‘The One Piece of Cookware That Saved an Empty-Nester’

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In addition to the man recipes and restaurants, Chowhound’s have discovered over the years. Our community of Hounds is a circular self-help group for cooking, baking, entertaining, wine knowledge, cocktail hacks and so much more. From the best way to make a perfect hard-boiled egg to packing cakes on an airplane, if there is a food-related task your’re struggling with you can bet there’s a Hound (or two) out there to help you out.

Many Hound’s have been quick to note how the discussion boards have made them better, more confident cooks over the years and they’re equally gleeful to give some of those learnings back to new and more inexperienced home chefs on site.

So in honor of Chowhound Day 2019, we asked some of the most loyal members about the best cooking tips, hacks or lessons they got from Chowhound over its 22 years.

Here’s what they said…

“Thanks to chowhound I now have a better understanding of which type of pan to use for different types of dishes. So I now have some thick disc bottom pans at home as well as tinned copper – both of which are very hard to find in our local shops. There is a very knowledgeable core of copper users on chowhound (for example kaleokahu) and I’ve learned so much from them.” 

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All-Clad/Williams-Sonoma

“I got some amazing tips on making Spritz cookies from Hill J” 

“Years ago I read a tip that said to spray your fresh berries with hot water when you bring them home from the store to make them keep longer. it works!!”

Related Reading: Hounds Share Their Most Memorable Threads

“I love the little hacks you peel out of threads like one Hound recommended reheating pizza in a saute pan on low instead of the microwave or oven. It’s fast and effective and I’ve been doing it that way ever since!”

One piece of cookware that worked especially well in this empty nester.”

“I have become more adventurous and learned a lot of interesting recipes from the supportive and knowledgeable Hounds on the Home Cooking board, especially on the Dish of the Month and Weekly Menu Planning series. There are a lot of dishes I probably never would have made but for “Dish of the Month,” such as Banh Mi and Chicken Adobo.

slow cooker Filipino chicken adobo

Chowhound

“The most valuable technique I’ve learned is blanching vegetables in very salty water prior to saute.”

“The meal-planning advice ‘when in doubt, tacos are the answer‘. This made me grin when I first read it and has come to my rescue more than once.”

“I got some amazing tips on how to my clean cast iron pan, which I wasn’t so sure about before.”

Related Reading: Make Your Own Vegan Cheese with Just a Few Simple Ingredients

Cooking dried beans with baking soda to get a better texture.”

“I began my Chowhound experiences an old fashioned dilettante cook with very primitive appliances and hand me down tools.  Over a four year period, I updated nearly everything and radically enabled capabilities. I now can cook for one to three at home, or prepare special dishes for large groups—presented in beautiful enameled cast iron pots.”

This recommendation of a chickpea sunflower sandwich filling with very specific guidance on variations.

“Not so much a single recipe nor technique, but chowhound did alert me to what has become a very valuable cookbook to me: Foods and wines of Spain by Penelope Casas.”

For more best Chowhound tips, check out this 2014 community post on the very same subject.