CHOW Videos: You're Doing It All Wrong

How to Make the Creamiest, Cheesiest Macaroni and Cheese

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:06:20 GMT

Serving mac 'n' cheese made from a box is convenient, but it doesn't deliver the creamy, cheesy goods like the homemade stuff can. Try stepping away from the box, and surrender yourself to the teachings of Erin Wade and Allison Arevalo, co-owners of Homeroom in Oakland, California. They have a few simple tricks to help make your mac 'n' cheese flavorful and creamy every time. The full recipe can be found here.

How to Make Silky Smooth Caramel Custard

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:08:48 GMT

Burnt, rubbery, or chunky should not be words used to describe your custard. Michael Recchiuti, cofounder and chocolatier at Recchiuti Confections in San Francisco, has a few tricks to help you achieve perfectly sweet, silky caramel custard each and every time. Here's his recipe if you want to make this elegant dessert at home.

How to Make the Ultimate Thick, Creamy Milk Shake

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 23:47:30 GMT

Supersweet, watered-down milk shakes are nobody's idea of a good time. Tyler Malek, head ice cream maker at Salt & Straw in Portland, Oregon, has a few tips to help you achieve a thick, velvety milk shake every time without turning it into a sugar bomb.

How to Make Badass Brownies with Kir Jensen

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:09:01 GMT

Brownies should be a delicious chocolate experience, not a dry brown square chiseled out of a pan. Kir Jensen, author of The Sugar Cube and owner of a food cart by the same name in Portland, Oregon, has a few simple tips that will ensure rich, fudgy, perfectly baked brownies every time. (Click here to see Kir's brownie recipe from her new book. Or try CHOW's adapted version of her recipe, which addresses the questions of yield that had come up in the video comments below.)

How to Make the Best Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 22:52:48 GMT

If you still make a PB&J by spreading loads of greasy peanut butter and sugary jam between slices of flimsy bread, it might be time to take some advice from Keena Tallman, co-owner of PBJ's Grilled Gourmet Peanut Butter Jelly Creations, a food cart specializing in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in Portland, Oregon. In this You're Doing It All Wrong video, Keena explains how to make the best PB&J out there, including a few tricks like experimenting with ingredients and, most importantly, grilling the sandwich.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 22:26:50 GMT

Chocolate chip cookies sound basic, but baking them from scratch can be tricky. Even a tiny misstep can result in dried-out, crumbly, hard-as-rock cookies or, worst of all, cookies that are mushy and raw in the center yet somehow burnt to a crisp on the edges. Remi Hayashi Girouard, pastry chef and co-owner of Goody Goodie Cream & Sugar in San Francisco, has a few simple rules for how to bake chocolate chip cookies the right way, every time.

How to Make a Mimosa

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:32:33 GMT

The mimosa is a surprisingly simple drink: just one part champagne to one part OJ. It's also surprisingly easy to mess up, leaving you with a warm, flat, gross cocktail that'll knock you to the floor before brunch has even been served. Learn the right way to pour this brunch favorite with CHOW Senior Editor Lessley Anderson.

How to Cook Basic Beans with Steve Sando

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:57:09 GMT

Steve Sando, bean impresario behind Rancho Gordo, outlines the steps from beans in a bag to glorious pot o’ beans. Dried beans may not be fresh, per se, but the ones you're using shouldn’t be more than two years old. Soak them first, and then use the soaking water to cook them. A quick, hard boil followed by a long, slow simmer will get them cooked up right. (Click here for Steve's bean-cooking recipe.)

How to Pour Sparkling Wine with Loïc Le Calvez

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 00:11:07 GMT

Beware of the pop.

How to Make Pumpkin Pie with Boris Portnoy

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:33:02 GMT

Pastry chef Boris Portnoy gives new life to a Thanksgiving cliché. Generic, canned pumpkin pie mix plus freezer-burned pie crust equals fake smiles on the faces of your friends and families. Real smiles come from choosing your own pumpkin—there are many heirloom varieties to pick from—and then customizing and experimenting as you go, using Portnoy’s recipe as a guide.

