Q. How do I get a really good edge on an expensive knife? ~ Dave F., Denver.

Q. Why is it that our 100 percent Sangiovese benefits from aeration: tight at first, within 15 minutes its aromas are on full show? Our super-Tuscan, which is the very same Sangiovese blended with a little Cabernet, doesn’t need aeration at all. Michaela Rodeno, Napa’s Villa Ragazzi winery.

Q. One thing about [your] “Short History of French Fries,” what about people using vegetable oil? . . . It is all processed with hexane. . . . Just wondering what you think about that. Patricia R., Denver.

I had saved the Three Sacred Sisters Salad recipe when you ran it once before, pulled it out a couple of days ago, and wondered if I could get by with it as a main dish for dinner.

Wondering if you have a suggestion for a cut of meat for steak sandwiches and a prep method for the meat.

Q. [In his recipe for ratatouille,] My chef friend Jean Claude Cavalera . . . recommends cooking each ingredient separately to really bring out the individual flavors before mixing them. What do you think of that approach?

Q. What about freezing whole tomatoes to use during the winter months? 

Q. We’re out at a restaurant with a group of friends and, of course, everyone is ordering different foods. But I’ve been asked to pick out a couple of bottles of wine for the table. Help! Jim F., Denver.

Q. “Thanks for sharing and keeping us cooking with your recipes.  How about once in a while indicating a good wine to drink with your dishes?”

Q: Any pointers on “grilling salmon or swordfish?. . . . I grill to medium temp, cooked through but warm moist center. But mine not always moist.” ~ Dennis.

“Help! I am a newcomer to Colorado, and to its higher elevation. I find baking cakes and cooking pasta so different here, even difficult. Any suggestions?”

“My low-carb diet is succeeding so far, but I'm particularly eager to have some options that work for my diet and are tasty, too!”

“I want an oil to sauté with, and if possible, roast veggies. . . . Do you have a grocery store brand you could recommend?”

Happy Birthday to Us! As of March 2024, this site is one year old. Here are the Top Fives from 12 months of clicks and hits. Photo from Isabella Fischer on unsplash

“What the heck can I do with an almost full bottle of fish sauce?”

“How do you cook a baked potato? And how would you make it a main course for an easy dinner?”

“I  have been really sick with a viral infection, Any soup recipes hanging around in your files?”

“Do you have a recipe for seafood broth for the Cioppino?”

“I'm intrigued with Basque recipes that the common people in Basque country cook.”

“Who first ate the artichoke? I mean, look at the thing.”