Salad vinaigrettes and dressings — basic as they may seem, they’re all but required when it comes to salads, and versatile enough to garnish everything from vegetables to cold meats. They even work well as marinades.

Essential as they may be in the kitchen and on the table, they’re mystifying to many cooks. When I worked at the Los Angeles Times and ran a weekly column featuring readers’ favorite restaurant recipes, one of my most frequent requests was for salad dressings. From basic balsamic vinaigrette to complex ranch and buttermilk dressings, the requests ran the gamut from familiar to long-ago classics. Green goddess, anyone?

Basic as they may seem, they can be intimidating, and making a proper dressing takes a little know-how and confidence. But as unfamiliar as they may be for many, they’re surprisingly simple once you understand the mechanics behind them. Continue reading for tips and recipes….

Heralded as one of the most exciting cookbooks coming out this spring, Roxana Jullapat’s debut work, Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution, explores eight ancient grains, weaving the unique characteristics and history of each with more than 90 recipes that explore delicious applications, both sweet and savory.

Steaming. One of the oldest cooking methods in existence, it’s also perhaps the most basic. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the invisible vapor into which water is converted when heated to the boiling point” and “water vapor kept under pressure so as to supply energy for heating, cooking, or mechanical work.”

Macaroni and cheese. One of the most basic meals around, it’s also one of the most popular — indeed, it’s a staple of American cuisine — the darling of everyone from your 7-year-old niece to some of the top chefs at the finest restaurants. And what’s not to love? Tender pasta tossed with no shortage of melted, ooey-gooey cheese. There’s no wonder it’s a quintessential comfort food, any time of the year.

Best of all? You don’t need to make it from a box.

While a sheet pan dinner is perfect for busy weeknights, when you're already exhausted, it's also perfect for entertaining, where you may need to focus on several things at once. Go online, and you'll find a variety of ideas, with recipes ranging from simple dinner plans to elaborate meals. But the method remains the same: Simply spread the ingredients out on a sheet pan, and let the heat of the oven work its magic.

Whether you cook once a year, or seemingly every night (which might as well be most of us during the pandemic), your kitchen deals with a lot of wear and tear.

It’s time to show your kitchen a little love in return.

Beyond the cleaning — yes, check the microwave and clean out the shelves and crisper drawers in the fridge — a fresh start includes checking your pantry for freshness, and ensuring your equipment is ready for the year ahead. Think of it as similar to a car detail, but for one of the most important areas of your home. Continue reading for cleaning tips and handy kitchen tricks, as well as must-have tools and equipment for any kitchen.

Citrus fan? While varieties can be found year round, citrus is actually in season during the winter months and into early spring. Continue reading for tips on choosing, storing and using the many varieties of the fruit, along with three delicious recipes here.

Like many cooks, I consider a batch of rich soup or hearty stew to be magic in a pot, particularly on chilly days when a seemingly simple bowlful is as comforting as it is filling. A good recipe comes together using a basic set of ingredients, sometimes layered — a slow-simmered masterpiece that gets even better reheated later on as leftovers. But — perhaps what we cooks are most grateful for — these dishes generally use only one pot, requiring very little in the way of clean-up. Therein lies the magic.

The following five ideas — from rich gumbo to leek and potato, vegan mushrooms and more — pack all the rich flavor of a soup that’s been simmering on the stove all day, but these come together in a fraction of the time. And they use only a fraction of the ingredients you might find in one of those “weekend projects.” No recipe takes longer than an hour or so, and none requires more than 10 or so ingredients, along with seasonings and whatever garnishes you might like to add at the end. Continue reading for the recipes.

However you plan to quietly celebrate the New Year, even if big parties can’t be had, there are plenty of ways to make the evening festive.

There’s something about New Year’s celebrations that call for sparkles. Especially when it comes to beverages. Let’s face it, bubbles are more fun. And there’s something elegant about a simple flute, or coupe, of sparkling wine, to start the evening off right.

Just remember, if you’re serving Champagne, or perhaps a bottle of cava, prosecco, or other sparkling wine on its own, shell out a little more for a good bottle or two. Quality will show.

But if you’re looking for something a little more creative, add a dash of flavor to your bubbles, and put seasonal ingredients into play with some of these ideas.

The following cocktails will add extra flair to any holiday celebration, and each comes together using very little active time…..

Just in time to ring in the holidays, here are five recipes (alcohol-free and not) sure to help with your celebrations, ranging from classic spiced cider and mulled wine, to delicious hot vanilla buttered rum, a celebratory take on the White Russian (I call it “The Dude Abides” for those “Big Lebowski” fans) and the Orange Festivus, for all of us 80’s kids who lived on Orange Julius as we roamed the malls way back when (this is just as good and frothy, with optional alcohol pairings). Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas, and Happy Almost End of 2020. Continue reading for the recipes….