Panforte - Learn all about this Italian confection (a round, flat cake) that is a cross between fruitcake, candy, and honey cakes.
 

Pans: Non-Reactive Pan vs. Reactive Pan - What is a non-reactive pan?

Baking Dish and Pan Sizes - How to substitute different pans sizes
 

Pantry - How to stock a pantry - A well-stocked pantry

Pantry Organizations - Managing Your Extra Stables
What’s the solution for storing extra condiments and staples?

New Year’s Resolutions Should Start in the Pantry
Open your pantry and you’ll be opening the key to keeping some of your New Year’s resolutions. Are you planning to get fit? Are you hoping to lose weight? Do want your family to be healthier? If you answered yes, then join the crowd. Those are some of the top ten New Year’s Resolutions. To keep those, you need to add one more. Another of the top ten promises is to get organized.

Food Storage Chart - Shelf Life of Foods - Storage does not improve the quality of any food. The quality of a food will also not decrease significantly during storage as long as the food is stored properly and used within the recommended time frame.
 

Pasta Hints and Tips - Hints & tips on cooking pasta.
 

Pastie or Pasty - The identifying feature of the Cornish pasty is really the pastry and it’s crimping. When pasties are being made, each member of the family has their initials marked at one corner.

Pavlova, Meringue Cake - There is a controversary with both Australia and New Zealand. While it has been suggested this dessert was created in New Zealand, it has also become recognized as a popular Australian dish.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich - Peanut butter and jelly are considered staples in Americans' kitchen. Learn about the favorite sandwich of American children.
 

Peggy's Baking Corner - Cooking tutorials, with photos, of making your own beautiful cakes, cookies, frostings, and even cookie cutters by Peggy Weaver.

4th of July Top Hat Cake
Baptismal/Christening Cake
Chocolate Amaretto Snowball Cake
Crop Circle Cake
Ear of Corn Cupcakes
Dogwood Cake
Easter Egg Cake
Father's Day Tie Cake
Gingerbread Cookies
Make your own Cookie Cutters and Gumpaste Cutters
Mother's Day Triangle Cake
Ski Slope Cake
Snowflake Cookies
Sunflower Cupcakes
Valentine's Day Cake

Pepper, Peppercorns - Along with salt, pepper is on nearly every table. Historically significant, pepper is the most common spice in use. Nutritionally beneficial and medicinally positive, pepper offers a unique flavor and a variety of uses. It is the third most common ingredient behind water and salt.  There are a variety of peppercorns commonly used.

Brazilian Pink Peppers - What are Brazilaian Pink Peppers?
 

Philadelphia Cheese Steak - A cheese steak sandwich is not really a steak at all – it is a sandwich made with chipped steak, steak that has been frozen and sliced really thin) and cooked on a grill top. Learn about Philadelphia's famous sandwich.

Perfectly Planned Picnics - The hard part of all this outdoor dining, besides the no-see-ums, is all that organizing. To make picnicking and outdoor dining easier, I created a checklist which I keep in my picnic basket. I’ve added it here to make your summer more organized.

Golden Rules of Food Safety
IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT! If you have any question in your mind about the freshness or safety of eating a food product, throw it out. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Picnic Safety Tips - There is nothing more American than the picnic. Picnics can take on many forms, such as the community picnic, friends and neighbors, tailgate parties, or ball games. There is also one sure thing at every picnic-lots of good food. The important point is to have safe and healthy food, not food that can cause food borne illness. Always prepare and store food properly.

Summer Safety Tips  - Summer is the time for barbecues and picnics. The biggest party crasher at summer picnic and buffets is food borne bacteria. You can't see them, you can't taste them - but you sure can feel them if illness occurs hours or days later.

Tips on Packing your Cooler - Coolers are wonderful for family outings. A day at the beach, the park, a sporting event or even a trip to an amusement park. If you are going on a long trip, it's best to bring one cooler for beverages/drinks and a separate cooler for food. The reason is because beverage coolers are opened frequently, allowing cold air to escape. Coolers with food will stay colder longer because it will be opened less frequently. Depending on the length of your trip/day out, a separate cooler with extra ice will help you to replenish ice in food and beverage coolers.
 

