confident, though, not only in Settle’s skills, but also in the inspired design of the kitchen and dining area, which was essentially the entire apartment. The kitchen had absolutely everything a chef could need, and although it was teeny, the dinners went off without a hitch — the guests and hosts were equally impressed and inspired by the apartment’s smart setup.

Kai Ahlefeld, the mind behind the design, turned out to actually be an event designer. He’s designed some 300 fashion shows, so when it came to renovating the apartment he wanted to use as his own event space for cooking and parties, he used the same tools from his work to create the design. At its core is his desire to see what he has to work with, Ahlefeld says. “For me, a kitchen is more of a workshop — a playground, I think. It’s nicer to see everything — you just have to make sure everything looks OK.”

He admits that he didn’t view the space’s small size as the challenge many of us would have. Ahlefeld’s motivation was that “everybody becomes part of the creation of [the meal]. And you can stand and talk to people, telling them what’s happening, then just sit down with them.” After witnessing Settle work her magic, and talking with Ahlefeld, here are my four biggest takeaways that could work in almost any small kitchen (and I’ll surely be incorporating in my own future reno projects!):

1. Display (almost) everything

Although the footprint was petite, the apartment had high ceilings, and Ahlefeld used literally every inch of wall space, going floor to ceiling, and incorporating a rolling ladder for ease of reach. Not only is this a smart use of space that allowed so much storage, but for Settle it also served an even higher purpose.

“Displaying everything that you have kind of opens your mind up to the possibilities,” she says. “So much of the time we’re hiding our appliances and stuff in cabinets because we’re like, ‘it’s disrupting the counter space,’ or ‘it’s not attractive,’ and then kind of forget what our capabilities are. Whereas in this kitchen I could see deeply in my mind what I can accomplish here.”

2. Make the pretty parts the decor

Everything we needed for the dinner parties was beautifully displayed, complete with an adjustable lighting system. The key here, Ahlefeld says, is an idea he uses often for fashion shows.

“Just choose something that is interesting and then multiply it by a lot,” he says. In this case, the rows of inexpensive white plates. Find something you like, he says, and “take a lot of them and it looks amazing, whatever it is.”

On one long wall, shallow ledges held the simple white plates and small bins for cutlery as well as glasses and stemware. The opposite side displayed Ahlefeld’s prized collection of jars, inspired by the original 10 classic green glass jars his mom collected at flea markets and left to him. After building up a collection, he uses them to store dozens of ingredients. The jars get an enthusiastic thumbs up from Settle. Stateside, “I am a huge proponent of Ball jar systems,” she says. So much so that her home system is Ball jars. She stores basically everything in them and labels them by their contents. “It’s super cheap,” she says, to get the jars at a grocery store, and “it has this air of being both industrial but also homey.”

3. And downplay the rest (elegantly)

Of course, not everything is attractive. For things like the food processor and other small appliances and tools, Ahlefeld added lower shelving that he enclosed behind sliding screens.

Swinging cabinet doors wouldn’t have worked with the limited space between the wall and the massive dining table, so he worked with an artisan ironworker who devoted several days to this piece of the project. Aiming for an industrial vibe, they built the sliding screens from real iron. Ahlefeld says, “And it’s really bolted; it’s not welded together or anything. It’s basically done exactly as the Eiffel Tower is done with manual bolts.” How chic is that?

4. Surface spaces are multi-taskers

When we’re thinking about kitchen design in the U.S., we often tend to think in zones — and that we need an island and tons of counter space. Kai’s Kitchen has almost zero counter space once the gorgeous beast of a SMEG range and the oversized sink were in, but it did have a behemoth wooden dining table, along with an extremely multifunctional rolling cart topped with a hefty butcher block.

Settle single-handedly prepared a multi-course meal for a dozen of us using that block, plus the table. She was more than comfortable making use of unorthodox spaces, having spent so many years in restaurant kitchens where she sometimes needed to be creative and, say, use the bar as a prep area if that’s where the handiest outlet was located. “You shouldn’t limit yourself to one square in the kitchen,” she says. “You should cook where you feel comfortable.”

The rolling butcher block held shelves packed with spices, and sported a knife rack, to boot. She used it just as Ahlefeld intended, to let diners see her at work, and then we served from it. The two parties feel like a dream, in retrospect. Settle is still dreaming about it. “I felt really free in that kitchen,” she says. “I had everything at my disposal. I was like, ‘If something doesn’t work out, it’s fine. I can fix it, because I have all of this efficient use of space and equipment.’” It doesn’t get much smarter than that.

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Dana McMahan

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January 4, 2024
We Tested 5 Methods for Getting Grease Stains Out of Clothing, and 2 Blew Us Away

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It doesn’t matter if you’re a dainty diner, or an enthusiastic eater: Grease will eventually find its way onto a piece of your clothing. Be it by bacon or a delicious vinaigrette, it will find a way, and attempt to claim your clothing for the dark side of the closet. Because it can be so hard to lift a grease stain — and everyone seems to have a recipe for what works best — I decided to put five popular methods to the test. The good news is that one method really stood out, and a very, very close combo platter took second place. Let’s take a look.

How We Tested the Different Methods

I tested five similarly sizable splatters of bacon grease on a 100% cotton white dress shirt. I waited 15 minutes for each stain to set (I used that time to eat the bacon!), and then got to cleaning.

The ratings: Each method received a rating of one to five, with five being the best method overall and one being the least favorite method. Along with the rating, you’ll find notes on how easy or difficult the method was, how much elbow grease it took (pun intended), and how much time it took to remove.

Grease Cleaning Method: Hairspray

The method: Lay the soiled clothing on a paper towel and saturate the stain with hairspray. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then launder in hot water. If you can still see the grease stain, spray again and let sit for another 30 minutes. Do not dry the item until the stain has been lifted.

How it went: I saturated the stain with TRESemme non-aerosol hairspray and let it sit for about 30 minutes. According to my research, I should have started to see the stain lift at that point. Because the area was saturated, though, it was difficult to tell if what I was seeing was grease or hairspray — so I went ahead and laundered it in hot water. After removing it from the washing machine, it looked as if the stain was completely gone, but the fabric was wet (clearly), so it was actually hard to tell. I went ahead and tossed it in the dryer. Mistake! I was bummed to learn that the stain hadn’t lifted much at all and I had set it into the fabric deeper. Out of all the methods tested, this was the least effective.

I could see how you might use this method if you’re out and about and need something to intercept the stain until you can launder your clothing, but I wouldn’t recommend hairspray being your only line of defense. Definitely use dish soap, or a stain-fighting agent to spot treat your garment before laundering at home. (More on this below.)

Grease Cleaning Method: Chalk

The method: Rub chalk over a grease spot and let it absorb the oil, then brush the chalk off and launder. If stain persists, continue rubbing chalk on the fabric until the stain lifts. The idea is that the chalk will absorb the oils that hold dirt in.

How it went: I definitely saw the chalk absorb the grease (it turned brownish and got gross pretty quickly), but I also noticed that rubbing the chalk seemed to move the stain around and make it bigger. Once the shirt came out of the washing machine, it looked like the stain had disappeared, but once it was dry, the stain was clearly visible.

I might use this method as a Band-Aid of sorts, to absorb the grease stain until I could take the clothing item home and properly treat it with a stain-fighting agent, but would not recommend chalk on its own to fight grease stains.

Grease Cleaning Method: Dish Soap

The method: Squeeze a dab of dish soap onto the stain and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Place the stained garment in the washing machine and once the cycle is finished, check to be sure the stain has disappeared. If you don’t see it, you can transfer the item to the dryer; if the stain persists, repeat with more dish soap.

How it went: I dabbed the dish soap right over the stain and let it sit for about 30 minutes before popping it into the washing machine on hot. (More time is better than less time, right?). Once the cycle was finished, I held up the wet cloth and couldn’t see the stain anymore, so into the dryer it went! I pulled it out of the dryer with high hopes (dishwashing detergent is a degreaser, after all!) and was disappointed to find that the stain hadn’t completely disappeared. It did work at removing quite a bit of it, but I think it’s necessary to first soak up the grease with baking soda (see below), then treat it with dish soap. (I used Dawn dish soap, by the way!).

Grease Cleaning Method: Baking Soda

The method: Sprinkle baking soda on a fresh stain and let it absorb the grease for 5 to 10 minutes. Next, use a brush (a toothbrush or a clean kitchen brush would be great) and scrub the baking soda into the stain. Once the powder changes to a brown color, scrape it off and repeat until the soda no longer changes color and the stain is lifted.

How it went: I sprinkled the baking soda on the stain in a nice little mound and let it sit undisturbed for about 10 minutes. I shook the excess soda into the sink, grabbed my cleaning toothbrush, and started scrubbing. I definitely saw the baking soda turn a dingy brown color, so I scraped it all off, poured more soda on the stain and let it sit for 15 more minutes. After the second pass there was so much baking soda pressed into the fabric that I really couldn’t see much of the stain at all, so I went ahead and popped it into the washing machine on hot.

When the shirt came out of the wash I couldn’t see any of the stain at all, so I happily chucked it into the dryer, feeling victorious. Once out of the dryer it looked like the stain was completely gone — until I took a photo of it with my phone, then I could see the faintest ghost of the stain. I was still really happy with this method, but think it could be perfected if used in combination with Dawn dish soap, after the baking soda step. It’s definitely the best/least harsh method!

Grease Cleaning Method: Salt + Stain Remover

The method: Immediately sprinkle salt on the grease stain (it works like baking soda to absorb the grease). After the salt absorbs the grease for a few minutes (or once you make it back home), use Shout Advanced Grease-Busting Foam as a spot treatment before laundering the garment in hot water. As always, make sure the stain is gone before drying the garment.

How it went: In almost every sort of light, the stain looked like it’s completely gone. Even when photographed there’s just the slightest, faintest ghost shape of the stain. This method worked just a bit better than the baking soda method, although I’m not sure how effective the salt really was.

I liked this method so much, I also tried it on a yellow dinner napkin. I noticed that, once again, the grease came out, but it emerged from the dryer looking a bit worn, which tells me that this treatment is pretty harsh. I’m giving this the highest rating because it did the job and I would 100% use it again. But only on an all-white garment. I would not recommend using it on black, or anything colorful.

Also, if you hesitate to use extra chemicals or products in your household, go with the Dawn and baking soda combo.

Do you have a method you swear by for lifting grease stains out of clothing? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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Ashley Poskin

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December 31, 2023
The 5 Best Grocery List Apps Right Now

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Some people are blessed with the skill of navigating the grocery store without any semblance of a list. I, however, am not of that kind. Sure, I attempt it on occasion, but then end up with the most nonsensical collection of odds and ends (Cereal, but no milk? Taco supplies, but no tortillas? Worst of all, no treats?). Luckily there are tons of clever apps out there that’ll help you wrangle your grocery list into something that’ll make your cart look more organized (and less like the result of a Supermarket Sweep-style frenzy).

Like anything, these grocery list apps have their own perks and are not entirely one-size-fits all, so I’ve included ones that are loose and more clear-cut (with plenty of room for notes), plus plenty of options that suit larger families, couples, and those rolling solo. Being a (pretty clearly) Type B person myself, I like a bit of fun and inspiration in my app — and, hey, I like it when they’re pretty and fun to use.

I’ve also tested and included apps that go beyond just their list capabilities with recipe and shopping functions to take you from the aisle to the table. Because that’s where we’re all heading towards, right?

1. Best All-in-One App: AnyList

Navigating the AnyList app made me audibly go “Wow, I love the future.” There are grocery list apps and then there is the AnyList app. AnyList is the definitive overachiever of this group, as it will not only allow you to browse recipes (and import them from your favorite websites), make a meal planning calendar, and share lists with family members, but it also allows you to order groceries directly from the app. Once you’re done shopping, AnyList’s list can be fulfilled by online retailers like Walmart, AmazonFresh, Kroger, Shipt, and Instacart for your delivery or pickup.

Plus, it will organize your list by section, so you can rest assured you’re moving through the store as efficiently as possible (and without forgetting something back in produce). Most of the features are free (like the in-app delivery/pickup orders); an upgraded premium membership is $9.99 per year for an individual or $14.99 per year for your household, which will allow you to scale recipe sizes up or down, import recipes from elsewhere, add prices and store notes for list items, and use on an Apple watch or computer.

2. Best Retailer App: Target Circle

I use the Target Circle app every day (seriously), especially as a “I will not be making more than one stop” kind of shopper. It’s become my de facto list app, because I love the freedom of knowing I can get the widest selection of groceries, house supplies, and general miscellany (an instant camera! New leggings! That one random brand of canned wine I really like!) all through the app.

