CHOW Tips

Jamie Purviance, author and grillmaster, explains the difference between direct and indirect heat so you can zone your grill.

Jamie Purviance, author and grillmaster, dispels a common grilling myth: You don't choose how much charcoal to use based on how much food you're cooking. Instead, you should fill your grill two-thirds of the way with briquettes, regardless of the grill's size.

Gabrielle Feuersinger, owner of San Francisco's Cake Coquette, thinks that a cake turntable is a must-have item for aspiring bakers and cake-decorators. It allows you to get a really even layer of frosting on your cake. Plus, your piping will be straight as an arrow.

Our favorite wine guy, Matt Skinner, dropped by the CHOW offices to share some very handy wine tips, including what to do when the cork breaks as you're opening a bottle. He recommends trying to attack the remainder of the cork with a corkscrew. If that doesn't work, or if bits of the cork fall into the wine, you'll need some additional equipment. To learn more from Matt, check out his new book, Heard It Through the Grapevine.

Bacon that's intended for a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich needs to be cooked differently than bacon intended for other destinations, says Scott Kveton, founder of Bacn.com. He argues that height and texture are better achieved by cooking a pan full of messy bacon. He demonstrates the proper way to cook bacon for a BLT in this CHOW Tip.

Patricia Becker, center director for Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto, California, says that beginner gardeners who are trying to decide which plants to start from seed can follow this general guideline: The bigger the seed, the easier it is to grow. She says beans, peas, corn, and edible nasturtium flowers are all easy plants to grow from seeds.

Robert Camuto, author of Corkscrewed, recommends French Beaujolais for budget-minded wine drinkers. He does not mean Beaujolais Nouveau.

Amy Sherman of Cookingwithamy.com demonstrates a quick and easy way to cook baby artichokes, which can then be dipped in aioli. Unlike their larger brethren, these little tykes can be eaten whole.

We know that keeping your dices and minces and juliennes uniform is crucial for consistent, even cooking of things like roasted root vegetables. But don't go measuring out every cut, says CHOW Associate Food Editor Kate Ramos. Use the tools at hand, or on hand, or on your hand.

Annette Yang, owner of Nettie's Crab Shack, shares a very quick tip about eating crab in a restaurant: When your server brings you a lemon and hot towel at the end of the meal, squirt the lemon onto the towel and then wipe off your hands. The lemon juice removes the crab smell and stickiness from your skin.

Open cans of tomato paste are a modern scourge for CHOW Kitchen Editorial Assistant Amy Wisniewski. She's solution-oriented, though: She portions out and freezes the leftovers, then defrosts the tablespoon-size blobs the next time she needs some tomato paste.

You're more likely to own dental floss than a cheese wire. (And it comes free at the dentist!) Floss promotes dental health and cleanly cuts cheese, according to CHOW Associate Editor Roxanne Webber. Just avoid the waxy, minty stuff.

Using the egg shell to separate yolk from white, you risk breaking the yolk against sharp shell bits. According to CHOW Senior Editor Lessley Anderson, using your fingers is a gentler, less risky proposition.

Once a carrot is plucked from the earth, the life-giving purpose of those leafy green tops changes. CHOW Video Producer Meredith Arthur demonstrates the peril you face if you do not remove those water-sucking greens immediately.

Banish soggy couscous from your kitchen. Craig von Foerster, executive chef of the Post Ranch Inn's Sierra Mar Restaurant, demonstrates a method that results in evenly cooked couscous every time.