Roast is to cook by the circulation of dry heat.  Roasting is almost always done in a shallow uncovered pan without added liquid so the food will brown and crisp. This is how poultry and large pieces of meat such as leg of lamb, prime rib, ham and so on are traditionally prepared.

Robin Robertson is a vegetarian cooking instructor and former chef. She has written numerous books, including Vegan Planet, Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, and The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook. She is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers. Her latest book is One-Dish Vegetarian Meals.

Chef Alan Kantor, MacCallumn House Restaurant (Mendocino, CA) defines Romesco Sauce: "A sauce made from the Catalan region of Spain, a region near the Pyrenees. It is very simple. I do it in the food processor with some toasted almonds, toasted garlic, serrano chilies, roasted red bell peppers, and roma tomatoes. Then we mix into that a little lemon, sea salt and olive oil. We serve it many ways - currently on our menu is served over grilled salmon."

Michael Ruhlman has authored six nonfiction books, including The Soul of a Chef and The Making of a Chef. He lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. His latest book is The Elements of Cooking.

Lorna Sass is an award-winning cook-book author whose groundbreaking Cooking Under Pressure is credited with reviving America's enthusiasm for the pressure cooker. She is also the author of Pressure Perfect and Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way. She and her collection of PCs reside on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Sauté is the prima ballerina of the frying techniques.  Use a small amount of fat over high heat and quickly fry thin tender pieces of food until golden.  Great for veal scallops and all kinds of fish. Sautéing is done in an open shallow pan known as a sauté pan.

Jennie Schacht is a culinary writer and consultant who has worked with Michael Chiarello and Napa-based "wedding cake baker to the stars" Sam Godfrey of Perfect Endings. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Her latest cookbook is The Wine Lover’s Dessert Cookbook.

Andrew Schloss is a well-known teacher, food writer, cookbook author, and food industry consultant. He lives in Pennsylvania. He has authored numerous cookbooks including Mastering the Grill.

Sally Schneider is the author of the award-winning cookbook A New Way to Cook. A former chef, Sally is a regular contributor to radio's "The Splendid Table," and writes a syndicated newspaper column for Universal Press Syndicate called "The Improvisational Cook." Sally has written for numerous publications, including Food & Wine, Saveur, Real Simple, Self, and Metropolitan Home. She lives in New York City. Her latest book is The Improvisational Cook.

Kathy FitzHenry from The Occasional Gourmet (San Francisco, CA) defines Sesame Oil as: "This delicate oil comes in both a dark and light version. With a smoke point of about 350 degrees, the nuttier light version can be used for light sautéing, while the dark version is generally used as a finishing oil. Remember to use this oil relatively quickly, as it will turn rancid if left too long in a cabinet."

Liquid is simmering when it reaches a temperature between 185°F - 195°F and tiny bubbles form that gently rise and collapse just below the surface. Simmer is used for reductions, soups and stews. If your sauce is sputtering out of the pan you are not in the simmer mode, you are close to boiling. Turn down the heat, stir the contents of the pot and check frequently so the bottom of the pot and the contents do not burn.  

Marie Simmons is a cooking teacher and author who has won both a James Beard Award and a Julia Child Award.  She is the culinary director of Copia, a food and wine cultural center in Napa, California. She is a frequent contributor to Cooking Light, Prevention, Cottage Living, and Eating Well. Her books include Fresh and Fast, The Light Touch Cookbook, Rice: The Amazing Grain, Lighter Quicker Better, 365 Ways to Cook Pasta and The Good Egg.

Ilana Simon is a food writer, editor and author of The 125 Best Fondue Recipe and 125 Best Indoor Grill Recipes. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dan Smith and his partner Steve McDonagh, aka The Hearty Boys, have thrown parties for everyone from Hillary Clinton to Northwestern University. Their television series, Party Line with the Hearty Boys, began after they won The Next Food Network Star. They have appeared on CBS’ The Early Show, and in Life, The New Yorker, the New York Times, and other publications. They live in Chicago, where they recently opened their first restaurant, HB: A Hearty Boys Spot. Talk with Your Mouth Full is their first cookbook.

Olivia Kiang Snaije, author of Ethnic Paris, was born in Alexandria, Egypt, of Chinese and American parents and grew up in Italy, France, and the United States. She is a journalist and has worked in New York, Paris, and Milan; she recently moved to London from Paris.

