Cooking

Is the cost of your cookware leaving you with no funds for food? Celebrity chefs endorse expensive lines of kitchen tools, but you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment to create a delicious meal. We asked the experts which items warrant a splurge, and which are simply overpriced.

Labor Day has gained a multitude of meanings over the years, but for people who love to grill, it's a warning that the days of lighthearted cookouts are dwindling. So why waste it on the same old fare? For less money (and just a little more time) you can build the kind of cookout memories that will keep you warm through the long, cold winter.

Walk into any Whole Foods Market and you are met with an array of vibrantly colored vegetables, leafy greens and barrels of fruit: The store is an emporium to healthy eating. Now, the company is wading deeper into the preventative health care market with member's only Wellness Clubs.

Since the economy went bland, Americans have been trying to spice things up at home, and they're pouring on a lot of sauce to do it. Sales of cooking sauces have risen 20% between 2005 and 2010, according to a new report from market research firm Mintel.

Americans are still pinching pennies, and some of that budget cutting is happening in our kitchens. But spending less on food doesn't have to mean sacrificing quality or taste. Centuries of effort in cultures around the world has gone into creating delicious, inexpensive and surprisingly healthy peasant cuisines.

Americans are returning to indulging in specialty foods the way they did before the recession, and they'll likely make big purchases of these affordable luxuries during the holidays. A recent survey showed 63% of American consumers purchased specialty food this year, up from 46% in 2009.

For many college students, gourmet cooking is a rare occasion, if it's ever an occasion at all. Money's an issue, dorm kitchens are small (or nonexistent) and cooking instruments are lacking. And so college kids rely on fast food, cafeteria grub and microwaveable dinners to get by. But it doesn't...

With colder weather on the way, it's time to cook up some heartier fare. Alexandra Guarnaschelli (right), executive chef of Manhattan's Butter and star of Food Network's Alex's Day Off, shares a delicious recipe of chicken and tomatoes that hits the spot on a chilly day. Braised chicken thighs...

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