Judy Hevrdejs

Are those spices lurking in your kitchen cupboard still potent enough for your holiday baking? Find out if the flavor and aroma is up to snuff: Give each a sniff....

As the Thanksgiving dinner hour approaches, expect things to get a little wild with folks arriving, minidramas erupting. You, dear cook, need to keep your cool and concentrate on cooking....

As the Thanksgiving dinner hour approaches, expect things to get a little wild with folks arriving, minidramas erupting. You, dear cook, need to keep your cool and concentrate on cooking....

As the Thanksgiving dinner hour approaches, expect things to get a little wild with folks arriving, minidramas erupting. You, dear cook, need to keep your cool and concentrate on cooking....

As the Thanksgiving dinner hour approaches, expect things to get a little wild with folks arriving, minidramas erupting. You, dear cook, need to keep your cool and concentrate on cooking....

1. Nickname: Rocket. This ancient Roman aphrodisiac (what wasn't?) has a peppery bite. To-die-for when tucked into grilled cheese. Toss it fresh -- a heaping mound -- with hot-out-of-the-pot pasta;...

When it comes to gauging the state of the economy, everything from chocolate sales to hemline lengths has been put forth as an "economic indicator." So it's probably no surprise...

"The first thing I think about: How much time do I have? What's the feel that I want?" Debra Kavalos-Delaney, entertaining coach - - - Hold that scream and take...

'The Gastrokid Cookbook' by Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans (Wiley, $22.95) What it is: It's hip, witty, sophisticated -- the perfect cookbook for parents who fear their gastronomic adventuring is...

"The Pleasures of Cooking for One" by Judith Jones (Alfred A. Knopf, $27.50) What it is: Legendary editor Judith Jones, who cookbook-coached Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Madhur Jaffrey and Jacques...