Lifehacker

Throughout the culinary kingdom, there are many foods that pair famously well, with salt and pepper being perhaps the most iconic. These two grace nearly every dish, every recipe, every dining room table, and every restaurant table. But the two play very different roles. Salt is true seasoning. It heightens the...Read more...

I'm not being hyperbolic when I say salt is the most important seasoning of all time. It makes things taste salty, sure, but it also makes things taste like better versions the themselves, and more importantly, salt is a powerful preservative and natural anti-microbial. Long before refrigeration-all the way back to anc...Read more...

In all my years writing about food hacks," there is one that I wish I could eradicate from the internet entirely. It's the ol' Check How Done Your Steak Is by Touching Parts of Your Palm" trick, and it sucks, man. Thermometers are right there, and using one is the easiest, safest way to tell if your meat is done."Read more...

Believe it or not, adding a pinch of this, a handful of that, and a dash of the good stuff" all counts as measuring" your food; even if the unit of measurement is unique to you. There's nothing wrong with spontaneously exploring flavors and ingredients when whipping up a meal. That's part of the fun. It's when you...Read more...

Having a quality knife you can depend on is only half of the cutting equation. A knife needs to be maintained with honing and sharpening, but knife care extends to the cutting board. Cutting boards provide you with a large, stable surface for slicing and dicing, and they can make clean up a whole lot easier, but the...Read more...

Building your official grown-up kitchen involves selecting big ticket items-cast iron skillets, stainless steel pans, and a set of knives you treat like family-but don't forget about the little guys. Your utensil holder (that big cylinder from IKEA full of spatulas that sits next to your stove) has likely been overrun...Read more...

Whether you have no interest in baking, or can't wait to get your oven mitts dirty, you're going to need some solid baking gear. There's a huge range of fancy and fascinating tools, but most of it is only necessary if you plan on making a specific good. (My madeleine pan is currently collecting dust, poor thing)....Read more...

Nonstick cookware makes cooking easier, but it doesn't necessarily make cooking better. It doesn't sear as well as cast iron or stainless steel, its finicky finish is at odds with both the dishwasher and metal utensils, and Teflon has a reputation for being less than safe.

Stainless steel cookware is the journeyman of the kitchen. It quietly and competently does its job, without the need for pampering (like cast iron) or any public drama (like Teflon-coated nonstick). If cast iron is a flashy Leo who lives for praise, stainless steel is an efficient, self-assured Capricorn. (I'm not...Read more...

People love to get weird about cast iron pans. Some fear them, some fetishize them, but everyone has an opinion about them. Be not afraid: Cast iron is cheap and hard to permanently damage beyond repair. With a little know-how and a reasonable amount of care, it's one of the easiest (and most rewarding) pans to cook...Read more...

Hello, and welcome to The Grown-up Kitchen. While Allie and I usually focus on helping people cook better, smarter, and faster through tips, tricks, and (of course) hacks, we're getting back to basics here, and giving true culinary beginners the attention they deserve.

If you're looking for the Connections answer for Friday, October 13, 2023, read on-I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for October 13, NYT Connections #124! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today's...Read more...

In this homecoming game, Penn State's Nittany Lions are hosting Umass' Minutemen in a cross-conference game. This is only the second time these teams have ever faced each other, and it seems tailor made for returning alumni who want to see Penn destroy another team. The spread is a massive 42.5 points in Penn's favor,...Read more...

The imaginatively named Utah Utes are hosting the California Golden Bears this weekend at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Both teams are coming from losses last week with scores that highlight each team's strength-Cal went down 52-40 and Utah was beaten 21-7, so it's offense versus defense, Utah's immovable...Read more...

Uggs are ubiquitous in the winter, though they cycle from being actually-trendy to ironic-trendy and back again pretty regularly. Regardless, the sheepskin boots and slippers are a staple-albeit one that gets pretty dirty in all the slush and salt. Uggs sells a cleaning kit, but after dropping all that money on the...Read more...

The concept of finding a hack that makes your life easier or cheaper is especially tempting when it comes to cleaning your house-and TikTok is full of such advice. But many of the cleaning hacks" you find there feature superficial results, basic misinformation or disinformation, and the sad state of STEM education in...Read more...

I can say without fear of contradiction that this Saturday's game between USC and Notre Dame will be the most dramatic football contest since Knute Rockne's inspirational win one for the Gipper" halftime speech in 1928.

Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, the broth-soaked bread dish is a Thanksgiving must-have. Though it's not advisable to stuff the turkey with anything, it's commonly agreed upon that stuffing" is usually made with a white bread of some kind-usually sandwich bread or sourdough-and that the bread should be...Read more...

The Ohio State Buckeyes travel to West Lafayette, Indiana this Saturday with the intention of thrashing the outmatched Purdue Boilermakers.

Even though the Colorado Buffaloes won their game against ASU last week by three, according to coach Deion Sanders, the team was playing like hot garbage."

YouTube is perhaps the best place on the internet to kick back, relax, and watch free long-form videos for hours on end. And whether you're trying to watch a video during lunch, or stream something before bed, you don't want your browser coming between you and your entertainment.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Pixel 8 Pro are two of the biggest phones on the market right now, and both offer flagship experiences with impressive displays, solid designs, and fantastic performance. But if you're trying to choose between two of the best phones on the market, how do you pick one over the other?...Read more...

Right now, Woot is selling refurbished Ninja kitchen appliances for more than 50% off their original prices-and some for as little as $36. These deals all expire at 1 a.m. ET on Oct. 14 (if they don't see out first).

Memory is incredibly complex, which is probably why it's been studied and researched so much-and why researchers who make big discoveries about how it functions get phenomena named after them. A great example of this: the Von Restorff effect, which refers to our brains' acuity for remembering distinctive pieces of...Read more...

