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I Asked Chefs to Pick The Best Pasta Sauce and They All Chose This Brand

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

When time allows, we’re all for a good Sunday sauce. Not only can we customize the flavors when we DIY, but also who needs an air freshener when you have a big pot of pasta sauce simmering on the stove?

Still, we don’t always have time to make sauce from scratch, and we hear from many AllRecipes readers that you, too, consider jarred pasta sauce as one of your pantry staples. And there’s no shame in that, especially when many supermarkets have an entire half an aisle full of solid options. Even the man who wrote the book on pasta, Dan Pashman, has said “Why make your own tomato sauce when there are so many high-quality jarred varieties available today?”

We wholeheartedly agree, so we asked Pashman and two other chefs and cookbook authors to help us narrow down all of the options. While we technically spoke to three brilliant food folks for this piece, five food pros have actually declared this as their marinara MVP. That’s because these chefs selected the same pasta sauce that’s Kristin Cavallari’s go-to and Ina Garten’s favorite!

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Posted in #allrecipes

11 Salad-Making Tips for People Who Hate Salad

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Even as a self-proclaimed salad-lover, I understand and sympathize with those who don’t care for (or even legitimately dislike) salad. I understand completely. 

Salad is a controversial topic, and I think it’s largely because, when we talk about “salad,” we’re often talking about entirely different things. There are no bright-line rules governing what constitutes a salad. I mean, if you’re from my proverbial neck of the woods, boiled potatoes coated in mayonnaise equals salad. Folks, you can combine citrus-flavored Jell-O, brown mustard, mayo, cabbage, white vinegar, and ham… and call it salad. No one will stop you, not even us. 

Merriam-Webster says that salad is “a usually incongruous mixture,” listing “hodgepodge” as a close synonym. The dictionary can’t even define salad well, how are we supposed to? 

In my experience, a lot of people know salad as limp greens (or in some circles, watery iceberg lettuce) bogged down with whatever brand of bottled Italian dressing is on sale that week, with some too-chunky cucumber rounds and whole grape tomatoes thrown in for good measure. At least, that’s what I grew up understanding salad to be. And who could blame someone for being less than thrilled about that? Not me. 

The reality is, salad is often an afterthought—a token sidekick to certain entrees or an easy, throw-together way to get a “vegetable” on the table. However, if you can ditch the semi-traumatic image of what you (through no fault of your own) think salad is, and embrace the idea of what salad can be—i.e. An incredibly vibrant, dynamic, crave-worthy side or main dish—I promise, your life will be better for it. 

If you’re open to the possibility, here are TK# pointers that will help you along the way.

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Here’s How to Tell If Your Ground Beef Is Past Its Prime

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

If you’ve stared at that package of raw ground beef in your fridge and wondered if you left it too long, you’re not alone. Meat, whether chicken, beef, or pork, is one thing you don’t want to consume when it has gone off: Even when cooked, there is the potential that it could cause food poisoning. You also don’t want to misinterpret the signs and throw out meat that’s perfectly fresh, thus wasting money and upending your dinner plans. So how do you know if ground beef is spoiled or safe to eat? And what does that gray color really mean? Read on to have all your ground beef questions answered once and for all.  

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This Is the Reason Your Baby Carrots Are Always Wet

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Baby carrots are, by all accounts, a curious produce item. They’re so polished, so smooth, so rounded, and just…so uniform. Of course, it’s not uniformity that’s earned the baby carrot a revered spot in crisper drawers across the country (mine included)—it’s convenience. 

Baby carrots require no washing or peeling, simply open the package and they’re ready to go. Use them for dipping, for roasting, for whatever you please! They’re here to offer a type of luxurious ease we all deserve a taste of. Still, there is one feature of these conveniently bite-sized hummus vehicles that has always given me pause: the amount of liquid present in every bag. I mean, why are they so wet? 

As it turns out, the liquid is there for a reason and no cause for concern. 

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Chef John’s Bell Pepper Cutting Trick Will Save You Time (And Prevents a Seedy Mess)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Cutting a bell pepper, with all of its seedy ribs and stems, might seem like an intimidating task to the beginner cook. But fear not! The bell pepper is actually one of the easiest vegetables to slice and dice. You just need to know what you’re doing. 

Luckily for us, Chef John is full of tricks and advice for home cooks of all skill levels. 

His new Ultimate Cowboy Caviar recipe features three (count ‘em, three) types of peppers—and he used it as an excuse to share a time-saving tip for cutting bell peppers without the mess.  

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