Q: I have invited all my family (17 of us between 9 and 81) to celebrate a significant (cough 50th cough) birthday, and am drawing a blank on a main course dish. I am a reasonable cook but have limited kitchen space (small oven, small fridge, next to no freezer capacity) and would appreciate suggestions for a dish that I could prepare up to 24 hours ahead, leave to cook with minimal supervision, and is not too time sensitive (we're not good time keepers). Meat or vegetarian is fine, and I live in a multicultural city so will have no problem getting hold of ingredients. Help, please, as I'm feeling decidedly uninspired!

Sent by Abigail More

Crème brûlée seems to be a dessert locked in step with Valentine's Day: It's classic, easy, and impressive. But what is crème brûlée without its crisp top of just-burnt sugar? Just custard, that's what. Here are the three most common ways to melt sugar on crème brûlée, including one that's newer to us. More

A frozen pizza can be a godsend on those nights when a from-scratch meal just isn't going to happen, but even the best-quality frozen pizza invariably has more salt, more cheese and fewer vegetables than the pizzas I make myself. That's why I'm excited to see these tips from America's Test Kitchen on freezing homemade pizzas, which is not as straightforward as it seems. More

Q: We're hosting a dinner party for about 10 people. We will be roasting three chickens as the main course. I am planning to cook the chickens one at a time on the day of the party; then I'll carve them and serve them in one big bowl. What the best way to keep the carved chicken pieces warm while the rest of the food is cooking? I'm afraid to stick them back in the oven right before dinner because I don't want the meat to dry out. Maybe I could do a double boiler thing, the way you do to keep mashed potatoes warm for awhile?

Sent by Julianne More

Q: How do you peel beets? I used to roast beets and found it fairly easy to rub off the skins. I usually microwave them now and sometimes the skins rub off easily, but most of time I have to peel them with a knife. How long do you have to cool them under a cold water rinse? It seems like the longer they cool, the easier it is to slip the skin off. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I love beets but don't make them often enough to keep the process straight. Any suggestions?

Sent by Gail More

We don't want foster fear in the kitchen or worry that you'll screw things up. The kitchen is a place for trial and error and learning. That said, this list of 40 mistakes to make in the kitchen from Cooking Light is pretty spot on; it is a great reminder for cooks young and old to doublecheck a few key things. More

Oh, you molecular gastronomists. There you go again, up-ending everything we think is right and proper in the kitchen. Here's the latest strange yet wholly practical concept imported to home kitchens from the labs of Nathan Myhrvold, gentleman scientist and chef: A method for cooking the absolute perfect steak, demonstrated here by Brandon Matzek of Kitchen Konfidence. More

While we're getting back to basics this month here at The Kitchn, we wanted to take a look at maintaining wood dining tables. It's probably the most common material amongst dining tables, and it can take a hefty chunk of change to buy a nice wooden table. So it goes without saying that we'd all like our tables to look good and serve their functions for a long time to come. Let's take a look at the basics: More

Q: I recently purchased a bag of 100% Whole Grain Organic Sorghum Flour from the local farmers' market, and have had a hard time finding recipes online that call for sorghum flour. Those that I have found also call for many other ingredients and special flours. Any suggestions for some fairly simple recipes that call for sorghum flour?

Sent by Raven More

Q: I'm hoping The Kitchn's talented readership can help me! My boss is British, born and raised, and although she's been in the States for more than half her life she understandably misses many of the things she grew up with that don't exist here.

Her birthday is coming up and I would love to make her favorite dessert, date and walnut cake. I had never heard of it before meeting her and I have no idea where to begin with recipes. I searched google.co.uk but there are predictably thousands and I would prefer one that can come personally recommended. Can you help a poor Yank out?

Sent by Jessica More