I had the pleasure of chatting with Ina Garten yesterday and asking her a few questions about home cooking and the recipes in her upcoming Barefoot Contessa book, How Easy Is That? Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips. That comes out in October, and we'll have more details for you then (it is fabulous in that effortless, gracious Ina Garten way).

But I also had to ask her: What's your favorite ice cream? Here's what she said — it may surprise you! More

This may sound slightly heretical in the context of all the cooking going on here, but Preston and Theo have seen the light, and the light is raw. More

We've offered up all kinds of breakfast ideas this week – sweet, savory, beautiful, light, playful, portable and vegan.

But to get a better idea of the kind of food that will really keep us going throughout the day, we turned to an expert.

Chicago dietician Megan Tempest gave us some helpful tips for building energy and staying full. The first and most important one? It doesn't involve food at all. More

Q: True or False? Spirits are completely shelf stable. Unlike wine, which can sometimes develop an off taste during storage, or rapidly go downhill once it's been opened, liquor will keep indefinitely.

A: Well, yes and no. Read on to learn how to get the most out of your favorite bottle.

More

Celestial Seasonings is a brand that looms large in our most nostalgic childhood memories. We grew up with Celestial Seasoning herbal teas, sipped with lots of milk and honey. Well, Celestial Seasonings is turning 40 this year, and they offered us a chance to interview Charlie Baden, their blendmaster — he's the man who has been mixing their teas for over 25 years! Read on for Charlie's favorite herbal tea ingredients, his memories of this Boulder, Colorado, company's early days, and for a very special surprise that he sent us. More

The new season of Top Chef, set in New York City, premieres tonight, but it really doesn't seem that long ago when Stephanie Izard won in Puerto Rico, becoming the first female Top Chef. We loved Stephanie's approachable style of cooking and were happy to have the chance to talk to her a few days ago. Read about what she's been up to since Top Chef Chicago, what she's planning for the holidays, and her easy go-to dessert... More

Jessie Saunders knows what it's like to cook and entertain in a tiny kitchen. For years, she and her husband lived in a small apartment in New York's Greenwich Village, where, she says, "If everyone was seated around the kitchen table for dinner and someone had to use the facilities, everybody had to get up so that person could get to the bathroom door."

Her casual attitude towards entertaining is, in part, why her cookbook The Two of Us... and Friends is so charming and approachable... More

Are you cooking for Passover for the first time this year? Passover is a holiday rich with thousands of years of tradition - family, cultural, and religious. Taking on some or all of the food responsibilities can feel overwhelming!

We asked Leah Koenig, editor of Hazon's blog, The Jew and The Carrot, for a few tips and ideas on cooking for Passover. She shares sustainable menu ideas, a good "first seder" cookbook, and her own favorite Passover treats. More

Chef JoAnna is personal chef in Los Angeles that specializes in in-home entertaining. She creates a high-end restaurant experience for you in the privacy of your own home. We asked her to make a few suggestions on how to create that same experience in a small apartment that doesn't have a grand dining room or a large, state-of-the-art kitchen. More

I sat down for a cheese tasting with Gordon Edgar at San Francisco's Rainbow Grocery. Gordon buys the cheese for Rainbow, and sits on the Board of Directors of the California Artisan Cheese Guild. In between noshing on Franklin's Teleme, Dante, Gaupier, Gravenstein Gold Washed Rind, and Truffle Tremor, I picked his brain on all things fromage. More