Buy
only high-quality birds, if
your budget can handle it.
Ask your supermarket to get you what you want, even if they do not
normally carry it. Another way to do this is to seek out a dependable
independent butcher such as the family-owned Lobel's in New York
City. Endorsed by Martha Stewart as well as host/chef Sara Moulton
of the TV Food Network and Bon Appetit magazine, the family
has been selling prime meats for five generations. Lobel's provides
this advice to consumers: When buying chicken, look for fleshy,
firm breasts, rounded thighs and thin skin. Look for even coloring
that is neither bright yellow nor dead white. If the flesh is slightly
yellow, that means the bird was fed corn. A plump profile indicates
firm, juicy meat. For more information, call the company at 800-5-Lobel's.
No matter what chicken you buy, be sure to wash it before cooking
and then wash the entire area to free it of possible bacteria. This
means you should wash your faucet knobs, which you could touch with
contaminated hands.
Nothing
makes a dinner guest feel more welcome than a placecard designating
a spot at the table just for them. For a new twist, buy letter
beads and string your guests' names onto heavy paper.
Cookware
coated with DuPont non-sticks is lauded for its durability and performance
and prized highly by cooks. To keep your non-sticks as good as the
day you bought them, stack in the kitchen cabinet or closet with
a couple of sheets of paper towels between them.
Expert
bakers say that dipping a measuring cup into a sack of flour and leveling
it off with a straight edge compresses the flour and thus yields nearly
twice the amount of flour you need. The proper way to measure flour
is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level off with
a knife.
Buy
only high-quality birds, if
your budget can handle it.
Ask your supermarket to get you what you want, even if they do not
normally carry it. Another way to do this is to seek out a dependable
independent butcher such as the family-owned Lobel's in New York
City. Endorsed by Martha Stewart as well as host/chef Sara Moulton
of the TV Food Network and Bon Appetit magazine, the family
has been selling prime meats for five generations. Lobel's provides
this advice to consumers: When buying chicken, look for fleshy,
firm breasts, rounded thighs and thin skin. Look for even coloring
that is neither bright yellow nor dead white. If the flesh is slightly
yellow, that means the bird was fed corn. A plump profile indicates
firm, juicy meat. For more information, call the company at 800-5-Lobel's.
Nothing
makes a dinner guest feel more welcome than a placecard designating
a spot at the table just for them. For a new twist, buy letter
beads and string your guests' names onto heavy paper. 
Cookware
coated with DuPont non-sticks is lauded for its durability and performance
and prized highly by cooks. To keep your non-sticks as good as the
day you bought them, stack in the kitchen cabinet or closet with
a couple of sheets of paper towels between them.
Expert
bakers say that dipping a measuring cup into a sack of flour and leveling
it off with a straight edge compresses the flour and thus yields nearly
twice the amount of flour you need. The proper way to measure flour
is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level off with
a knife.