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The Reluctant Gourmet Website Established 1997
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Stand Mixer

Do You Need a Stand Mixer? How to Choose the Right One

A sharp kitchen knife edge on dark wooden surface

Kitchen Knife Care: How to Keep Your Knives Sharp for Years

A chef's, serrated and paring knife on a wooden cutting board

Essential Kitchen Knives: Types Every Home Cook Should Know

A professional chefs knife resting on a well-worn wooden cutting board.

How to Choose the Best Chef’s Knife for Your Kitchen

A common countertop blender in a modern kitchen, clear glass pitcher with measurement markings.

Blender Buying Guide: What Matters When Choosing a Blender

Four different types of whisks - balloon, flat, French, and coil - sticking out of a neutral ceramic jar.

Whisk Types Compared: Best Uses and How to Choose

a stainless steel sauté pan on a gas stovetop

Saute Pan | Choosing and Buying the Right Saute Pan

Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce Recipe

Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce Recipe

gently poaching ingredients in shallow simmering liquid

Poaching Food — Times, Temperatures, and What Liquid to Use for Each Ingredient

Know Your Knife Cuts

Essential Knife Cuts Explained: Improve Your Knife Skills

Basque cheesecake, deeply caramelized almost burnt top with dramatic cracks

Ube Basque Cheesecake Recipe – Creamy, Burnt Top Perfection

orzo salad in a rustic ceramic bowl

Welcome Instagram Visitors

A bowl of chicken orzo soup, golden broth with tender shredded chicken

Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe (Easy One-Pot Comfort Soup)

A bowl of orzo salad

What Is Orzo? How to Cook It Without Making It Mushy and What to Do With It

orzo salad in a rustic ceramic bowl

Orzo Salad Recipe (Easy Base + Flavor Variations)

A steak being tested for doneness by touch, finger gently pressing center of seared steak

Stop Guessing Steak Doneness: Read These Cooking Signals

linguini simmering in a stock pot, wooden spoon lifting strands

How to Tell When Pasta Is Done Cooking With Visual Clues

A steak being tested for doneness by touch, finger gently pressing center of seared steak

How to Tell When Food is Done Cooking (Without Guessing)

a bowl of fluffy white rice, a wooden spoon, a linen cloth

How to Cook Perfect Rice: 18 Tips for Fluffy, Not Mushy Results

A cooked golden roasted chicken on a rustic wooden cutting board

Chicken Cooking Tips: 17 Ways to Make Juicy, Flavorful Chicken

Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp beautifully plated on a rustic home-style plate

Easy Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp in Under 15 Minutes

Creamy one-pot lemon-garlic shrimp orzo, featuring plump, juicy shrimp lightly seared, tender golden orzo pasta

Creamy Lemon Garlic Shrimp Orzo – One-Pan Dinner Recipe

Italian crocchette on a rustic wooden board

Italian Tuna and Potato Crocchette Recipe (Easy & Crispy)

A plate of juicy boneless, skinless grilled chicken thighs

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken with Yogurt and Spices

Bowl of Italian Pasta al Tonno, spaghetti coated in olive oil and flaked tuna, cherry tomatoes, capers, fresh parsley.

Pasta al Tonno: Easy Italian Tuna Pasta Recipe

Tuna Nicoise Salad Recipe

How to Make the Perfect Classic Tuna Niçoise Salad

A bowl of mint sauce to be served with roast leg of lamb.

Mint Sauce for Lamb – Fresh, Tangy, and Easy to Make

A perfectly roasted boneless leg of lamb on a rustic holiday table, carved slices revealing juicy, medium-rare interior.

Easter Boneless Leg of Lamb, Evenly Roasted and Easy to Carve

A beautifully plated Steak Diane on a white elegant plate, creamy cognac sauce drizzled over a perfectly seared steak, garnished with fresh parsley.

Steak Diane Cooked in One Skillet with a Classic Creamy Pan Sauce

A cozy, sunlit home kitchen filled with fresh ingredients on the counter, cookbooks open, measuring cups and spoons neatly arranged.

Most Common Cooking Questions Answered: Tips, Times & Techniques

Bone In Roast Leg of Lamb

Easy Roast Bone-In Leg of Lamb for a Perfect Easter Dinner

Pan-seared strip steak topped with creamy wild mushroom demi-glace sauce, plated elegantly on a simple white ceramic plate.

Steak with Wild Mushroom Sauce — How to Pan-Sear It and Build the Sauce in the Same Pan

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About

I’ve been cooking seriously since the mid-1980s — self-taught, a lot of trial and error, and genuinely interested in why things work in the kitchen. I started this site in 1997 because I couldn’t find cooking writing that explained the reasoning. Still at it.

G. Stephen Jones at a food hall Full story →

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