Scallops are such an easy and underrated weeknight meal, and I know this from experience: I never seem to think about them as a dinner option, but when I do it's always a slap-hand-to-forehead kind of moment. Scallops sear in mere seconds, and while whipping up a beurre blanc (a.k.a. white butter sauce) may seem intimidating to the uninitiated, it's actually one of the easiest and tastiest classic sauces to know.
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Some days we have our acts together. Some days we just plain don't. That's life. For the days when those good intentions to make lunch ahead don't go quite as planned, here are a few pantry staples that make a very good emergency lunch.

Thanks to concerns about tuna's high mercury levels and unsustainable fishing practices, the carefree days of eating lots of tuna fish sandwiches for lunch are over. But if you are missing the quick, tasty and economical meals canned tuna provides, we have a few excellent alternatives — including one vegetarian option.

My husband made this soup for me last night, and it was amazingly delicious — incredibly flavorful and filling, with just the right amount of spiciness. I could hardly wait for a second bowl. More

Tuna salad, chicken salad, and egg salad are staples in my house, and they are almost always made better with melted cheese. (The first time I tasted an "egg salad melt" — just recently — was a revelation!) I usually throw any one of these together as a dinner afterthought, until it dawned on me that they could use some special attention. The classic tuna melt was first in line for a makeover, with homemade olive oil mayonnaise and salty Parmesan taking it from good to great!

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We are smack dab in the middle of the Dungeness crab season here on the West Coast. Which means, of course, it's crab fest time! Boil 'em, steam 'em, or roast 'em, just be sure you get your fix while they're here. A big batch of crabs requires company, of course, so here's a menu to make it a crab fest to remember.

Rich and creamy lobster bisque is a perennial Valentine's Day favorite, but it's a dish that can be daunting to the uninitiated and daunting to the wallet. After tinkering with a traditional (and expensive) recipe last week, I knew there must be an easier (and cheaper!) way. Turns out, there is.

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This tip will forever transform the way you think about fish skin. First of all, don't throw it away! Instead season and bake the skin on its own for a crisp, salty, and very bacon-like treat. This video from CHOW shows you how: More

I had a few realizations over the holidays this year with family. There were the usual suspects, of course: travel mayhem, gifting stress, and family drama. But this year there was a new player on the block: bad casseroles. I'm not sure if it was just chance or if my mom and sisters were digging through old late 1980's cookbooks, but we had some very heavy, flavorless casseroles during the Christmas holiday. One such recipe was that infamous Tuna Noodle Casserole made with canned soup. I hadn't had it in years, and the whole time I was eating it, I couldn't help but think: there's got to be a better way! More

With Super Bowl Sunday, Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, and the Oscars, February happens to be one of my very favorite food months. It's just a shame it comes right after a month of many folks' diet and exercise resolutions. If I could give you only one festive (and Super Bowl-appropriate) recipe this month that is absolutely, positively worth a few extra hours in the gym, this crazy-good, decadent crawfish dip would be it. More