I make vinaigrettes every day — seriously. I change them up with different vinegars and different oils, and add some sweeteners like honey now and again. Sometimes I replace about half of the vinegar with citrus juice. As a corporate caterer who makes a billion lunches, classic oil-vinegar-salt-and-pepper vinaigrettes sometimes just get boring — trust me. Which is why I reach for this sauce when I want to something new and different to add to salads, pastas, and every cooked meat.

Head to the fridge and grab the butter and a small saucepan, and read on for how to make the sauce that might just change how you cook.

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One of my strategies for keeping our budget in check is to have about a 50/50 mix of meaty and meatless dinners each week. But when I’ve busted my budget — say, after moving into a new house and splurging on a new dining table — a week of meatless dinners can save me.

This week’s meal plan is full of new-to-us vegetarian recipes that use inexpensive staples to keep our grocery budget low. Each recipe is hearty enough for cool fall weather and will satisfy both adults and kids alike.

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One bite of this saucy, cheesy casserole and I was instantly transported back to junior high and the carb-filled dinners where my basketball team squeezed around a table with paper plates piled high with the requisite homey baked pasta. Only those team dinners never included a meal as good as this!

Reminiscent of classic pepperoni pizza, this weeknight casserole is made with a mess of curly noodles in place of the doughy crust, just the right ratio of sauce to melted cheese, and thin slices of pepperoni that crisp up as they bake. You’ll also love that it comes together in a pinch with just five ingredients.

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Sometimes the front porch is the best place for a laid-back Halloween celebration. As you gather with friends and neighbors to welcome trick-or-treaters, this easy menu makes the evening even more festive with a cozy red wine hot chocolate perfect for the adults and family-friendly s’mores bars everyone can munch on. Here’s how to make it happen.

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A few days ago, we asked Kitchn’s Facebook friends to tell us the best way to clean an oven. Many of you suggested the self-cleaning button, which is an option we’re not always fans of. (See: Why You Should (Almost) Never Use Your Oven’s Self-Cleaning Function.) Even more of you suggested either not using your oven at all or getting someone else to do it for you. But those aren’t super-realistic suggestions because we like to cook and we don’t live at Downton Abbey.

So we combed through the hundreds of comments to find the most helpful ideas. Our takeaway? You guys use a variety of cleaners. Keep reading to see what they are!

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It’s jack-o’-lantern season, and you probably want to preserve your carved pumpkin and keep it fresh as long as you can, right? Pumpkins are organic, so there’s no way to stop the rotting process indefinitely. But there are smart, thrifty ways to keep your carved pumpkin fresh and extend its life through Halloween and beyond!

Here are the five best ways to preserve your carved Halloween pumpkin and keep it looking great.

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Remember when everyone hated Brussels sprouts? Remember when everyone started to love them again? These small green orbs are members of the cabbage family with the same ability to be enjoyed raw in salads or slaws or turned into tender, caramelized nuggets of goodness when cooked. But before you get to cooking them, you need to prep them.

If these green orbs are new to your dinner rotation (or hey, you just need a refresher), here is everything you need to know to prepare these wondrous vegetables before cooking.

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Americans buy approximately 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween every year. If you’re not sure what exactly that looks like, consider this: The Titanic weighed about 100 million pounds. Now, picture six Titanic ships made of candy. That’s a lot of candy!

And it does make one wonder: Where did this sweet tradition get its start?

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If you’re anything like me, you throw your plastic water bottle or yogurt container into the recycling bin when you’re done with it and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. After all, you’ve just done something, albeit small, to help the planet.

But what actually happens next? “The answer is way more complicated than people think,” says Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the California Product Stewardship Council.

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“Faith! It’s the cocktail of the summer,” said my colleague Janel last week when she was visiting me in Columbus. On our way to dinner we were chatting about our cocktails of choice, and Janel quite handily talked me into trying a Gold Rush for myself. Well, it wasn’t that difficult. Do you know this drink? You should.

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