The unofficial start of the grilling season is just around the corner, and I for one cannot wait. Yes, I know in some places, the cold hasn’t quite relaxed its grip just yet, and in other places, it’s been grilling season since 1983. But still. There’s just something exciting about being able to grill with everyone else. Perhaps cooking over fire outdoors is both primal and communal.

Every year, after going through a winter that makes grilling outside impossible, I look forward to the day I can finally lift that heavy grill over off. But I always do it with a bit of trepidation, wondering what I might discover underneath. Did my husband remember to clean the grates properly before throwing the cover on? Did we perhaps get surprised by the first snowstorm and inadvertently cover the grill with food still inside? Will I find my long lost pair of tongs in there? Will I be greeted by that orange monster, rust?

Of course, I’m being melodramatic. We never leave food in the grill, so I don’t know why images of moldy cobs of corn and hockey-puck burgers on black crusted grates dance in my mind. I’ve also never found utensils left inside accidentally. (I should have been a surgeon.) But the cleaning-before-storing part? That’s real. I watch too many food shows and have grate envy. Their grills look so nice and smooth, and when they rub that piece of paper towel dipped in oil all over, the paper towel still looks clean! How do they do it?

So to prepare ourselves for what I hope to be a long season of outdoor cooking and al fresco dining, let’s make sure our equipment is in good shape and looking its best.

What are your favorite grill cleaning tips?

My husband does most of the grilling around here, and my pet peeve is those grates. I look at them and all I want to do is take a brush and Baker’s Joy and make them all shiny and new again. But as I researched grill cleaning tips online, I read that you actually want that black crud on your grates after cooking. Minus any large pieces of food, of course. Apparently, that coating around the grates protects their seasoning in between grilling sessions, and it also adds an extra barrier against rust. The time to clean it up is before grilling, not after. Who knew! (Anytime someone gives me permission to NOT clean, I obey.)

I’ve also seen people clean their grates with a thick disc (about 1-inch thick) of fresh onion pierced with the pointy end of a grilling fork. Once the grill has been preheated, the onion is rubbed all over the grates. Supposedly, acid from the onion helps clean and even disinfect the grates (especially if using a public grill), and it has the added bonus of adding a bit of flavor and making it smell like you already have something amazing cooking in there. I’ve never tried it, but it can’t hurt, right?

I have yet to tackle the outside of our grill, so I’m looking forward to all your cleaning tips. Share your (or your husband’s) favorite tips below!

It’s been quite a winter for many of us: storms, blizzards, arctic winds, freezing rain, and just about everything the season can throw at us. I’m telling you, it’s enough to bring on a serious case of cabin fever.

I thought we could all use some cheering up, and today’s Kitchen Talk will hopefully do just that. After all, laughter is the best medicine, right? (Or was it chocolate?) Our group therapy session starts right now and all you have to do is tell us:

What’s your most memorable kitchen mishap?

And by ‘memorable’ I mean worst, funniest, weirdest, or “so absurd it crosses into the realm of awesomeness.”

My story involves an aborted meal, destruction of beloved bakingware, and the possible inhalation of toxic fumes. How does one achieve that kind of widespread destruction? Just hurriedly stick a pan of lasagna into a hot oven and wait until an unholy smell permeates the kitchen. Then remember with horror that the pan was still tightly covered with plastic wrap. Not only will you manage to ruin dinner but you’ll also have to toss out the glass pan (who knew that stuff would be impossible to peel off?) and leave the house until that awful burnt-plastic smell dissipates.

Nanci’s mishap happened just this past Thanksgiving, when she painstakingly prepared turkey soup with the leftover bird. She put everything into the electric roaster, cooked it for about 6 hours, then put it out in the 20ºF night air to cool overnight. In the roaster. Which happened to be quite insulated. In the morning, she found still-lukewarm soup waiting for her, which she sadly had to discard.

Betsy shares, “I stuffed ungodly amounts of potato peels in my dad’s garbage disposal and broke it one Thanksgiving when my only responsibility was the potatoes. Shining moment.”

We all have our own shining moment and now we want to hear yours. Come on, we’re all friends here. Share those stories with us!

This holiday weekend, many of you will be enjoying the outdoors, hopefully with the notable absence of oppressive heat or menacing storms. The kids are off school, you’re off work, and it’s July. July, friends—smack in the thick of summer, with long days of sunlight, perfect for all kinds of backyard and front-yard and any-other-yard shenanigans.

We love picnics and outdoor barbecues because they fuel all that summer play without having to stop what you’re doing to head somewhere else for food. And picnic food is fun! Whether packing lunch for the whole family for an afternoon at the park, or a romantic basket for two as you sit and watch the fireworks together, there are so many ways to make a picnic more memorable. So tell us:

Do you have any tips for making a picnic extra special?

Maybe you have a signature dish that everyone looks forward to at picnics, or a favorite low-maintenance dish to pack. Or maybe you have a trick for packing and transporting the food. Perhaps you even have a special way of laying out the spread on a picnic table or on a pretty blanket on the ground, or favorite activities and games to play. Or maybe you have a few do-ahead tips to make the picnic extra special for you because it makes your work easier. Whatever it is, we want to hear it. Come share below!

These days, we’re all about the quick and easy: shirts that don’t need ironing, little robots that clean the floor (not that quick but definitely easy), dishes that clean themselves and walk themselves to the cupboards (quick and easy, just not reality yet). There’s no other season I truly appreciate quick and easy like summer. See, summer is when we have a constant parade of house guests, lovely friends and family who are in full-on vacation mode. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that full-on vacation mode means regular snack breaks.

I’m guessing summer snacking is big in many households too, so today’s Kitchen Talk topic will hopefully help us all. Tell us:

Do you have any favorite quick and easy (and healthy!) snack ideas?

My usual go-to is hummus, with these homemade almond crackers. A friend of mine dips baby gherkins (the sweet kind) in hummus, and that’s addictive too! Sometimes, when I’m in the mood for something cold and creamy, I’ll have a bowl of Greek yogurt (2% please) and drizzle some maple syrup over it. I also love the No-Bake Granola Bars in the photo above, as featured here in the Tasty Kitchen Blog.

How about you? Share your tips for easy, healthy summer snacks, and if you have a recipe link, feel free to include that too!

To kick off our celebration of the Three Many Cooks book, we'd like to ask you to share your "really good stuff" with us.

Tell us your favorite story about food and family, or friendship.

They say some parts of the country may be in for another brutal winter, which means we have a lot of cold mornings ahead of us. So today's Kitchen Talk will be all about warm meals to start off your day. Tell us:

What's your favorite thing to make when you need a warm breakfast?