Mad Genius Tips

If there's one thing we've learned fromFood & Wine’s resident Mad Genius Justin Chapple, it’s that the waffle iron is a vastly underappreciated dinner appliance. Use it to makewaffle iron hashbrownsorkimchi potato cakes.

“I thought there could be nothing better thanwaffle hash browns,” saysFood & WineDeputy Test Kitchen Editor Justin Chapple. “That is, until I added kimchi.”

In many kitchens the waffle iron is a sadly underused piece of equipment. “We go buy one thinking, ‘we’re makingwaffleson Sunday,’” says Senior Test Kitchen Editor Justin Chapple. “But then we don’t. And then we never do.” But just because you aren’t the waffle-making machine you thought you’d be is no reason to get rid of your waffle iron. Justin gives his a second life makingomelets—Denver omelets, specifically.

Food & WineMad Genius Justin Chapple is back this week to scare you straight. “Imagine this nightmare,” he says. “You’ve just spentallafternoon making whoopie pies and when you start to take them off the baking sheet…” He paints a grisly scene: “One by one, they’re crumbling, and they’re sticking, and they’re falling apart.”

Food & WineDeputy Test Kitchen Editor Justin Chapple is back this week with a bold claim: “The best muffins are covered in streusel.” However, according to our favorite Mad Genius, “there is a problem: if you get the streusel all over the pan, the minute it hits that hot oven it will start to caramelize.” The potential pitfalls of streusel—which, though delicious, is essentially a very burnable mix of flour, sugar and butter—might keep some people from putting forth the extra effort.

“It’s no secret that nonstick cooking spray comes in handy when you’re baking,” saysFood & WineDeputy Test Kitchen Editor Justin Chapple. “You can coat loaf pans, or pie plates, or even muffin tins.” But if you're not baking every single day, you may not need to use it all that often.

But no need for that can to sit on the shelf unused. There are plenty of non-pan coating ways to use cooking spray. Here are three Mad Genius Tips that prove cooking spray is one of the most versatile tools in your kitchen:

Food & Wine’s resident Mad Genius is back this week to address one of life’s many small inconveniences: olive pits. We always love those beautiful, big green olives that come in a bowl at a fancy wine bar, or an expensive jar of imported Kalamatas—but what if there was a way to make eating them just alittle bitless annoying?

“The last thing you want to do at your next party,” saysFood & WineDeputy Test Kitchen Editor Justin Chapple, “is get stuck mixing drinks all night.” If you’ve spent all that time planning the party, you shouldn’t also be forced to play bartender for all your friends. His solution? Mix up a giant bowl of punch beforehand! Large-format cocktails are huge these days (pun intended)—and they can be a secret weapon to make entertaining a lot less stressful.

Dealing with frozenhamburgermeat is unpleasant stuff. Just picture it: an impenetrable lump that never seems to fully defrost, no matter how hard you try. You put it in the fridge, run water over it, hack at it with an icepick—all to no avail. It happens every grilling season.

But you’re in luck—because you’ll never have to suffer those lumps again. Justin Chapple,Food & Wine’s Deputy Test Kitchen Editor and full-time Mad Genius, has a fix.

Justin Chapple,Food & WineTest Kitchen Deputy Editor and our residentMad Genius, is back with an offer you can’t refuse: “What if I told you I could make you love grilled cheese even more than you already do?”