“A joy that’s shared is a joy made double.” -American Proverb

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day.
Click here to view videos 1-4.

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day. Check back tomorrow for the last video!

Click here to view videos 1-3.

Considering that a manicure generally lasts 6 or 7 days tops, the cost of nail maintenance can start adding up. And if you decide to save money by going the cut-rate nail salon route, you’re also increasing the likelihood of encountering questionable sanitary practices. So maybe try it on your own with help from Ji Baek’s Rescue Your Nails, which gives 9 steps to a professional polish. And while admittedly a self-polish is difficult at first, with a little practice, you can enjoy picture-perfect nails, and extra cash in your pocket. Nothing wrong with that.

So pick out your color and get started:

1. First make sure your hands are free of any nail polish. Soak a cotton pad in nail polish remover and firmly swipe away any polish or residue that may be lingering.

2. Repeat step one. The chemicals in the remover lift off any oils that remain on your nails. They should look dull and dry.

3. If you’re using a base prep coat, apply it now to each finger, avoiding the cuticle area.

4. Apply a thin layer of base coat to each finger, one hand at a time, and let it dry completely, which can take up to 3-5 minutes.

5. Once the base coat is dry, position your polish within easy reach, and as you remove the brush, bend it against the lip of the bottle to squeeze out any excess color. There shouldn’t be any visible drips.  Using wide, even strokes from base to tip, thinly coat your nails. Don’t worry if you get some color on your cuticles, you can fix it later. Once dry, repeat the process.

6.  When your color has dried completely, apply a layer of topcoat to each finger. Let it dry completely.

7. Dip the end of a cotton swab in nail polish remover and carefully get rid of any imperfections.

8. Wait. Don’t touch anything until your nails are completely dry – 20 minutes would be ideal.

9. Go ahead and admire your new shiny nails!

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day. Check back tomorrow for the fourth video!

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day. Check back tomorrow for another!

All creatures great and small…we want jokes for them all! Your joke could win you a copy of the NEW 2011 Animal Crack-Ups Page-A-Day Calendar!

Animal Crack-ups is good, clean fun for the whole family, and we need YOU to fill it with your best animal jokes! Each page of the calendar will feature an animal joke, along with an irresistible photo of that animal cracking up.

From elephants and tigers to bears and penguins, no creature is too obscure and no joke too corny. The only requirement is that the humor be family-friendly—and the more original the joke, the better! For inspiration check out these standard-bearers of silliness:

Kangaroo: I hate April!
Wallabee: Why?
Kangaroo: It rains so much, the kids have to play inside!

What happens when 50 rabbits hop backwards at the same time?
You get a receding hare line.

Post a comment below with your joke and email address for a chance to win! We’re looking for jokes that emcompass the entire animal kingdom, from monkeys and dogs to hippopotamuses and lizards—even the occasional llamas and hyenas—and everything in between. All we need are jokes to go with them! All submissions must be made by December 31, 2009. If we use your joke, you’ll get a free copy of the 2011 Animal Crack-Ups Page-A-Day calendar!

Read the official contest rules here

Chef Thomas Keller talks about his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home. Ad Hoc at Home is filled with family-style home-cooking recipes and Keller’s perfected versions of classic comfort foods.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Put another way, one kid’s nasty pair of kicks is another kid’s rubbery playground surface.

Inspired by the hundreds of no-cost ways to make a difference featured in How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist,  we decided to do our own small act of no-cost giving and hold a sneaker drive.  At the end of the week, we had collected a whopping 130 beat up, stinky, too tight, too old sneakers. 

The sneakers  were for the Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe program which recycles the sneakers into Nike Grind, a rubbery material used in athletic surfaces like running tracks, basketball courts and playgrounds. Nike has donated Nike Grind to 300 sport and playground surfacing projects across the country.

The picture above doesn’t do the pile justice.  It took three people toting four huge garbage bags through the hot, crowded streets of midtown to get them to the Niketown store.

It may not be John D. Rockefeller’s brand of philanthropy, but then again, the scientists of his day never found a clever way to recycle top hats.

John D. Rockefeller contemplates the merits of a Standard Oil spats drive

Watch yourself…If you’ve ever accidentally touched your eye after chopping habaneros, you know the pain. Capsaicin, the alkaloid that makes chiles hot, is the same one that’ll make you feel like you’re going blind.  So just avoid the danger in the first place, by wearing gloves when handling chiles – and don’t rub your eyes! When you’re working, or cooking with them, try to keep your face as far away as possible. If you do get a little too close, here are a few ways to alleviate the burning:

• If you burn your hands, coat them in vegetable oil and rub for about 30 seconds and then wash with a strong detergent and water.  Or you can rub the burning area with isopropyl alcohol and follow with a salve, such as Preparation H.

• When you burn your mouth or tongue, eat a thick dairy product like cream, sour cream, yogurt, or ice cream and swirl it around in your mouth before swallowing.

• If you get capsaicin in your eyes flush with eyedrops, keep blinking, flush some more, and wait. It may feel excruciating, but it’ll pass.

For more from The Complete Chile Pepper Book, check previous posts with the Pickled Peppers recipe and How to Pickle