3. Best App for Families: Cozi Family Organizer

Want an app that’s built for the whole family to hang out on? That’s 100% the Cozi Family Organizer app, which syncs up your family’s schedule, emails reminders to you and your squad for upcoming events, and also lets you browse recipes. Through one account, a household can all join in (with their own log-ins) by adding to shared lists, meaning no one’s favorite chips (or that cake they need to bring to the office party) will be forgotten by accident.

Best of all, Cozi is a totally free app. Although the upgraded version (Cozi Gold, which is $29.99 a year) does have some perks (like zero ads and the ability to search for calendar events and add birthdays), the free app is pretty thorough as is and will let you import recipes from URLs (or add your own family recipe) if you want to try out something you saw on your favorite website or just your Uncle Bill’s crab dip.

4. Best Meal Planning App: Mealime

As a decidedly more loosey-goosey shopper, meal planning is somewhat of an enigma for me. But Mealime’s app has me questioning if I should join Team Meal Plan at long last. Through the Mealime app, you can browse a curated list of scaleable recipes for the week that will then be imported into a handy grocery list (it will also alert you of any dietary preferences or allergens, if that’s of concern). Then, once you’re well-stocked, you can jump into cooking your meals, complete with instructions (and pretty appetizing photos, which I couldn’t say for some other apps I tested.)

5. Best App for Recipes: New York Times Cooking

Much like the Target Circle App, I use this app every single week. It very personally helped me during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when I wanted to be more inspired in the kitchen and also indulge my wanderlust with recipes like Korean cheeseburgers with sesame cucumber pickles and sweet corn and ricotta sformato. While, yes, it is predominantly a recipe app, what makes the New York Times Cooking app ultimately super useful is the handy “Add to Your Grocery List” button (along with its easy-to-organize Recipe Box). That alone has changed my cooking game forever, knowing that I can take pieces of my aspirational recipe box and make it a reality with an editable grocery list, along with tips on how to substitute ingredients in the app.

Compared to the other apps that include recipes, the New York Times Cooking app has plentiful reviews (and a lively comment section), which is key for me — I love knowing that the groceries I do end up buying for my various cooking projects are going into a dish that is well-reviewed ahead of time. Plus, I’ve never seen a recipe earn any less than 4 stars, like ever? To me, that more than warrants the monthly subscription ($5 every 4 weeks for access to the Cooking section).

Did your go-to grocery list app make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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Mackenzie Filson

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December 30, 2023
5 Ways to Fix a Dishwasher That Won’t Drain, According to a Plumber

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You’ll be an unclogging pro in no time!
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Ashley Abramson

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December 24, 2023
5 Popular Types of Cocktail Glasses You Should Know About

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Mixology made easy.
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Stephanie Ganz

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December 22, 2023
I Tried the Viral “Two-Minute Rule” for My To-Do List and Can’t Believe How Productive I Was

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I used to be the sort of person who bought every single holiday gift for my friends and family on Black Friday. This year, however, I’m uncharacteristically procrastinating. I keep telling myself to buy the gifts, send the cards, plan the holiday dinner party, and just fill the advent calendar already, but I keep doing something else instead. Maybe I’ve finally burned out, but *maybe* I just need to try this productivity trick I saw on TikTok when I wasn’t shopping for holiday gifts.

What Is the Two-Minute Rule?

Kristen West of The Centered Life Co. (@thecenteredlife on TikTok) shares a hack called “the two-minute rule.” Originally introduced by author David Allen in Getting Things Done, the trick helps you start boring or complicated tasks you’ve been avoiding because they’re, well, boring or complicated.

In the TikTok explaining the method, West says you only need two minutes to trick your brain into “doing the thing.” The process has two parts: 1. Write down the first step of the task you’re avoiding, and 2. Set a timer for two minutes of focused work on that step. The key component is to tell yourself you are allowed to take a break or stop entirely when the timer goes off. Usually, you’ll keep going “because momentum,” says West.

To get an expert opinion on this strategy, I spoke to psychologist and ADHD coach Janina E. Maschke, Ph.D. “In my experience, two minutes might be a bit short,” she says, “but the idea of setting a brief timeframe to kickstart tasks can work.”

To increase the strategy’s effectiveness, Dr. Maschke says it’s also important to make the task one of the following: “challenging, urgent, interesting, or new.”

I Tried It: The Two-Minute Rule PLUS

With Dr. Maschke’s and West’s voices in my head, I made a plan to finally tackle my holiday to-dos, starting with filling the advent calendar.

