Next time you have to thicken a sauce, use beurre manié instead of cornstarch or arrowroot. It adds delicious butter flavor without the “gloppiness” you can get with other thickeners.

Just blend equal parts of softened butter and flour in a small bowl with a fork, and add to the dish. If you frequently have need for a thickener, you can make a batch of beurre manié rolled into balls the size of a quarter, and keep them in the freezer.

Roux, pronounced rue, uses the same ingredients and proportions, whisked in pan over heat. The benefit is that the butter doesn’t have to be at room temperature so you don’t need to plan ahead. Roux is the French word for tan, which is the color the butter and flour mix becomes when cooked.

• Check out the different types of butter preparations in our Butter Glossary.

Thicken sauces, soups and stews with roux
or beurre manié.

This could be the hit of the party. Photo
by Carlos Andrés Varela Photography.

Wow the crowd with a do-it-yourself Macaroni And Cheese Bar.

It takes the concept of macaroni and cheese to a new level: individual customization.

Guests start with a bowl of basic mac and cheese and add their favorite toppings: bacon, chilies, chives, tomatoes, whatever.

Most recipes call for thawed frozen spinach. The least favorite part of the preparation is squeezing out all the water.

Most people just take the cold, wet spinach in their hands and squeeze it, bit by bit.

There’s a neater way: Use your potato ricer.

To keep the spinach from falling through the perforations in the ricer, line the container with a thin, clean kitchen towel.

There’s an easier way to squeeze it
dry. Photo courtesy Birds-Eye.

 
Find more tips like this in the handy book, Tips Cooks Love.

If you want to show off your creative flair at the Super Bowl party, make these deconstructed chicken wings:

Instead of using chicken wings, the deconstruction consists of chicken meatballs fried in crispy panko bread crumbs, topped with a delicious dab of Roquefort dip and served with a crunchy celery spear.

 
MORE BUFFALO CHICKEN RECIPES

The fruits are dried, moisturized and packed in foil-fresh, 7-ounce zipper bags.

The variety and the natural sweetness of the fruits actually topped our addiction to candy and cookies. Unlike our favorite sugary snacks, they’re just as sweet—naturally—and are packed with fiber.

That’s why Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit made our Tip Of The Day instead of a conventional product recommendation. The line also includes Tropical Trio (mango, papaya, pineapple) and Goldens & Cherries (golden raisins and tart cherries).

If you want to make a healthy switch that’s also perfect for grab-and-go (or grab and stash in desk or glove compartment), pick up some bags of Sun-Maid mixed fruit.

Our new favorite snack. Photo by
River Soma | THE NIBBLE.

The line is certified kosher by Triangle K.