Have you ever wondered how a restaurant can get a dish of pasta to your table in about four minutes when you know it takes ten minutes just to cook the pasta? Does the water on their stoves boil at a higher temperature than the water on yours? Do they know a trick that you don't? As a matter of fact, they do.

They parboil, or partially pre-cook their pasta; so when an order comes in to the kitchen, a cook can turn out a dish of perfectly 'al dente' pasta in a minute or two. Pre-cooking is a worthwhile technique for home cooks, because it enables them to pull together a great sit-down meal in practically no time, no matter how busy their day may have been.

It's also a great method to use when you plan to serve pasta for a crowd. I once ca Save Time in the Kitchen. Cook Pasta the way Restaurant Chefs Do Recipe

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Indoor Grills Featured in Steven Raichlen's Newest Book

by Laura Ciocan

With a great number of city people living in condos, with no possibility to grill outside, Raichlen's latest book, "Indoor! Grilling" covers a topic of large interest, especially that grilling is a tradition in America, some sort of a national custom. So, this theme surely relieves a lot of frustration for the part of audience that had been previously left out!

Steven Raichlen is a cooking teacher, lecturer, author, journalist and TV host. He founded the Carribean cooking school Cooking in Paradise. Raichlen's TV show, Barbecue University debuted in 2003 on public television. The same year he was named the "cooking teacher of the year" by Bon Appetit magazine.

Participating in a "barbecue battle" on Japanese television and defeating Iron Ch Indoor Grills Featured in Steven Raichlen's Newest Book Recipe

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Banish Boring Brown Bag Lunches!

by Cyndi Roberts

One way that money slips through our fingers without our realizing it is by eating out at lunch every day.

Did you know that by taking your lunch 3 days a week instead of eating out, you could save as much as $800 a year? Think what you could do with that much extra money!

Your lunch doesn't have to be a sandwich and chips, either. With just a little bit of creativity and planning, brown bag lunches can be pretty delicious!

Try these ideas for starters:

Invest in a few of those 1-serving plastic storage containers with lids. These are so handy--when you have just one serving left of any dish at dinner, put it in one of these dishes. Designate a shelf in the fridge for these leftovers. In the mornings, anyone in the family Banish Boring Brown Bag Lunches! Recipe

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