Because I’m nothing if not ridiculous, I decided to make this task urgent, new, interesting, and challenging. Unfortunately, this also made it expensive, so don’t feel any pressure to overachieve.

First, per West’s video, I wrote down part one of the task: Order chocolate. So far, so good. Next, I set a timer for two minutes and pulled up my browser. Since my holiday tasks already felt overdue (urgency, check!), I tried to think of a way to make them new, interesting, and challenging.

For new, I decided the adults would get a chocolate upgrade. My timer went off while I was browsing gourmet chocolates and I kept going, no problem, just as West said I would. I even added extra Chanterelle Walnut Mini Chocolate Bars to my shipment, because it’s impossible to have too many.

Fancy chocolate purchased, I moved on to the kids’ calendar. Ordering budget chocolate is significantly less exciting, so to make it interesting, I decided to add a surprise addition: Dungeons and Dragons miniatures for my son, and a Trader Joe’s 12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar for my daughter.

Dr. Maschke also recommends creating “fake consequences for not meeting deadlines,” and “incentivizing task completion.” I told myself that if I loaded the calendar the moment the chocolates arrived at my door, I could keep the extra mini chocolate bars I added to my order. If not, I had to give them away to a neighbor. Challenging, indeed.

Spoiler alert, that chocolate is mine. I’ve never dealt with a package so quickly.

Using the Two-Minute Rule Beyond the Holidays

I committed to a mere two minutes and very efficiently completed one of the holiday tasks that had been weighing on me. Thanks to the success of this method, I’ll definitely use the “two-minute rule” year-round. Is the kitchen a mess? I’ll commit to two minutes of dish duty and see what happens. Is my fridge disorganized? I’ll make it (at least) two minutes better.

Will it work every time? Maybe not. But even if I only sweep for two minutes, it’s definitely not a waste of my time.

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Meg Asby

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December 21, 2023
We Tried 6 Ways of Storing Christmas Cookies, and the Winner Outlasted Them All for Days

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Melissa Gaman

Melissa Gaman is a recipe developer, editor, and food writer living in Jersey City, New Jersey. She loves to bake, especially bread, cookies, and anything chocolatey. Her sourdough starter came from Alaska and is rumored to date back to the Gold Rush. Outside of the kitchen, she loves to grill, smoke, and cook over live fire. Potatoes are her desert island food.

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Melissa Gaman

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December 14, 2023
What Does a Gram of Sugar, Salt, or Fat Really Look Like?

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I always check nutrition labels when I’m at the grocery store and use them to help pick the best option among the variety of pre-packaged foods I purchase. I check sugar, salt, and fat contents, but to me all those numbers (measured in grams) are an abstract relative. What does a gram of sugar—or salt, or fat—really look like? I went on a mission to find out:

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Chris Perez

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December 14, 2023
The Surprising Ingredient That Makes Latkes Way Crispier

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Nope, it’s not in the baking aisle.
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Stephanie Ganz

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December 7, 2023
I Tried the “Cheater Focaccia” Using This Frozen Shortcut and It's Honestly Incredible

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Kneading or rising? Never heard of them.
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Cory Fernandez

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December 7, 2023
The Correct Way to Slice Brie Cheese

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Are you doing it wrong?
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Cory Fernandez

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December 2, 2023
People Are Just Discovering This Brilliant Use for an Empty Broth Carton

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Before you toss that empty carton, read this!
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Shifrah Combiths

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November 27, 2023
We Tried 7 Ways of Storing a Pack of Bacon, and the Winners Outlasted Them All for Days

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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

In my house, bacon is considered a pantry staple. We always have at least a few packs in the freezer to have on hand for last-minute meals, to cook for breakfast alongside eggs, or to impart flavor to a pot of beans. And while I love bacon’s versatility and quick-cooking ability, I don’t always need to use the whole pack at once.

For an ingredient I use so often I must confess that I don’t feel married to storing it in any particular way. That’s why I was eager to experiment with different ways to store bacon, and to finally see which approach yielded the best results.

How We Found the Best Way to Store Leftover Bacon

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Original Packaging

Rating: 3/10

About this method: This is by far the easiest way to store bacon, and one that I would assume most people do. All it involves is tucking leftover bacon back into its original package.

Results: Out of all the storing methods, leaving the bacon in the original packaging was by far the worst. The bacon became incredibly dried-out and stiff, but the most concerning part was that it began to develop white crystallization on all sides.

