If you follow USDA recommendations 100% you will be 100% safe and doomed to terrible steaks and lamb chops. And in its effort to make one set of easy to understand rules, the government has oversimplified.

Here are some of the coolest tools I've tested over the past year. If there's an outdoor cook in your family, put any of these under the tree and you will eat better as a result.

The advantage of a roast is that it cooks artfully, gradually, and because of its size and fat composition resists overcooking or dryness. It is forgiving.

Food to me is all about comfort. The comfort of knowing that your heart is still beating and your clock is still ticking because you're hungry. And ...

Regardless of what cut of steak you cook, there are some basic tips and techniques that can raise your game, and when you master them, you will have your guests reeling in deliria.

Wave the flag, light the sparklers, and start the grill. Here are links to some recipes and tips on how to amp up your Fourth of July.

I got together with Chef Jamie Purviance to answer the kind of question that keeps steak lovers like us up all night: When is the best time to sear a steak, when you start cooking, or at the end of the cook?