I'm getting a new Maytag electric stove (comes with the new house) and it has a convection setting. I've read that it cooks things faster and more evenly, but when do I use this feature? Is it more for baking and roasting? Does it not matter for roasting veggies? Do I just use it all the time? When is the normal setting better?

We received a smoked duck (whole duck not just a breast) for the holidays and we have no idea what to do with it. It looks great and I'm sure I could just reheat and eat it as is, but it's 3 pounds and that's just too much meat for one meal.

Any suggestions?

About a year ago we ate at Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia and my husband had their rum cured duck. It was amazing! I would love to recreate it. It was just a seared breast that had the most amazingly tender meat. There was a sauce as well. I honestly don't know how to describe it.

Does anyone have a rum marinade recipe? Would I just marinate duck like I would chicken or beef? Perhaps a better duck recipe that would make me forget about this?

I have about a pound of maple sugar. I have absolutely no idea what to do with it other than open the bag every now and then and smell the amazingness.

Does anyone have a good recipe?

My DH has one day to spend in Minneapolis. What are the must-go-to places? Any local fare that he needs to try?

I'm getting weddinged on Saturday and I am planning on having pie as our dessert. One is blueberry and one is apple, both are in deep ceramic dishes(freezer and oven safe). I have
never frozen a pie before so that's whole new territory for me.

Would it be better to bake the pies Thursday afternoon and keep them in the fridge until I serve them on Saturday afternoon?

OR

Would it be better to make them Thursday morning, freeze them, and then have someone else bake them Saturday morning so they're fresh for Saturday afternoon?

I kind of don't trust other people to bake them for me, but I feel like it might be the better option. I've never had pie last more than a day so I don't know if 2 day old pie is ok or not. I did a dry run of my recipes, but I didn't think to test out how long they'd be tasty or what freezing would do to them...

Opinions? Tips on freezing/refrigerating?

The new design is really pretty! But none of the drop down menus at the top work. And there seems to be a plaid background at the top but I have to scroll down to view any text. I'm using Chrome on a Mac if that matters.

I've always loved scallops but I've never been able to get that really awesome restaurant sear... I've tried several times and they either get all crispy and are still raw inside or they get all cooked and the outside is still pale. Who out there has step by step directions or tricks for me?

My SO made stew tonight and it tasted amazing. The problem is that as I went on eating it, it got more and more bitter. Is there a way to fix this? The stew has brisket, potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and red ale. This seems to be an ongoing problem with his stew and this time we figured trying a sweeter beer would help, but it still tastes bitter. Any suggestions?

There's an online exhibit of food posters at The Smithsonian. It's neat and I think I want to get a copy of the first one for my kitchen.

Here's the link!

I am in love with When Pigs Fly 6 grain pumpkin seed bread. Unfortunately it's way too costly to order it and we don't have enough room in the freezer to stock up.

Anyone out there have a good multi grain bread recipe? This particular kind has these ingredients: unbleached flour, grans (wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn grits, millet, flax), pumpkin seeds, cider, honey, salt and yeast.

I wish I knew how to magically make that list into a recipe.

So I tried making vanilla extract but it's been about 8 weeks and it's pale and the vanilla flecks are just floating around in the vodka. Is there a way to salvage it or should I just start over? I read somewhere that I could boil it like steeping tea, has anyone tried that?

It's that time of year again... Philadelphia is having a restaurant week in center city. Here's the site. Lots of great options with reasonable prices ($20 lunch, $35 dinner).

I went to the allergist today. Found out that I am not lactose intolerant, but actually just allergic to milk. Now that I've stopped crying I've decided to ask for help.

Any recommendations for some dairy substitutes? I already drink almond milk and use a butter substitute. I need suggestions for cheese and yogurt and cookbooks/websites with dairy free recipes. I'm cool with vegan recipe sites/books as well since I don't eat much meat. Some more ice cream recommendations would be great too since there are a lot more flavors today since I first tried soy ice cream 3 years ago and I know there's more out there than my mint Tofutti cuties.

I just signed up for a buying club (like a CSA but I get to pick what I want) and I'm getting endive and kohlrabi this week. I picked them because I want to try new veggies but I have no idea what to do with either. Any ideas?

We always eat 12 grapes at midnight. New Year's day was all seafood (raw clams for breakfast, pulpo for lunch, etc).

My SO's family always eat black eyed peas on New Year's day.

Someone posted this link to lucky foods.

What do you do on NYE?

I attempted to make these cannoli cookies for a cookie swap at work tomorrow. I have 12 dozen cookies waiting to be made into sandwiches.

Unfortunately the recipe is missing a major note about draining the ricotta overnight. I've never made cannoli or this recipe so I didn't know that needed to be done. Plus the recipe says to just mix the ingredients and refrigerate so I did just that. I have $15 worth of ingredients mixed that seem to be a big watery mess and I don't know how to save it...

So any suggestions for an alternate filling I could make tonight or a way to save what I made? So far the mix has 24oz mascarpone, 2 1/4 c whole milk ricotta (undrained!), 1 c powdered sugar and 2 1/4 t vanilla....

Thanks so much!

My SO made a delicious stew last weekend and I discovered that we still have half a thing of celery and a bunch of carrots in the fridge. I'd like to put them to use or at least figure out a way to save them for later use. Can I freeze them? Is there a good way to use them up without making soup (we've been overloaded with soup and stew lately)? Suggestions please!

If you're in the Philly area and missed out on restaurant week... there's still hope!

I just realized that neighborhood food week is next week. Here's a link for the menus and info. Figured I would share in case anyone else was interested in partaking in delicious food. It's not as extensive as the regular restaurant week but there are some great places on the list.

That's a show I'd like to see. A friend sent me this youtube of him
cooking a chicken with pears.

He's an all around funny guy and it seems he can cook...

I got a giant bag of cherries last weekend and then completely forgot about them. They're in decent enough shape to eat, but there's no way I can eat the 2+ pounds before they go bad.

Any suggestions on what to do with them? I unfortunately do not have an ice cream maker (cherry vanilla ice cream was my first thought....)

I love to make ravioli and freeze portions for quick dinners. Usually I make a cheese filling with pesto or a garlic/herb combo. I try to avoid meat fillings just so I'll eat more vegetarian meals.

Any suggestions of some new fun fillings or favorite recipes?

High cholesterol runs in the family and I think I eat healthy food (not a lot of dairy, olive oil instead of margarine, no beef, oatmeal/cheerios for breakfast every day, lots of veggies, etc). While it is most likely just hereditary, I'd like to try to see what I can do to be healthier.

So I'm looking for healthier recipes. Anyone have some?

This is the one kitchen gadget that I don't have, but think would be super useful. I used to have a small chopper but it only held about 1 c of anything and it only chopped. We're a 2 person household that loves hummus, pie, and stir fry veggies. I got great recommendations for my hand mixer (which I love) so I figured I'd ask for input about this as well.

So what should I look for? What's a decent size? I know there are some that have the attachments to slice and shred, are they worth it?

I just purchased a nice piece of bacalao (salted cod). I plan on making empanada gallega, but I have way more than I need.

Any favorite recipes out there?