How to Make Matzoh Balls with Joyce Goldstein

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:14:05 GMT

Chef, author, and consultant Joyce Goldstein is a culinary hero, and she has heroic ways with matzoh balls. She suggests babying the dough, using schmaltz for chicken-y flavor, and boiling the matzoh balls for a good, long time. Try out Goldstein’s recipe for Matzoh Ball Soup.

How to Brine Your Holiday Turkey with Michael Chiarello

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:04:33 GMT

In this Thanksgiving edition of our You’re Doing It All Wrong video series, chef and TV host Michael Chiarello extols the benefits of a brined turkey. Avoid some things (have you ever heard of a blivit?) and embrace others (the bird fits perfectly inside a cooler). If you follow the approach Michael outlines here, he guarantees you one of the juiciest turkey dinners you’ve ever had. You can find his recipe for the turkey brine on his website.

How to (Properly) Eat Sushi with Trevor Corson

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:15:49 GMT

Trevor Corson has a one-of-a-kind job: He's a sushi concierge. As a result, he knows a lot about what people do right and wrong when eating sushi. Learn from him in this video (which was shot at New York's Jewel Bako, where Corson often works) and eat sushi with confidence.

How to Stir-Fry with Grace Young

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:08:02 GMT

Grace Young, author and contributing editor at Saveur magazine, leads you through the wrongs and rights of stir-frying. Make Grace's Ginger Beef with Sugar Snaps and Carrots yourself!

How to Make a Crêpe with Jodi Liano

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:16:55 GMT

Author and Tante Marie teacher Jodi Liano helps cooks avoid a crêpe’s worst fate: gloppy, lumpy batter poured thickly into a regular old frying pan. Liano’s crêpes are thin, light, and topped simply with butter, lemon, and sugar. For a basic crêpe recipe, click here.

How to Frost a Cake with Meg Ray

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:40:31 GMT

A hot cake plus cold frosting means cake death: soggy and ugly. Meg Ray, founder and owner of San Francisco’s Miette patisserie and confiserie, explains what you’re doing wrong when you’re frosting a cake. Plus, more importantly, what you should be doing right: using good tools, keeping the components at the right temperature, giving it a crumb layer, and more. Here's CHOW's basic yellow cake recipe to try out your new frosting skills on.

How to Make Deviled Eggs with Jamie Lauren

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:21:00 GMT

Top Chef Season 5 contestant Jamie Lauren doesn't think people know how to treat their eggs properly. After laying down the ground rules for hard-boiling your eggs and getting the yolks smooth and creamy, she updates the flavors of traditional deviled eggs, making this ’70s house-party appetizer a dish you'll be proud to serve. Here are 10 deviled egg recipes to try out your newly perfected technique on.

How to Make a Mai Tai with Martin Cate

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:40:03 GMT

A classic drink that deserves its due.

How to Roast Vegetables with Lisa Jervis

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:38:43 GMT

Lisa Jervis, cofounder of Bitch magazine and author of Cook Food: A Manualfesto for Easy, Healthy, Local Eating, has a particular bias against mushy, flavorless vegetables that are more steamed than roasted. To get that roasty, toasty flavor and texture, be sure to cut the veggies evenly, spread them out in the pan, and oil and season them generously. Plus, Jervis says, anything lower than 500 degrees Fahrenheit is baking, not roasting.

How to Make Nachos with Molly Watson

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:17:01 GMT

Food writer Molly Watson dispels any illusions people might have about making nachos. For the record, using cheese sauce and a microwave are fatal errors. Her method only takes a few minutes, and you get crunchy nachos with flavor in every bite rather than a soggy, inconsistent mess. Find inspiration for your next nachos feast with these recipes and ideas.