Like a good chili or chicken noodle soup, homemade beef stew is one of those dishes that is just good to have in your back pocket. It's a dish that will serve you well through long winters and family visits and other small moments of need. Making one isn't hard and will surely nourish you through several meals. Here's my tried-and-true method for making a very good beef stew.

Leeks are a staple in my household. They are a sturdy, versatile, flavorsome vegetable with many uses, and you will always find a few lurking in my produce drawer. A real kitchen workhorse, they can be blanched, steamed, braised, or grilled and then used in soups, stews, omelet fillings, or even confit. But sometimes it can be confusing to encounter a leek. How much of the greens should one cut off? What's with all that grit? More

Somewhere in its past, polenta picked up a reputation for fussiness. I am here to tell you that it is anything but fussy. You can whip up a pot of creamy polenta in about 30 minutes, and it makes a luscious bed for anything from quickly sautéed mushrooms to a hearty slow-cooked meat ragu. Here's how to do it yourself.

Recipes often ask us to peel and cube a butternut squash, but actually doing it can be a little puzzling. How does one coax cubes from this wonderfully curvy vegetable? Do we need to deal with the neck differently than the bulbous seed area? And what about the skins and seeds? Read on for a step-by-step guide to breaking down a butternut squash. More

There are a million and one ways to make chili. All of them are excellent and all of them are sure to satisfy a large crowd of hungry people. Whether you like your chili with ground meat or chuck roast, pinto beans or no beans at all, the basic method for making it is the same. Want to make a very good pot of chili? Here's how. More

For as long as I can remember I've loved broccoli. It went with about everything...steak, chicken stir-fry, pasta, or even turkey and dressing. My mom didn't have to remind me to eat my veggies when broccoli was on the plate, and to this day, I'll eat right through a big bowl of it. Not everyone has a love affair with vegetables though. For those less enthused about nature's catch of the day, here's a quick stove-top method for turning almost any vegetable into a dynamite weeknight side dish. More

When we first posted about kale chips back in 2008, they were still somewhat of a novelty. Now you can purchase kale chips in bags at your gas station's mini-mart — or at least you can here in California! But those pre-made chips can be really expensive and the quality isn't always that high. Besides, it's really easy to make your own, so we thought we would revisit our old kale chip recipe with a complete step-by-step guide and some new tips we've learned. More

We love the sweet-sour taste of pineapple just about anytime, but it has particular appeal during the dog days of winter. You can buy pre-cut pineapple from the store, but it's fresher and more economical to buy a whole one and cut it yourself. Here's the way we do it. More

Fresh ginger is a staple in my kitchen. It is an extremely versatile ingredient that shows up in any course, from savory to sweet, be it main, beverage, dessert, or salad. It can even be medicine — hot ginger tea with lemon, honey and brandy will cure what ails you! In short, fresh ginger is essential to my cooking. Read on for my methods for peeling and mincing fresh ginger. More

If you've avoided cooking beans at home because you've heard that they are troublesome, finicky, or complicated, it's time to leave that behind. Cooking beans is no more bother than filling a pot of water and letting it simmer happily on the back burner all afternoon. In fact, that's basically all it is. Ignore the naysayers; it's time to cook some tasty, creamy, totally tender beans at home. More