Cooking & Food
Rice, eggs, knives, and kitchen basics for people who burn things. No judgement here.
How to Make Gravy
Make smooth gravy from roast drippings or butter with a cooked roux, the fat, flour, and liquid ratio that sets its thickness, a fix for lumps, and how long it keeps.
How to Make Simple Syrup
Make simple syrup from equal parts sugar and water. Heat until clear, cool, jar, and refrigerate for up to a month, then move on to rich 2:1 syrup and flavored syrups.
How to Cook Ribs in the Oven
Bake pork ribs wrapped in foil at 275°F until tender, finish them with sauce at 400°F, and pull them while the meat still holds to the bone, for baby back, spare, or St. Louis-style racks.
How to Use a Slow Cooker
Use a slow cooker safely. Choose low or high, layer vegetables under the meat, cut the liquid, keep the lid on, and follow the food safety rules for thawing, kidney beans, and leftovers.
How to Use Chopsticks
Hold chopsticks with a fixed bottom stick and a moving top stick, drill the open-close motion, pick up food from marshmallows to noodles and rice, and follow the table manners of Japan, China, and Korea.
How to Meal Prep
Meal prep a week of lunches and dinners. Plan three or four meals, batch cook them, chill each food within 2 hours, and freeze what you will not eat within 3 days.
How to Sharpen a Knife
Sharpen a kitchen knife on a whetstone. Test the edge, secure the wet stone, hold one angle, raise a burr on both sides, finish on the fine grit, and hone between sharpenings.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Bake bacon at 400 degrees on a lined sheet pan for crispy, evenly cooked strips without flipping, then get the hot grease out of the oven and into the trash safely.
How to Boil an Egg
Boil soft, jammy, medium, or hard eggs by the minute, stop them in an ice bath, and peel them in a few large pieces.