How to Grill the Perfect Steak: A Step-by-Step Guide

Welcome to my West Virginia Kitchen!  The weather is getting hot, hot, hot and that means it's grilling season.  Grilling the perfect steak is an art that every food lover should master.   Whether you are a seasoned grill master or a beginner, this guide will walk you through the essential steps…

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Dear Kitchen Wife Vol. 2

First of all, let me start off by saying thanks for sending in all of your great questions this week!  If I continue to get them I may have to do two of these a week!   This week's questions comes from one of my younger readers, (and I love that) Jade, from Iowa. Jade Writes... Dear Kitchen Wi…

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Dear Kitchen Wife: Vol. 1

So often I get asked questions about substitutions, technique, cooking temperatures, and more.  Most of the time I answer these questions on a personal basis, but I thought it would be fun to, once a week, answer a "Dear Kitchen Wife" with you all.  This way we can all grow and learn new…

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Roasted Butternut Squash Puree

Have you ever walked through one of those fancy kitchen supply stores or trendy markets, sampled something, and thought "Now THAT is amazing!  I have to get it!"  Only to find out that the mix or jarred puree is some ridiculously astronomical price?  Yeah, me too.  I am also sorry to say…

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Homemade Chicken Stock

I talk to people all the time about cooking, and one of the things I hear over and over is "Well, the reason I don't cook from scratch is because it is too expensive."  For some items yes, that can be true, but there are some tricks you can use to save money and maximize the flavor o…

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Cheese Sauce 101

Mac and cheese, nachos, broccoli, and so much more!  Yes, cheese sauce makes the culinary world go round!  I realize you are probably thinking "Why do I need to know how to make cheese sauce?  They have all sorts of them in a jar, and if all else fails there is Velveeta."  That may be tr…

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Blanching 101

Have you ever read a recipe and saw the term "blanch" and thought to yourself "What on earth?"  Yeah, I did too.  So I thought I would show you how to do it step-by-step and tell you why it is important.  Blanching by definition is simply boiling a food, usually a vegetable, f…

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