• Shiny aluminum or stainless steel cookie sheets result in delicate, evenly browned cookies.

• Nonstick cookie sheets make cookies easy to remove, but the dark finish may cause the cookies to brown more quickly. That’s why manufacturers generally suggest lowering the oven temperature by 25 degrees.

• Dark aluminum sheets have an almost black finish that can absorb heat and cause the bottoms of the cookies to brown more quickly. Watch carefully: You may have to lower the temperature and bake for a shorter time.

This insulated cookie sheet from Calphalon is
available at Amazon.com.

For ideal baking results, you need to be a smart cookie and match your recipe to the cookie sheet.

Visit our Gourmet Cookies Section for more cookie tips, recipes and reviews of our favorite cookie manufacturers.

The “new” sausage sandwiches: chicken
apple sausage with pineapple salsa on a
sandwich roll or ciabatta roll. Photo
courtesy Mezzetta.

That’s the old sausage sandwich. The new sausage sandwich lightens things up with chicken sausage, different sauces and gourmet breads.

This recipe, by Virginia Suddath of Kihei, Hawaii, is called “Kona Po Boy.” It substitutes chicken apple sausage for pork sausage and pineapple salsa for tomato sauce.

The recipe was a finalist in Mezzetta’s 2009 “Make That Sandwich” Contest. Get the recipe.

Do you love to make complex sandwiches that push the envelope? Enter the 2010 contest.

Find recipes for more gourmet sandwiches in our Bread Section.

Dad might enjoy it along with a pound of something special, or a gift certificate to the local cheese store.

If Dad prefers Scotch, he most assuredly would like a copy of Michael Jackson’s Complete Guide To Single Malt Scotch…perhaps with a bottle of his favorite Single Malt.

Bourbon aficionados will want a copy of The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook, with tempting ideas for appetizers, soups, salads, side dishes and main courses in addition to the more frequently found cocktail and dessert recipes.

See our Father’s Day book ideas for more choices.

Cheesemonger: A Life On The Wedge will appeal
to cheese-loving dads.

A salad pleading for those leftover cheese
bits. Photo by Kelly Cline | IST.

Don’t toss the tiny pieces or wrap up the bigger ones and stash them away. Instead, plan some recipes to use them up ASAP. Our favorites uses:

• Cheese omelets and “mixed grill” grilled cheese sandwiches

• Slice and add to a pizza, burger, sandwich or salad

• Dice into a garnish for other foods, from soup to rice, potatoes and vegetables

If there’s enough cheese, make:

• Quesao asado (baked cheese, but you can microwave it), and eat it with tortilla chips

• Fondue or macaroni & cheese

Visit our Cheese Section for more cheese tips, reviews and recipes.

It’s easy to create your own customized frozen pops, including cream-filled varieties, in as little as seven minutes.

Use your favorite juices and other beverages (coffee, tea, kefir, smoothies) or fresh fruit purées to make the gourmet pops of your dreams.

Designed to be very user friendly—quick freezing, easy release from molds, reusable plastic pop sticks that have drip guards—Zoku looks to be the best pop-making option we’ve seen.

Why should you give up storage space to a pop-making machine?

It’s easy to make gorgeous ice pops with
your favorite flavors and add-ins. Photo
courtesy Williams-Sonoma.

• You have something new and special to serve guests.

• Things you’d normally drink for health can be turned into pops—from pomegranate juice to probiotic peach kefir.

• You can control for dietary needs—reduced sugar, no sugar or kosher, for example—and allergies.

• Ice pops have fewer calories than ice cream and are fat- and cholesterol-free (unless you elect to make cream pops).

• It’s a fun way to teach the whole family that they can enjoy preparing their own food.

• And thanks to the plastic sticks, there’s no yucky wood flavor that we so dislike with commercial ice pops.

Find more of our favorite frozen treats, plus recipes, in our Ice Cream Section.