Pies - The first pies, called "coffins" or "coffyns" were savory meat pies with the crusts or pastry being tall, straight-sided with sealed-on floors and lids. Read about the interesting story and history of Pies.

Pies: Perfect Pie Crust Recipe - The perfect pie crust is both tender and flaky, It is tender enough to bite easily and it is also flaky so that distinct layers of dough are clearly visible. There are more than one type of pie crust that different bakers swear by. In fact, bakers will swear by their favorite recipes. 

Pie Crust Hints and Tips - Additional hits and tips for making the perfect pie crust.
 

Pizza - History, legends and lore of pizza.

Plum Pudding - Why is Plum Pudding called Plum Pudding when there are no plums in it?

Poaching vs. Simmering vs. Boiling - The difference between poaching, simmering, and boiling is just a matter of temperature degrees.
 

Po' Boy, Submarine, Hoagie, Dagwood, Italian Sandwiches - These sandwiches are known by various names depending on where you live in this country. Some of those names include: Submarine, Heros, Hoagie, Grinder, Po' Boy, Rocket, Torpedo, Dagwood, Hero, Zepplin, and Italian Sandwich. These are king-sized sandwich on a loaf of bread approximately 12 inches long and 3 inches wide, filled with various cold cuts and many different trimmings.
 

Poke (Hawaiian) - Poke (pronounced POH-kay) is served in most Hawaiian homes and restaurants as a side dish, and no gathering in Hawaii would be complete without a few bowls of poke. In Hawaiian, poke means "cut piece" or "small piece." Poke is bite-size pieces of raw fish doused in seasonings. Poke is actually the Hawaiian version of the elegant Japanese sashimi (a combining of the Hawaiian and Japanese taste for raw fish). The fish for poke is sometimes even lightly seared or fried. Learn about the history and enjoy the recipe included.
 

Pomelo/Pummelo - The pummelo is an exotic large citrus fruit that is an ancient ancestor of the common grapefruit. Learn all about this unusual fruit.

Popcorn - Caramel Corn. Cracker Jacks & Popcorn Balls. Learn about the history.

Potatoes - The "Great Famine" or also called the "Great Starvation" in Ireland was caused because the potato crop became diseased. Learn more about potatoes.

Perfect Baked Potato - Any potato can be baked, but for the perfect baked potato with the desired flaky texture, it is recommended that mature, baking-type potatoes such as the Russet be used.

Making Perfect Mashed Potatoes - NEVER use a blender or food processor to make mashed potatoes. There are starch packets inside the potato cells and the blender blades rip right through them, releasing the starch and this makes the potatoes into library paste.

History of Potatoes

Poultry Dishes - History of different poultry dishes.

Advice On Stuffing A Turkey Safely
Brining Poultry
Green Chicken Liver
Freezing Turkeys, Frozen Turkey Safety
Making Perfect Turkey Gravy
Making Turkey Stock
Chicken Divan - Pronunciation & Definition
Roasting a Turkey Guidelines
Shrinkage When Cooking Chicken
Smoked Turkey Tips
Thanksgiving Planning - Stress-Free Thanksgiving

Pound Cake - The name comes from the fact that the original pound cakes contained one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Read about the history of this cake.

 

Prime Rib - Chart for Roasting Prime Rib - Learn how to prepare, cook, and serve the perfect prime rib roast for your family and friends.



 

Pumpkin Pie - Early American settlers made pumpkin pie by filling a hollowed out shell with milk, honey and spices, then baking it in hot ashes. Learn about this favorite American holiday pie.
 

Purchase and Use a Good Instant-Read Thermometers -

Cooking or meat thermometers take the guesswork out of cooking, as they measures the internal temperature of your cooked meat and poultry, or any casseroles, to assure that a safe temperature has been reached, harmful bacteria have been destroyed, and your food is cook perfectly. A cooking or meat thermometer should not be a "sometime thing." Use it every time you prepare foods like poultry, roasts, hams, casseroles, meat loaves and egg dishes.