Gail D. Sokol is an award-winning professional in the culinary arts industry with demonstrated success in baking and pastry arts, supervision and training, and classical cuisine. In addition, she has been featured on many weekly radio and television programs. Chef Sokol is currently an Instructor of Baking at Schenectady County Community College in Schenectady, New York. She is the author of About Professional Baking.

Marlena Spieler is the author of over 50 cookbooks published worldwide, including Grilled Cheese and Macaroni and Cheese, and has written for Bon Appetit and Saveur . She writes the San Francisco Chronicle award-winning food column "The Roving Feast" and is a three-time James Beard nominee. Born in Sacramento, California, she lives in Hampshire, England.

Martha Stamps is a honors graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. The author of four cookbooks, she has created recipes that have appeared in numerous magazines, including Southern Living and Victoria, and she has appeared as a guest on the Martha Stewart Living television show and others. She owns and operates Martha's at the Plantation, a restaurant on the grounds of historic Belle Meade Plantation that specializes in seasonally inspired regional foods. Stamps lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Her latest book is The New New Southern Basics.

Steaming is to cook food on a rack in a covered pan over gently boiling water until tender crisp.  Water should not touch or seep through the steam rack.   Steaming is the best low fat method there is and is wonderful for vegetables.

Tom Stevenson has been writing about wine for nearly thirty years and is the author of more than 20 books. He's been nominated on three occasions as Wine Writer of the Year and received the coveted Wine Literary Award, America's lifetime achievement award for wine writing. His latest book is Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia.

Amyjo Johnson from Food for Change defines Stevia as "Stevia is a plant that originates in the Brazilian rainforest. The powdered form is between 200-400% sweeter than white sugar. It is non-caloric, does not promote tooth decay and is said to be an acceptable form of sugar for diabetics and those with blood sugar imbalances."

When stir-frying, food is cut into bite size pieces and stirred continually over extremely high heat in either a flat or a round bottomed wok. Remember the wok should be very hot before adding the oil. Stir Frying is similar to sautéing only with much higher heat and smaller pieces of food.

Amyjo Johnson from Food for Change defines Sucanat as "Abbreviation for Sugar Cane Natural.  It is a granular sweetener that consists of evaporated sugar cane juice.  It has approximately the same sweetness as sugar.  It retains most of the vitamins and minerals of the sugar cane. "

Judith Sutton is a cookbook editor and former pastry chef. In addition to Sweet Gratitude, Judith is the co-author of Truffles: Ultimate Luxury and Everyday Pleasure, as well as a frequent contributor to Chocolatier, Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, and Gourmet. She lives in New York City with her cat, Roxy.

Janet Taylor, who is an authority on the nutritional values of soy, is also the author of The Healthy Table Cookbook. She lives with her family in Tucson, Arizona.

Dede Wilson, author of "A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes" defines Torte:  "I was having a conversation recently with an editor about the use of the word "torte" as a verb....as in torte the cake layers, meaning to cut them in half horizontally....this is a term used in kitchens (pastry) ALL the time but does not seem to be accepted by the outside world as a 'real' verb...it is very handy"

Laurent Tourondel is Executive Chef and Partner in the BLT ("Bistro Laurent Tourondel") Restaurant Group, which has more than six restaurants in the United States and Puerto Rico: BLT Steak, BLT Prime, BLT Fish, BLT Fish Shack, BLT Burger, and BLT Market. His culinary background includes stints at the three-star Michelin Relais & Chateau Troisgros in France and the former Cello in New York City, for which he received three stars from the New York Times. Tourondel is also the author of Go Fish. His latest cookbook is Bistro Laurent Tourondel: New American Bistro Cooking.

Kathy FitzHenry from The Occasional Gourmet (San Francisco, CA) defines Truffle Oil as: "Typically, this is a truffle extract infusion. Use as a condiment. This delicate oil loses characteristic aroma quickly. Store in the refrigerator."

Kathy FitzHenry from The Occasional Gourmet (San Francisco, CA) defines Turbinado as: "Turbinado sugar is a type of sugar cane extract. It is made by steaming unrefined raw sugar. It is sold in bulk and under the branded name, Sugar in the Raw. While Turbinado sugar is a little paler than brown sugar, it is a perfect stand-in for brown sugar in almost any recipe."

