So, I was fixing dinner the other night on the grill: chicken tenderloins (easy-- thaw, season, cook) and an assortment of grilled vegetables. I even tossed a few hot dogs on to enjoy another time. Then, suddenly it hit me, an undeniable craving for potato salad. All of this healthy food (sans the hot dogs) had me really needing a mayonnaise based quick fix. I scurried into the kitchen and scanned the pantry and refrigerator for the essentials and really, the basics. Dinner was already a grillin'.

Potatoes, check. Mayonnaise, check. Spicy brown mustard, it'll do. Pickle relish, check. Salt and pepper-- of course. Cooking method-- hmmm, dare I do it? Microwave potato salad? Could it be done? I basically had no choice, time was a wastin'.

I rinsed 2 medium Idaho potatoes under the faucet, pierced them several times with a fork, and let them go for about 6 to 7 minutes on HIGH power. After they sat a few minutes, I found that the skins pulled back easily and I diced them in short order. Next, I tossed them in the refrigerator door concoction and added salt and pepper to taste...not bad, for potato salad in a pinch.

What are your on-the-fly suppertime solutions?

Every year this time, I get the urge to have a "celebrate spring" patio party. I like to invite lots of people. But I'm also frugal and a make-it-easy-on-yourself hostess. So this year, I set a budget of $100, and resolved to make most things ahead. I started with ingredients I already had on hand and worked from there.

Calling all cooks! Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst is a must-have for every kitchen novice and foodie out there.  This little book is fully-loaded with culinary terms and definitions, helpful charts on cuts of meat, spice pairings, and so very much more. I keep a copy at home AND at work. I also like to give a copy to friends getting married. It’s a life-saver for those friends who hardly ever don an apron!!

We love this little book so much at SL that we keep a copy in the Test Kitchens.  It comes in handy for many a tasting-table discussion.  Whether you’re a busy mom with little time to spare or a foodie at heart, this book has something for everyone.  Trust me. It’s the ultimate go-to for much-needed kitchen info like…. 

Cheese confusion – When’s the last time you stood glaring at the cheese assortment in a haze of confusion?  What do I sub for provolone? Hmmm, ripened cheese? Do I cut the rind off of brie?

Herb haze – did the recipe call for lemon balm, lemon grass, or lemon verbena?  What’s the difference?

“Term” trauma – this custard recipe calls for a bain marie.  If you don’t speak French, no worries. 

Grab this quickie food reference book and get cookin’.  Let me know what you think.  I suspect you’ll want to thank me for the head’s up!

On Saturday, April 18, I was one of four judges in the Fire on the Rock Chef Challenge. This event is similar to the Sweet Sixteen in NCAA college basketball.  Eight chefs were paired off in a head to head competition. Each round featured a mystery ingredient. Each chef had 50 minutes to prepare 3 dishes with the main focus being the mystery ingredient. Our main criteria was on taste, aroma, presentation and best use of the mystery ingredient.

Photo of Chef Bill Greene of Artisanal putting the final touches on one of his dishes. We tasted so many dishes it was hard to keep up with the names. All of the chefs did a fantastic job.

If you've never visited Blowing Rock, NC for the Annual Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival then you are missing out on a culinary and cultural experience.  Get ready for a four day event full of wine seminars, tastings, music concert, shopping, and much more. 

My love affair with sweet potatoes began in my early twenties.  It started innocently enough with a simple, undressed sweet potato that was simmered and only slightly salted.  The sweet potato was an accompaniment to a spicy ceviche and cut perfectly against the heat of the habañero and soothed my mouth.  As my passion for sweet potatoes grew, so did the number of ways I enjoyed this root vegetable.  Baked in the oven and topped with sour cream and chives, mashed with cilantro and lime juice, roasted and mixed with peppers, olives, and feta—there are too many ways to list.  I began enjoying sweet potatoes on a weekly basis, always in their savory application, staying away from marshmallows, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  And then I discovered sweet potato fries!

It’s that time of year – pollen is in the air, flowers are in bloom, and cleaning is on the agenda.  Purging the kitchen was on my to-do list especially since I look at its clutter at least twice a day.  First stop – the pantry.  I decided to reorganize AND inspect all the goods for shelf-life dates.  As you can imagine, the pantry prowl was a little intense, but I definitely recommend combining the task!

If you’re like me, it’s difficult to find and decode the “best used by” dates, and spices are especially tricky. Best advice – check company websites where you can plug in codes on spice bottles to separate the keepers from those past their prime.

Check out these spice trackers:  McCormick http://www.mccormick.com/Spices101/HowOldSpices.aspx,  Spice Islands http://www.spiceislands.com/RegisterSpices.aspx and http://www.spiceislands.com/ReplacingSpices.aspx

As for cans and jars, check around the label seams for coded dates.  Boxed items typically display coded dates on the top or bottom lid.  If you can’t break the code, check out the company’s website.  If you’re completely in doubt or you think you remembered moving it from your last house, it’s probably safe to let it go!

Next stop - the refrigerator.  Seriously, I must have a collector’s addiction when it comes to condiment jars. They clutter the refrigerator in a way that makes me cringe.  So, out with the old, in with the new!  It was refreshing!

If you haven’t purged the pantry or spice rack in a while, go for it!  And don’t forget to recycle all those glass jars you free up.

Image courtesy faeryboots at Flickr

As the current intern at Southern Living I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with many of you over the phone over the last several months.  I’ve sorted through recipes from the late 1970s to find your favorite chocolate cake, answered questions about menu planning, and guided you through our recipe collection on myrecipes.com.

But one question that keeps coming up more often than others is, “Can I freeze that?”  With our lives getting busier by the minute, preparing food ahead of time, freezing, and using it in the future can be a great time saver.  But do resist the desire to freeze anything and everything—not every dish is meant for the freezer.

Friends, I'm coming out of the cellar and exposing my dark secret to all of you: I like box wines.  I've been a fan of these practical affordable beverages for a while, and have been gradually tasting various brands (it takes a while to drink a whole cask, so it's slow going).  Here's what changed my perspective: I drink a glass or less at a time (medicinal of course), and after a few days of being open, the bottles were undrinkable. Down the drain they went.  Ever mindful of my budget, I reckoned I could save $50 a month or so if I switched to the box. But how to persuade my foodie friends  to give these just-right-for-weeknight-friendly wines a chance?

OK, I love to find a great deal and save money. Grocery shopping and cooking are a part of my job here at Southern Living. We try to watch our grocery costs as we pass on wonderful recipes that keep the home cooks budget in mind. This is very important to me at home, too.