You can get all kinds of Chrome extensions and add-ons for Gmail that make inbox management and utility easier, but some of them are less useful than others. Before you waste space (and potentially money), let's go over some cheap ones that are actually helpful.

It happens with every console generation: After the world gets to know a PlayStation for a couple of years, Sony decides to refresh it with something lower profile: a slim" console, if you will.

Instagram's rival to X, formerly known as Twitter, is Threads. It's not quite the same as what Twitter used to be, but it has one thing in common with its biggest rival: You see a lot of nice photos and videos on Threads too. If you use Threads on Android, there's an easy way to download photos and videos from the app...Read more...

People with disordered eating and body image issues can often trace their experience to an early childhood doctor's appointment when their weight or size was characterized as a problem to solve. And whether you were prescribed diets as a child or not, you are right to want to protect your own children from the shame...Read more...

Back in the day, Mac OS X had a dedicated Dashboard for widgets, where you could add all sorts of nifty little interactive utilities. With the release of macOS Mojave in 2018, Apple finally laid the old system to rest, and did not replace it with anything. Sure, you could add widgets to the Notification Center, but...Read more...

Amazon has changed the way we live our lives, for better and for worse. Why go to a cellphone store to buy a new phone casewhen you have thousands of options at your fingertips that can be shipped to your house, often on the same day? Unfortunately, all those packages being whisked your way also means package thieves...Read more...

You've probably gotten a call like this a dozen times: An authoritative voice announces: I'm calling on behalf of the [YOUR TOWN] Fraternal Order of Police..." followed by a heartstring-pulling beg for donations to help the families of injured or killed police or firefighters, as well as a suggestion of special...Read more...

With many parents regularly going back into the office and kids back in school for the year, home life is largely back to its normal, hectic self. From getting to and from work to running kids to soccer practice, helping with homework, and putting a (healthy) meal on the table night after night feels like a pipe dream.Read more...

If you've ever had a painful injury or illness, or if you deal with chronic pain, you're probably familiar with the phenomenon of a flare up, in which your pain spikes. Not only is this pain uncomfortable, but it can also interfere with cognitive abilities and affect vision and other senses. These kinds of episodes...Read more...

With more than 60% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck and many folks unable to cover a $400 emergency like a car repair or surprise hospital bill, waiting for payday is a pain point for many. That helps explain why so many people turn to predatory payday loans in desperation: When your bills are due on Monday...Read more...

If you're looking for the Connections answer for Tuesday, October 10, 2023, read on-I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for October 10, NYT Connections #121! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today's...Read more...

If you're looking for the Connections answer for Thursday, October 12, 2023, read on-I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for October 12, NYT Connections #123! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today's...Read more...

Not every Amazon Prime Day deal is actually a deal, but some of them are legit. Like this one: Google's Pixel Buds A-Series, which were released earlier this year, are currently $59-40% off the regular price of $99, matching their lowest price ever, according to Camelcamelcamel's price history.

It's the final day of Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days, but there are still bargains to be had-particularly for you neat freaks out there. If cordless stick vacuums are too much work and you'd rather let a robot take over, you have many options to choose from, some of them up to 52% off. Here are Amazon's best deals on...Read more...

If you're looking for a new vacuum and the Dyson cordless vacuum deals don't tickle your fancy (or fit into your budget), consider a serviceable knockoff. These Dyson dupe vacuums, are about half the price of the real thing" during Amazon's October Prime Day sale. They may not have the fancy branding, but they have...Read more...

Whether you're thinking of making your first smart light purchase, or you're looking to add more lights to your smart home, Amazon's October Prime Day has a few great deals you should know about.

If you're in the market for a smart doorbell, you know there are many options out there, especially once discount season kicks in. For this October Prime Day, there are a handful of excellent deals you should know about:

Good coffee begins with good coffee beans, but it doesn't end there: You've also got to know how to do the brew. Before you can brew your beans well, you've got to grind them to perfection-which means you need a good coffee grinder. And right now, you can get my favorite grinder for $80-20% off the list price-during...Read more...

Whether it's time to replace your old earbuds or to buy a pair for the first time, Amazon's October Prime Day event has some decent deals on budget earbuds and pricier models alike.

The jury is still out on whether smart locks are more secure than your standard deadlock, but if you've been waiting to suss it out on your own, today is a good day to grab one.Read more...

While Amazon is featuring a number of security camera deals for October Prime Day, it makes sense that the best deals are for Blink, an Amazon brand. If Blink cameras sucked, I'd recommend others, but the fact is, they don't. They are consistent, easy to install, well-priced, and easy to use.

If you're looking to pick up an Android smartwatch, Amazon's October Prime Day could be a good time to do so. The company has tons of smartwatches available for discounted prices, but one of the best discounts you'll find is on the original Google Pixel Watch, which is currently 40% off.Read more...

Garmin's watches are the most popular smartwatches for runners, and with good reason: They have accurate GPS, they collect statistics that runners care about, and they're designed to be convenient to use while you're running-hitting real buttons, for example, instead of trying to swipe a screen with your sweaty...Read more...

Two of Samsung's biggest flagship devices are on sale during today's Amazon's October Prime Day event. The Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 were both released this year, and you can save up to $400 on the two devices right now.

Smartphones and their excellent video cameras make it second-nature to press record any time we want to share a moment with others. But it's a bummer when you play back your recording, only to hear nothing but the sounds of traffic instead of the street performer, or to find that a windy day completely covers up your...Read more...

I use my air fryer more than my oven, mainly because I'm rarely feeding more than two people at a time, and heating up the Big Oven to cook a couple servings of roasted vegetables seems like overkill. But casseroles and braises don't fit in the air fryer, which means I'll be turning on the oven quite a bit in the next...Read more...