Knife Sharpening - Advanced Knife Maintenance

Knife maintenance is very important in the kitchen. There are two parts to knife maintenance: honing and sharpening. Honing is a simple task that anyone can do and should be undertaken frequently. Sharpening takes a little more skill and is usually best left to the professionals. But if you’ve ever wanted to take a stab at it, Craig demonstrates in today’s video. If you plan to take the plunge and try it yourself, Craig advises working with an old knife before moving up to your nicer knives.

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It’s Easy to Make Thai Chicken Salad

By Joy Liao

Thai cooking is by far, one of my favorites. I love that it utilizes simple, fresh ingredients to create bold, aromatic flavors. While Thai fare is famous for lots of spice and heat, it's also celebrated for balanced flavors with components of sweet, sour and savory.

Aside from the popularized Pad Thai noodles and Thai curries, there is a slew of amazing dishes like Larb. Admittedly, the first time I ordered this dish, it was simply because I found the name interesting. To my dismay, a few of my dinner companions thought the name rather off-putting. Little did we know, Larb, really pronounced 'Laab,' would become one of the best discoveries we'd ever make.

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Chicken Piccata – Easy Answer to a Busy Weeknight Dinner

By Allison Kociuruba

When I’m having a busy week and need to get dinner on the table, I turn to an easy one-skillet dish, Chicken Piccata. It’s delicious and requires a few ingredients that I usually keep on hand (or on a short shopping list to pick up).

In this classic Italian recipe, a simple sauce of butter, lemon juice, parsley and capers adds a punch of flavor to chicken breasts. I serve it with a simple side of steamed vegetables or a spinach salad. Depending on my mood, I’ll sometimes add chopped artichoke hearts or green olives to the sauce.

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How to Hone your Knife

Typical knives; do not hone a serrated knife.

By Craig Deppe

Knives are, by far, the most used tools in the kitchen. We rely on them to cut efficiently, cleanly and with a minimum of effort. This means that keeping them sharp is probably the most important bit of kitchen maintenance we can perform.

It may sound a little odd but keeping your knife sharp does not involve sharpening them very often. What you do need to do often (as in every time you use a knife) is hone it. This realigns the edge and keeps it cutting beautifully between actual sharpenings.

Here’s how it’s done….

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Don’t Let Your Shrimp Dawdle

Shrimp, snow peas and bell pepper: three simple ingredients that cook quickly to create sweet, crunchy, salty, tender goodness. Swap out the vegetables if you prefer. Try zucchini or boy choy.

Keep it simple but be certain not to overcook the shrimp; keep them moving until they just turn tender and pink.

This easy, one-dish meal takes about 20 minutes to make (10 to prep and another 10 to cook) so you can be out of the kitchen in no time.

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