My takeaway: Because I was checking the bacon every day, I knew by day four that this method was not going to be a winner. By day seven I was shocked at how poorly the bacon held up. The only time I can imagine using this storage is if I knew I would be using the bacon within 24 hours; otherwise I’d go with one of the most successful approaches.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Bacon Sleeve

Rating: 3.5/10

About this method: If you’ve been on TikTok, you might have seen this viral storage method before. All it takes is cutting the bacon package in half, then slipping one piece into the other so that the bacon is fully concealed. I’d never tried this myself, but knew I needed to try it for this experiment — especially because I appreciated that it doesn’t require creating more waste.

Results: While I understand the appeal of this low-waste approach, it sadly didn’t do much better than leaving the bacon in its package as is. The bacon was dried-out and began to discolor and become pale. The only difference here was that while there was some crystallization, there was less than in the original packaging.

My takeaway: Not every hack you see on TikTok works, and the bacon sleeve is proof of that. There are far better options to preserving your bacon than this — and less messy too.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Plastic Food Container

Rating: 4/10

About this method: If you’re like me, you have too many plastic food containers in your kitchen, which makes this an ideal storage option. After all, all you need to do is place the bacon in a plastic food container and then place it in the refrigerator.

Results: I don’t know if it was just this container, or something with my refrigerator (although I didn’t have this issue with the glass container), but the plastic container became weirdly wet. It seemed to be a hotbed for condensation, and while the bacon itself didn’t dry out, the idea of wet bacon is incredibly unappealing to me. I also noted that the bacon became pale.

My takeaway: Perhaps this would have been more successful if I had lined the container with a paper towel, but I don’t think it’s worth the time to see. Steer clear of wet bacon and try another way.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Zip-Top Bag

Rating: 6/10

About this method: Apart from leaving the bacon in its original packaging, this is probably the method I’ve enlisted most at home, thanks to its ease. Just place the bacon in a zip-top bag, make sure it’s fully sealed, and put it in the refrigerator.

Results: The bacon held up fairly well in the zip-top bag. While it did dry out a bit and began to feel stiff by day five, it was far more malleable than the original packaging or bacon sleeve methods. The other observation I noted was that the bacon looked more pale in color.

My takeaway: If you plan on using the bacon within three days, this is an easy storage option and your bacon should be totally fine. Otherwise, I’d save a bag for another use.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Glass Food Container

Rating: 8/10

About this method: Similarly to the plastic food container, I have an endless assortment of glass options in my kitchen. Just like the plastic version, I simply placed the bacon into the container. It’s a low-fuss option that requires little cleanup.

Results: This was far more successful than the plastic container. There wasn’t any residual moisture in the container, and the bacon looked almost new. My only complaint was that by day five it had started to dry out slightly, but not to the point it was unusable.

My takeaway: This is a great way to store bacon — and I particularly loved it for being so eco-friendly. While the bacon didn’t hold up quite as well as the foil or plastic wrap, I think I would personally opt for this method for the sole fact that it doesn’t involve creating extra waste that needs to get thrown away.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Aluminum Foil

Rating: 9.5/10

About this method: I placed the bacon on a sheet of foil and then tucked in the sides to create a pouch that was sealed on all sides.

Results: I was absolutely floored at how well the aluminum foil held the bacon up — it looked like it was straight out of the package! The bacon was easy to peel apart, felt malleable, and the color looked bright and fresh.

My takeaway: The aluminum foil and plastic wrap were truly tied in terms of success. The only reason I deducted half a point was because of the wastefulness.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Prop Stylist: Tom Hoerup

Bacon Storing Method: Plastic Wrap

Rating: 9.5/10

About this method: Similarly to the aluminum foil, I wrapped the bacon in plastic wrap and folded up the sides so that it was secure on all sides.

Results: The bacon truly looked like it had come out of a freshly opened package. There were no signs of discoloration, crystallization, or dryness. It looked picture-perfect. Although I didn’t keep the test going past day seven (in compliance with the USDA recommendation), I have a strong feeling that the plastic wrap would have kept the bacon looking as fresh for days to come.

My takeaway: Like the aluminum foil, I deducted half a point because that plastic wrap would have to get thrown out afterwards. That said, this was incredibly easy and the bacon clearly looked the best.

