Gas Burner (photo by Michael Connors, courtesy of morguefile.com)

"Of all the ingredients in the kitchen, the most common is also the most mysterious...It’s heat." So begins an excellent article by Harold Magee in the New York Times on better cooking through the efficient and proper use of heat.

Every cook has experienced the consequences of getting it wrong; soggy vegetables, chewy meat, cruchy beans, limp pasta, etc. Mr. Magee's article serves as a terrific primer for avoiding disappointing results and high utility bills. He even offers tips on getting great dishes to the table at their best; warming the plates for one.

If you'd like to read the New York Times article cited above go to: The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen