Inside's ultimate kitchen guide

How to keep leftovers fresh
Vicky Getty, director of the didactic program in dietetics at the HPER, says the key to leftovers is getting them cooled down quickly. Bacteria grow quickest between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, and food shouldn’t be kept at that temperature for more than two hours. To reduce the temperature quickly, food should be separated into small containers. Just putting it in the fridge, Getty says, won’t do, because a large portion-size of hot food won’t cool quick enough to be healthy.
Extra tip: Spaghetti and meat sauce can be stored together in the fridge and reheated with a little bit of water over the stove or in the microwave. It lasts for three to four days.

How to organize your fridge
After waking to the joy of sour milk or stinky cheese, do not fear. It’s not too late to give your refrigerator a makeover that will make your life simpler and odor-free.
Getty says fridges should be organized from top-to-bottom with foods that don’t get cooked (like fruits and veggies) on the highest shelves and meats on bottom. This way, the juices from the meats don’t spill on things that won’t be properly cooked. Fit the beverages wherever you can. And as for those pesky eggs, the safest place is probably on the bottom shelf, so they stay cool and can’t crack onto anything else. But if all else fails, Getty says, the door is acceptable, unless you have it open much of the time.
Extra tip: To get crumbs out of a toaster, switch the latch at the bottom of the appliance. Empty it over a trash can, and out go the crumbs.

How to match wine with a meal
Butler Winery’s co-owner Susan Butler says wine functions as a palate cleanser to make food taste better,
so pairing the right wine with the right meal is very important. White wines go well with white meats and white sauce pastas, and red wines should be coupled with red meats and red sauce pastas. If it has an oak tint from an oaken barrel, it goes better with spicier, heartier dishes, while light-bodied dry reds are best with less spicy foods and in warmer climates. Never drink dessert wines with a meal because of their higher alcohol and sugar contents; they fit nicely with sharp cheeses or fresh fruit, Butler says. One of her favorites is the black currant wine, a drink made of an Indiana fruit that tastes delicious paired with dark chocolate, she says.
Extra tip: Butler says the best way to choose wine is with experience, and she encourages students to attend a free wine tasting instead of blindly guessing in a grocery store aisle.

How to scramble an egg
Break the egg into a bowl, and beat it with a fork. Add a little milk – about one tablespoon of milk per egg – and pour the mixture into a pan with oil or margarine.
Extra tip: Poaching eggs is no longer advised, Getty says, because the egg is not cooked at a high enough temperature. Even a runny yolk is not suggested because the yolk doesn’t coagulate. About one in 20,000 eggs is contaminated with salmonella.

How to clean an oven
Although there are many oven-cleaning products on the market, Getty says the best and most “eco-friendly” way to
clean that oven before your lease runs out is with a good old-fashioned Brillo pad. It’s easiest to clean an oven when it’s warm (not hot) because when it’s cold, spillage is harder to remove.
Getty says to reduce making messes in the oven in the first place, put your dish of choice on top of a cookie sheet while it’s in the oven. That way, if it overflows, you just need to wash the cookie sheet, not the whole oven.
Extra tip: To get stains out of teapots and coffeepots, boil vinegar and water inside them before washing them.

How to make stir-fry
You don’t need a wok to make tasty stir-fry. First, cook thin strips of meat in a pan. Set the meat to the side, and cut up vegetables into small, thin slices, Getty says. INside suggests baby corn, snow peas, and bamboo shoots. Then, put a drop of oil in a pan – just enough so the vegtables don’t go dry – and boil it. Fry the vegetables for a few minutes in an uncovered pan, making sure not to let them absorb all the oil so they don’t lose nutritional value. The vegetables should be soft but not limp. Then, put the meat back in the pan, and add any spices at the end – try salt, pepper, red pepper, thyme, or sage.
Extra tip: Steaming and microwaving are about equally healthy ways to prepare foods, but Getty says microwaving isn’t as “good for the quality taste-wise.”

How to bake a campfire cobbler
Michael Valliant, a graduate advisor at IU Outdoor Adventures, says he eats as well while he's camping as he does at home, including desserts after dinner. One of his favorite dishes is peach cobbler made over an open campfire. Mix a packet of Bisquick with syrup from canned peaches until it becomes thick in a cast-iron fry-bake pan. In a separate container, mix more Bisquick with less syrup and cinnamon-sugar. Pour the second mixture over the first, so it becomes the crust of the cobbler. Put it over the campfire or some coals until golden-brown.

How to hiker's tuna salad
Vicki Basman, a chief of interpretation for the division of state parks and reservoirs, says when she and her daughters hiked the Grand Canyon, a family favorite snack was tuna salad. Pack foil packets of tuna fish, small packets of mayonnaise and relish (like the kind found in restaurants). Mix these simple ingredients together the first few days of the hike before resorting to dry foods. Basman says because it provides a great source of protein and it's easy-to-carry, it makes it a perfect meal for the trail.