It seems that, in an attempt to rebrand mayonnaise, various hip food establishments insist on calling all sorts of creamy condiments “aioli”. I refuse to stand idly by, letting this go unchecked. Aioli is not, as some would have you believe “fancy mayo”. Aioli is its own, very specific thing, and it is amazing.

I rarely cook something the same way twice. This is especially true with pasta sauce, as it is adaptable by nature. The other night I was making a simple spaghetti dinner for myself and a friend, simply because I had found a can of tomatoes I didn’t know I had.

As I was tasting and tweaking, I remembered I had about half a cup of the spicy, nduja-like spread I'd made earlier in the week. I tossed it in the sauce and, after tasting, rejoiced.

Tomatoes have a window of ripeness rivaled only by avocados, which is problematic if you tend to buy in bulk. It helps to have a “use ‘em all up real quick” backup plan - which is where this recipe comes in.

Control over your ingredients gives you control over the final dish, and squeeze bottles can help you become the master of your culinary domain. With them, you can put the exact amount of a liquid ingredient precisely where you want it, and they're super cheap.

Usually, when I think of blueberries, I think of muffins, pie and Blueberry Morning - a cereal I was obsessed with from ages nine through 12. These are all good things, but I urge you to reconsider the blueberry, and smother steaks, chops and wild game with this juicy, surprisingly balanced pan sauce.

Video: Welcome back to Eating Trash With Claire, the Lifehacker series where I convince you to transform your kitchen scraps into something edible and delicious. In this episode, I show you how to transform strawberries that are just a bit past their prime into a sweet sauce, cocktail-friendly ice cubes and a delicious compound butter.

Tomato-based pasta sauce can either be incredibly simple or very involved. Whether you're making Marcella Hazan's three-ingredient sauce or a loaded-up bolognese, it's all about creating that perfect balance of flavours. Tasting, tweaking and tasting again is key, as is having a little lineup of extras you can toss in to bring that special something.

A big bowl of hot pasta, each strand perfectly coated in a creamy sauce, is perhaps the perfect comfort food. If you're not so hot on dairy - or it's not so hot on you - this meal may seem sadly out of your reach. Fortunately, there is a very easy way to make a rich and luscious, pasta-coating sauce without using a single drop of cream or a single pat of butter.

I am a very big fan of store-bought recess meals, both as a product and a concept. The no-cook, assemble-and-eat boxes of food are convenient, customisable, and fun for all, including actual school children and those who are just children at heart.

I am an equal opportunity macaroni eater. I like it baked. I like it made with a roux. I even like it out of the blue box. You may think the convenience of Kraft can't be beat, but you'd be wrong. This homemade recipe comes together in about 15 minutes, with only one pot (which you don't have to drain) and no roux.

I can't remember a Christmas dinner without a lasagna on the table. This is largely due, in part, to watery sauce with pasta and cheese sort of floating in it, but it's also just always been there (paired with an overcooked rib roast, of course). That meal, the last big holiday meal for many families, deserves better.

Gnocchi, if you haven't met them before now, are dumplings made from boiled potatoes, which are then formed into a dough of sorts, usually by adding flour and egg. Though more traditionally served as an appetizer, they have become a popular featured dish owing to their incredible versatility. Here's a delicious homemade recipe suitable for the laziest of chefs.

When I first started cooking for myself and others, I considered a steak dinner to be the epitome of sophisticated adult-ness, especially when served with an aggressively tannic bottle of red wine. I wasn't bad at making the meal, but one element always eluded me: The freaking pan sauce.

Marinara and other tomato based pasta sauces aren't too difficult to make on your own, but sometimes you don't have the time. This super simple trick can make a jar of the store-bought stuff taste like you've been working on it all day.

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to a particularly gooey episode of Will It Sous Vide?, the column where I conduct food experiments with my immersion circulator.

The best homemade pizza is made with the best ingredients, but that doesn't mean those ingredients need to be complicated. In fact, the best pizza sauce has only one ingredient and it requires no cooking at all.

Thin, watery sauces are just plain unappealing, but they aren't quite the disaster they seem. To thicken up as sad sauce, you just need butter, cornstarch and time.

Store bought barbecue sauce is often packed with sugar, making it far too sweet for some palates. A dash of soy sauce can fix that.

If you want to peel a few tomatoes for a homemade sauce or batch of gazpacho, all you need is an open flame and those tomato skins will come off in no time.