No lost digits: It's one of the cardinal rules of kitchen safety. So keep your cutting board stable.

Chowhound Jed Kolko, a Chinese-food autodidact, lays out the process: Wash out your wok, put it over high heat till it smokes, oil it, and heat it again. You're looking for the shine that suggests a nonstick surface.

Author Amelia Saltsman wrote the book on farmers' markets; she's a reliable source for market etiquette.

Chowhound fayehess, also known as Faye Delicious of Blip.tv, shares her bag-and-freeze method.

Norbert Wabnig, owner of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, knows that sometimes you'll end up with more cheese than you can eat. Here's how to hold on to it a little longer.

Stephen Gibbs, executive chef of Hands On Gourmet, a team-building cooking event company based in San Francisco, teaches people to make their own mayonnaise all the time. He shows how to recycle a messed-up mayo into a perfect new batch.

For easy rolling and transportation of dough, Anita Chu, author of Field Guide to Cookies, uses Silpat baking mats.

Anita Chu, author of Field Guide to Cookies, suggests stepping up your cookie game by using browned butter in recipes (like blondies) that call for melted butter.

Chef Deborah Schneider, author of ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge, says that dried chiles need to be toasted before using them in recipes like her ancho chile salsa. (If you're cooking fresh peppers, check out this easy roasting method.)

Chef Deborah Schneider, author of ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge, makes her ancho chile salsa recipe, sharing important information along the way like how Mexican oregano is different from oregano you'd normally find at the grocery store.