This whole experiment came down to managing moisture content. Some of the methods, like the plastic food container, allowed too much moisture in, creating a wet environment. Others, like the original packaging, dried out too much, which created a slew of issues like discoloration and stiffness. While most of these methods would be fine for storing bacon for a day or two, the glass container, foil, and plastic wrap methods were the most successful for longer-term storage.

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Alexis deBoschnek

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November 27, 2023
Why Prime Rib Is Always on the Menu in December

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What is Prime Rib?

Prime rib is a cut of beef from the primal rib section of a cow. An entire prime rib has 6 ribs which are often sliced individually to make ribeye steaks. Prime rib, which is also commonly referred to as a “standing rib roast”, is often prepared for the holidays because of its tender texture, which comes from substantial marbling.

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Christine Gallary

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November 26, 2023
7 Biggest Kitchen Sink Drain Mistakes to Avoid, According to Plumbers

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Collette ReitzSpecial Projects Editor

Collette Reitz is an editor and writer based in Chicago. She was previously an editor at Elite Daily, covering trends, tech, social media, food, and travel. She was also a freelance journalist, producing lifestyle, entertainment, and health content for publications including StyleCaster, People, Best Products, and The Checkup. She loves em dashes and blasting anything by Taylor Swift during a run.

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Collette Reitz

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November 25, 2023
What to Do If Your Turkey Is Still Frozen on Thanksgiving Morning

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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Even the most well-seasoned cooks have experienced the dread of the turkey still being frozen or half frozen on Thanksgiving morning. Maybe you decided to host last minute, or your fridge was so packed with holiday meal prep, that big bird in your fridge just did not thaw.

Don’t panic — whether you’re 24 hours out from roasting the turkey or your family is arrive later in the afternoon, you’ve got options. This handy guide will walk you through what to avoid, as well as how to thaw or roast your turkey depending on its near frozen state.

Mistakes to Avoid When Quick-Thawing Your Turkey

The risk of giving you and your guests food poisoning is just too great.

So, why can’t you do any of these things? Besides looking silly with a hair dryer, if any part of the turkey is within the temperature “danger zone” of 40°F to 140°F for longer than two hours, the likelihood increases that it has developed unsafe levels of bacteria and related toxins. This means that even if the inside of your turkey is still frozen, once the outside thaws to above 40°F, it’s in the danger zone.

Even cooking your turkey thoroughly in the oven doesn’t guarantee that the turkey is safe to eat — most bacteria will be destroyed, but the illness-causing toxins remain. There are times when you can bend the food safety rules and times when you shouldn’t. This is just one of those times when it’s not worth the risk.

If You Have a Few Hours to Spare

The best way to thaw a turkey is to leave it in the fridge for a few days, but if you’re reading this, then that option has probably passed you by. Not to worry — you can also thaw your turkey more quickly by submerging it in cold water.

Thawed this way in cold water, estimate roughly 30 minutes for every pound of turkey (so, an 8-pound turkey will take 4 hours to thaw using this method). This can of course take a while for a large turkey, so be sure to plan the rest of your meal — and the dinner bell — accordingly. Personally, I like this method the best if my turkey has already done some thawing in the fridge but is still partially frozen. The cold water helps it finish thawing the rest of the way time for dinner.

If There’s No Time to Thaw

If you’re up against the clock and have no time left for even the “quick” cold-water thaw, then just cook the turkey frozen. It’s perfectly safe to cook a frozen or partially frozen turkey in the oven — you just need to allow some extra cooking time, according to the USDA.

Estimate 50 percent longer cooking time for a completely frozen turkey and around 25 percent longer for a partially frozen turkey. (For example, a completely thawed unstuffed turkey that’s 18 pounds will take roughly 4 hours to cook, and a frozen turkey will take around 6 hours). In either case, check the temperature and cook the turkey until it registers 165°F in both the breast and the thigh.

The advantage of cooking a frozen turkey is that you still get to sit down to dinner in a timely manner with none the wiser for your turkey snafu earlier in the day. The disadvantage is that you’re stuck with a fairly basic roast turkey — no brining, deep-frying, or any other fancy turkey techniques here. You can, however, brush the turkey with butter and rub it with salt, pepper, and spices partway through cooking to give it some color and flavor.

But even when cooking a frozen turkey, you can still count on plenty of crispy skin and tender meat, and most importantly, Thanksgiving is saved.

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Emma Christensen

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November 23, 2023