CHOW Tips

CHOW Senior Editor Lessley Anderson soaks her steel-cut oats the night before, and then makes them for breakfast in just five minutes.

Craig von Foerster, executive chef of the Post Ranch Inn's Sierra Mar Restaurant, says down with macho saute-pan fires-your friends will not be impressed to see you burn your eyebrows off. Here's the right way to flip food in a pan.

CHOW Food Editor Aida Mollenkamp tones down her onions by salting them ahead of time. When mellowed, they complement, rather than take over, the rest of a dish.

Iceberg lettuce, baby carrots, waxy cucumbers, and tasteless cherry tomatoes are for the fast-food salad bar. CHOW Senior Editor Lessley Anderson identifies ways that you can improvise. Hint: texture and fruit.

CHOW Video Producer Meredith Arthur reveals how to bring a flaccid carrot back to life. And if you're being proactive, carrot-wise, don't forget to remove the tops.

Most people put leftover white wine in the fridge and red wine on the counter. Gillian Ballance, wine director of FARM at the Carneros Inn, says that the fridge is the best bet for both.

CHOW Associate Food Editor Kate Ramos mellows out radicchio in this CHOW Tip. Use it in recipes like the Chicory and Arugula Salad that Kate mentions.

Mermaid Inn chef Laurence Edelman walks you through it.

Christophe Gerard, chef de cuisine of FARM at the Carneros Inn, quickly boils asparagus in heavily salted water, then submerges it in an ice bath to keep it tender and bright green.

Save Your Bacon Grease

For mass bacon consumption, loading up four stovetop burners with pans full of rashers isn't realistic. Scott Kveton, founder of Bacn.com, cooks a lot of bacon at one time in his oven. It cooks evenly and doesn't need to be watched as closely as on the stovetop. Something so efficient couldn't be pronounced wrong, could it?

Waterbar Executive Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti explains what a perfect strawberry should look like. Don't waste your time and money on less perfect specimens.

Patricia Becker, center director for Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto, California, explains that the most important thing to know when buying a bag of planting mix is whether or not it's been sterilized-you want live microorganisms in your dirt to help your plants grow healthier roots. If the only option is sterilized "dead" dirt, you can augment it with some worm castings or liquid fish and kelp.

Patricia Becker, center director for Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto, California, says the three most important things to look for when picking out plants at a nursery are that there are no brown or yellow leaves, no roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, and that the plant's stem is not too long.

Karen Solomon, author of Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, uses deli-sliced provolone cheese to make cheese crisps-a version of Italian frico, otherwise known as little fried pieces of deliciousness that you can use to make a tostada or mini pizza.