useless morsels from the wisdom of the food network:

I'm a pretty avid Food Network viewer. In my years of watching I've noticed a few recurring themes and redundant bits of knowledge. I honestly think these hosts just need to fill up their 30 minute time slot and revert to these little cliches... Either that, or they think I'm stupid.

Oh and by the way, I don't mean to insult you if you've never heard these tips before. Feel free to use them, I use some of them, I just wanted to mention the ones I hear way too often.

If you want to make a pizza from scratch, just run around the corner to your favorite pizzeria and ask them for some pizza dough.
>I'm sure the guys at Little Caesar's would LOVE that!< 

Don't buy an expensive pastry bag, just cut a hole in the corner of a plastic bag, it works just as well! 

>If I had a nickle for every time they said that, I'd be able to afford one of the cakes from Ace of Cakes< 

Don't stress over garlic, just smash a clove under a heavy skillet of the flat side of a knife. >Seriously?< 

To remove the pit of an avocado, just hack the seed with the a knife, twist ever so slightly and the pit comes right out! 

>It really isn't that difficult to remove an avocado seed, and is guacamole really worth a hospital visit?< 

Don't buy a double boiler, just place a heat safe bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. 

>These chefs double boil on an unnaturally frequent basis.< 

Mix butter and olive oil when sauteing, the oil has a higher smoking point than butter and gives food a nice flavor. >What about using Pam, should I still mix it with something, and does Country Crock count as butter?<

Roll a lemon on the counter back and forth for a few minutes, it'll loosen up the juices and make it easy to squeeze. >The nice people at ReaLeamon made it so that I never have to roll a lemon again. (I know, I know, fresh squeezed it always best.)< 

"I'll make a delicious meal in under 30 minutes." 

>Don't make promises you can't keep Rachael Ray.<