Stephanie Valentine is chef at Oak Savanna Vineyard in California. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked for many years at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago. Before joining Oak Savanna in 2004, Stephanie was chef at Roxanne’s, the groundbreaking raw food restaurant near San Francisco. She contributed the recipes in the cookbook Fandango.

Kathy FitzHenry from The Occasional Gourmet (San Francisco, CA) defines Vanilla as: "Vanilla is the fruit of a green orchid plant that grows in the tropics. It is native to Central America and is grown in many tropical areas including: Madagascar, Reunion, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, Tahiti, Tonga, Vanuatu and other areas throughout the world.

The Vanilla flavor comes from the level of vanillin that is created during the processing of the ripen pods. Pods are picked green and then are dried/heated during the day and covered and sweated at night. This process creates the vanillian and gives the vanilla beans its flavor.

The bean pods should be pliant, slightly tacky and sable brown to brown black in color. Do not buy a bean pod that appears shriveled or cracked. Most bean pods range between 8 and 12 inches in length and ¼ to ½" in width depending on the type of bean pod "

James Villas was the food and wine editor of Town & Country magazine for twenty-seven years. His work has also appeared in Esquire, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Saveur, the New York Times, and the Atlantic Monthly, among other publications. Two of his cookbooks have been nominated for a James Beard Award, he has won two James Beard Awards for journalism, and he received Bon Appétit's Food Writer of the Year Award in 2004. Villas is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks and books on food, including My Mother's Southern Kitchen, Crazy for Casseroles, Between Bites, Stalking the Green Fairy, The Glory of Southern Cooking, and The Bacon Cookbook .

Maryana Vollstedt is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including Meatloaf - Recipes for Everyone's Favorite, Big Book of Easy Suppers, Big Book of Potluck, Big Book of Soups & Stews, and the best-selling Big Book of Casseroles, which has sold 150,000 copies. She lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Called a "'culinary comet"' by the New York Times, Jonathan Waxman trained in France, then returned to the United States as chef at Chez Panisse and Michael's in California. In 1984, he brought California to the east coast, with the opening of the celebrated Jams restaurant. He has been the chef-owner of various other restaurants since then, including Buds, Hulot's, and Washington Park, all in New York City, Jams London, Table 29 in Napa, and now Barbuto. He resides in New York City, New York. A Great American Cook is his first cookbook.

Lisa Weiss trained at the California Culinary Academy and cowrote the critically acclaimed Farallon Cookbook with Mark Franz, Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork, and BOULEVARD: THE COOKBOOK with Nancy Oakes and Pamela Mazzola. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Seventh Daughter is her latest book.

Laura Werlin is a James Beard and IACP Award–winning cookbook author, whose previous books for include The New American Cheese, The All American Cheese and Wine Book, Great Grilled Cheese and Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials. Werlin’s articles on food have appeared in Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Saveur, Cooking Light, and Country Living, and she has been a guest on numerous television and radio shows across the country. She lives in San Francisco. 

Dede Wilson has written several cookbooks including Truffles and the Baker’s Field Guide series, which includes Cupcakes, Holiday Candy & Confections, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Christmas Cookies. A contributing editor to Bon Appetit, Wilson has worked professionally for more than 20 years as a restaurant chef, bakery owner, caterer, recipe developer, spokesperson, and frequent television guest. She is a host of The Holiday Table, a PBS cooking show.

Terri Pischoff Wuerthner is an award-winning culinary writer whose work has appeared in Bon Appetit, Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light, Mademoiselle, Sunset Magazine, The Herb Companion, The Washington Post, San Francisco Examiner, Press Democrat, Gastronomica, and Snail. The coauthor of Food for Life: The Cancer Prevention Cookbook, and Everyday Favorites of Sonoma County and In a Cajun Kitchen, Wuerthner lives in northern California, where she teaches Cajun and southern cooking.

Sherry Yard is the author of "'The Secrets of Baking"', which won a James Beard Award and was a finalist for an IACP Award. Sherry also received a James Beard Award for Oustanding Pastry Chef in 2004. In 2005 she received a Golden Bowl Award from the Women chefs and Restaurateurs. Bon Appetit, Pastry Art and Design Magazine, and the Southern California Restaurants Writers' Association's have all awarded her Pastry Chef of the Year. She resides in Beverly Hills, California. Her latest book is Desserts by the Yard.