In addition to being National Chocolate Eclair Day (nummy!), yesterday was National Onion Ring Day. In celebration of this greasy ring of golden-fried love, we bring you all the tips and tricks you can cram onto a red-checked, paper-lined basket:

1. Choose big onions. You can mess around with petite rings and half-moons and anything else you can think of once you feel like you’ve mastered the original, but the truth is, nothing beats a big, round ring for flavor and ease of eating. You want thick slices that offer enough onion to counterbalance the breading. Yellow onions or sweet onions will work — it all depends on what you like to eat. read more »

The third segment in our Summer Grilling Perfection series — presenting tips and tricks from Elizabeth Karmel — brings us to a lovely, if less common, barbecued delicacy: the grilled pizza.

Elizabeth says a lot of people are afraid to try grilled pizza because they’re worried that the dough will stick to the grate or fall through it. But oiling, then rolling, the dough, she says, can help avoid a sticking problem, and the addition of a dusting of grits adds “a rustic texture” and more stick-resistance. read more »

Part two in our Summer Grilling Perfection series brings us to that icon of the picnic table: the hamburger.

And America’s female grilling expert, Elizabeth Karmel, has given us some tips for taking your burgers from dry and ordinary to juicy and extraordinary (be sure to check out our Q&A with Elizabeth here). read more »

June 3 is National Egg Day, so as you head home (staying on the sunny side of the street, of course), you might consider how to incorporate this versatile, delicious staple into tonight’s meal. read more »

So far, we’ve given you two traditionally lucky foods to eat on New Year’s Day - black eyed peas and cabbage.  You might want to add a little bacon, sausage, ham hock or any other pork derived meat to what you are cooking.  Pigs are seen to be the luckiest animal because, unlike chickens who scratch backward or cows that stand still, pigs root forward.  Most of the recipes we’ve given so far already have pork in them, so you should be set.

However, a Spanish tradition says to eat twelve grapes at midnight.  The story goes that you should say the months of the year between eating each grape.  If the grape is sweet, that month of the year will be a sweet one.  You could cheat tradition a bit with a Spanish White Gazpacho made with grapes and almonds.  Say the month names if you want to, but there won’t be any sour grapes in your batch!!

If you want to make or keep a little chunk of change this coming year, you’ve gotta eat for it.  Tradition says that you should eat cabbage on New Year’s Day if you want prosperity for the coming year.  Your bunch will be the wealthiest on the block when you make our “not just cabbage” recipes.  They are so easy and delicious, the cash will be just an added  bonus!

Black eyed peas are a holiday staple on New Year’s Day.  They symbolize luck, humility, prosperity…all things that never hurt to have a little extra of.  If you want a traditional-style dish, you can check out our Southern Black Eyed Peas. We’ll be making our peas in a slightly more gourmet style with this award winning recipe for Black Eyed Pea Hummus. It is so delicious when it is served with pita chips and some red pepper escalivada. Try it out - you’ll feel like your luck came early this year!

There is some nostalgia that comes along with eating canned cranberry sauce with it’s cylindrical shape and ribbed sides.  However, there is so much more to this condiment.  We have created a Persimmon and Cranberry relish that will blow that canned stuff out of the water.  Try it out by clicking here.

Oh, and if you just have to have the traditional cranberry, you can melt a small amount into the simmering liquid.  When it is cooled, the result will be a gourmet version of an old classic.

Here are some tips to get you ready for the big day of turkey roasting.

*The preferred way to prepare a turkey is to brine it first.  This will make for a super moist bird and decrease your cooking time by at least 30 minutes.  Click here to get our recipe.

*Leave the turkey out of the oven for at least 3 hours before cooking.  This will allow the bird to cook more evenly.

*Even though it looks pretty, stuffing a turkey is dangerous!  To cook the stuffing to a safe temperature, the turkey would overcook.

*Rather than using a roasting rack, lay a bed of mirepoix (carrot, celery and onion) down in the bottom of the roasting pan.  Also include the neck and wing tips of the turkey. This will keep your pan drippings from burning and flavor them well for the gravy.

*Don’t play the guessing game!  Keep an instant-read thermometer handy to check the temperature of the thigh joint.  Be sure that the thermometer probe is not touching the bone because this will cause a false read.  The dial will register at 165 degrees when it is cooked through.

Check out our full recipe for Roasted Turkey with Pan Gravy.