Searching for quick and easy dinner recipes, cocktail ideas for this weekend's soirée or crowd-pleasing entertaining tips for upcoming company? Find everything a master-chef-in-training needs to know from must-have kitchen tools, answers to your most common cooking questions, and mouth-watering recipes that even your mother-in-law will love!

With Valentine's Day just days away, you and your honey may be planning a romantic meal together at home. Good news: Even kitchen novices will be able to perfectly prepare these delicious steamed mussels in a light tomato and fennel broth from The Beach House Cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
2 shallots, minced
1/2 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, juice reserved
2 saffron threads
Freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded, and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and fennel and saute until softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the wine and the tomatoes and their juice, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Add the saffron and pepper to taste and simmer An additional 10 minutes. (The broth can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen up to 1 month.) Return the broth to a boil over high heat. Add the mussels and parsley, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and let the mussels steam until they open, about 5 minutes. (Discard any that do not open.) Spoon the mussels and broth into large soup bowls and serve at once.

Excerpted from The Beach House Cookbook by Barbara Scott-Goodman. Copyright © 2005, Chronicle Books.

Click here for more V-Day recipes.
Click here to search the recipe finder.

Photo by Maxine Clark Italian Kitchen

I know it seems odd to describe a meal as "relaxing," but something about the photo of this pizza bianca from Maxine Clark's Italian Kitchen puts me at ease. It's probably the pizza's all-white palette due to the lack of tomato sauce. No matter what effect the photo has on you, the pizza is sure to taste delicious if you make it for dinner tonight.

Makes: 1 medium crust pizza

Ingredients
1/2 recipe Basic Pizza Dough, making just 1 ball of dough
3 1/2 oz. buffalo mozzarella or cow's milk mozzarella
A handful of small sage leaves
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
Put the testo or large, heavy baking sheet on the lower shelf of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 F for at least 30 minutes.

Lightly squeeze any excess moisture out of the mozzarella, then slice it and put it on paper towels for 5 minutes to absorb any remaining moisture.

Uncover the pizza dough, punch out the air, and roll or pull it into a 10-inch diameter circle directly onto nonstick baking parchment. Slide this onto the pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Arrange the mozzarella evenly over the pizza base, leaving a 1/2-inch rim around the edge. Scatter the sage over the cheese, then season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Working quickly, open the oven door and slide both paper and pizza onto the hot testo or baking sheet. If you are brave, try to shoot the pizza into the oven so that it leaves the paper behind – this takes practice!

Bake for 5 minutes, then carefully slide out the baking parchment. Bake the pizza for a further 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Click here for pizza recipes.
Click here to search the recipe finder.

Your nest may be all set for the game-day party, but are you? Even if you haven’t exactly been keeping up with every touchdown this year, your guests don’t need to know.

Here are the basics: The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts will be playing in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday. And for the non-football-loving hostess, our cheat sheets can help you catch up on the season and keep the conversation going with your guests --between the halftime show and commercials, of course.

Click here to get started!

Photo by Dad's Awesome Grilling Book

Yesterday, we brought you Saints fans a New Orleans-themed recipe, so this one's for you, Colts-supporters. It's hard to find a food that represents Indianapolis, but according to this blog, Indy residents seem to have a resounding love of sandwiches. That's why our pick for you Colts fans to serve at your Super Bowl party are these savory roast beef sandwiches from Dad's Awesome Grilling Book. If you want to go the pork tenderloin route (the other cuisine of choice in Indianapolis), try any one of the seven great loin recipes we have in our recipe finder.

Makes: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients
1/3 cup steak sauce, plus more for serving
1/4 cup bottled Italian dressing
2 pounds top round steak, cut 1 1/2 inches thick
4 soft rolls, or 8 slices white bread

Preparation
In a small bowl, combine the steak sauce and Italian dressing. Coat the steak with half the marinade and set aside while you light the grill.

Prepare enough coals for a two-tiered fire, hot on one side, medium on the other, or preheat your gas grill on high on one side and medium on the other for 10 minutes with the lid closed.

Grill the steak on the hot side of the grill for 4 minutes, until it is nicely browned. Turn and cook for 4 minutes more.

Brush the steak liberally with some of the remaining marinade, turn, and transfer to the medium side of the grill. Cook for 4 more minutes, then brush again with the marinade. Turn and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until it reaches 135°F on a meat thermometer for medium-rare. Turn the beef several times to cook it evenly, and brush liberally with the reserved marinade during the last few minutes.

Let the meat rest for 10 minutes, then cut it across the grain into the thinnest slices you can. Place a few slices of meat on the bottom half of each split roll or on 4 slices of bread. Pour any drippings into the bowl with the remaining marinade, and spread some on the top half of the roll or the top slice of bread. Serve the sandwiches with steak sauce.

Click here for more party-pleasing recipes.
Click here to search the recipe finder.

If you’re an armchair quarterback, sitting around drinking brews and sodas and chowing down on fatty wings, chips, and dips won’t help you make the cut. Score a nutritional touchdown and serve some healthy snacks while rooting your team on to victory.

Click here for healthy, football-friendly fare.