When using bones in preparing soup, always start on the range in cold water. This allows the maximum flavor, nutrients, and natural gelatines to be released.

*It is not necessary to peel or trim fresh vegetables for stocks since they will be strained out. Just wash well and cut up.

*Start with cold water to extract to extract the most flavor from meat and vegetables.

*Simmer stocks slowly for the best flavor.

*For better flavor simmer meat stocks long and slow, vegetable and fish stocks have shorter simmer times because they can become bitter and unpleasantly strong flavored.

*Stocks will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator, 6 months in the freezer.

To make sure turkey is cooked to a safe degree of doneness, keep these temperatures in mind:

160 degrees for stuffing
170 degrees for the breast
180 degrees for the thigh

In the coming years we will continue to see a rise in the consumption of beans and grains, with more innovative and creative ways to enjoy them. Using dried beans instead of canned, offers superior taste and texture to a recipe.

Often ignored due to the length of prep time required, prep time can be greatly reduced with the use of a pressure cooker, enhancing that flavor and texture even more.

Shortened cooking times for many foods, as well as retaining vitamins and nutrients, can be achieved by pressure cooking.

Although interchangeable at times, they both give quite different results.

For the silkiest purees and smoothest sauces, use a blender. The blender thoroughly combines small quantities of ingredients while incorporating more air into the mixture, making sauces and dips lighter. Emulsions such as mayonnaise or salad dressings are also thicker when a blender is used, and sauces thickened with bread or nuts are much smoother. Try making your next cake batter using a blender; results are an exceptionally light cake. Crushing ice in a blender renders an end product uniformly textured and less watery--excellent for frozen drinks.

Use the food processor for chopping, dicing and slicing, much the same as you would a knife. Shredding and grating in a food processor produces uniform texture with such foods as carrots and will give equal results grating cheeses as well. Kneading bread dough is something that cannot be accomplished with a blender, and depending on the amount of dough, can be quite successful using a food processor, rather than using your mixer.