Food Network Kitchens

Q: I'm looking for cool drinks to serve at a Fourth of July party. Any ideas?

Snacks are an important part of a well-balanced diet and should contain healthy nutrients like calcium, protein, whole grains, vitamins or minerals. Aim for one or two snacks per day that are around 150 calories each. Skip those expensive, nutrient-light snack packs and try these filling 150-calorie snacks instead.

Edamame

Early Irish cuisine was based on meat, dairy, seafood products in the coastal regions and vegetables gathered from the wild or grown at home. After the potato was introduced in the late 16th century, it quickly became a staple food. Even today, few Irish meals are considered complete without potatoes.

Irish Breakfast

An oven thermometer (that is, a thermometer that measures the temperature of your oven) is one of the handiest devices to have in a kitchen, especially if you do a lot of baking. Ovens are notoriously unreliable, and their actual temperature can fall more than 30 degrees on either side of where they're supposed to be.

Q: I have all this duck fat. What should I do with it? -- Cassie Bale, Ashburn, Va.
A: There are few fats better-tasting than duck fat for roasting root vegetables, frying eggs or sauteeing vegetables. While duck fat has historically been a preservative, used to keep foods like confit from spoiling during long storage, it's still best to play it safe.