August 2001 “Cooking Tips” Winner — Marie Ricciardi

"I use fresh basil in quite a few of my recipes. It wilts very quickly but I found that it will perk up if you put it in a bowl of cold water for about a half an hour. If you have some leftover and wish to store it, just blot it dry, put it in a baggie and keep it at room temperature. If you put it in the refrigerator, it will turn black."

Marie Ricciardi

Prize:

• Cooking tips: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce

August 2001 “Cooking Disasters” Winner — Brian Sutton

"A few years ago, my wife and I went to Rome for vacation and fell in love with Italian pizza. It is very different than what you usually get in the United States. The crust is very thin and crispy and very little tomato sauce is used. When we returned home, we decided to try to recreate what we had in Rome. I bought a pizza stone and a big metal paddle to get it in and out of the oven. This is tricky since the stone has to preheat at 500 degrees and you have to manage to get the pizza on the stone in the oven. I wasn't a complete fool - I did also buy a pizza cookbook. I assembled the pizza on the kitchen counter and so far so good. The cookbook said that the secret to getting the pizza on the paddle and then onto the stone was cornmeal. So I liberally sprinkled the paddle and stone with the cornmeal. I got the pizza onto the paddle without a problem and I thought that I was home free - wrong! When I tried to slide the pizza from the paddle onto the stone I used a little too much oomph and the pizza slid across the stone on the cornmeal. It wound up on the back oven wall and then oozed to the oven floor. We have self-cleaning oven but that was ridiculous! Since that first unsuccessful attempt at home made pizza, I have perfected my technique and we have enjoyed many authentic Italian pizzas."

Brian Sutton

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters: Private Harvest Savory Pepper Steak Sauce with Dark Beer

Previous Winners

Click here to see our previous "Cooking Tips" and "Cooking Disasters" contest winners!