Q: We have stainless steel cookware. Each time I cook eggs, they stick to the frying pan. I've used high heat, low heat, cooking sprays, heated the pan then added butter or oil, and heated the butter or oil with the pan to no avail. How do I prevent the sticking? -- Walt

A: Could I interest you in a very fine cheap nonstick skillet? You're just about always going to have a certain amount of sticking when you make eggs in stainless steel. However, you can minimize or even at times eliminate the problem by using what I call Yan's Mantra, named after famed PBS cooking show host Martin Yan: "Hot wok, cold oil, food won't stick!" This goes for stainless steel pans, as well.You can also help your cause by taking your eggs out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking to let them come up to room temperature. The less temperature difference when the egg hits the pan, the less sticking you'll have.

Q: How do you season an aluminum pan so fried eggs won't stick? -- Dot

A: You folks are really after the cackleberries this week!First off, we need to be sure and define: cast aluminum pans are the ones requiring seasoning. That cheap stuff your Uncle Morty pawned off on you that he got free for opening a savings account can't be helped.The procedure is the same as the one used for cast iron cookware. You can find all you'll ever need to know about that in my Short Orders column on the topic.

Q: What is the difference in pickling salt, sea salt and kosher salt? Canpickling salt be used in place of the others? -- Walt

A: Pickling salt is closest in shape and measurement to table salt. However, it lacks the anti-caking agents and iodine present in most table salts. It is pure, like kosher salt.You can replace table salt with pickling salt in recipes on a 1:1 ratio. If replacing kosher salt in a recipe, use 1/3 less than the recipe calls for. Thus, if the recipe calls for three teaspoons of kosher salt, use two of pickling salt.To keep any granulated salt from clumping, use an old southern trick: put a few grains of uncooked rice in the shaker with the salt. They will absorb moisture and help keep the salt flowing freely.

Q: My question may sound kind of dumb, but I'll ask it because I am really frustrated trying to figure it out on my own. What is the right wine to use when the recipe simply says "white wine" or "sherry." Should I just get cooking wine or cooking sherry? Do brands matter? Chardonnay or zinfandel? Help! -- Marsha W.

A: It's not dumb in the least! There's no such thing as a dumb question, unless you're asking me whether I prefer steak or tofu.Avoid cooking wine and cooking sherry at all costs. They're low-quality derivations, and frequently contain sediments that can give an "off" taste. However, you don't need to spend an arm and a leg, either. Use a cheap, but drinkable, wine for your cooking purposes. I wouldn't use Boone's Farm, but you don't need to spend $40 a bottle either. Most mass-marketed "big name" wines are perfectly adequate for cooking. The small increase in quality you'll get for spending four times as much on a high-priced vino just isn't worth it, in my book.As far as what wine to use for "white wine" in a recipe? Again, it's a matter of taste. If you like chardonnay, go with that. If you're a chablis drinker, then by all means use it.

Q: My inlaws have just moved in with me, and we are having a disagreement regarding the reuse of Crisco shortening. They insist that it is perfectly safe to use it again. They fry potatoes or french fries, leaving the grease on the stove to reuse the next day or so. My question is, is it safe? -- Judy

A: Provided it doesn't burn, and is kept covered and protected from dust and other contaminants when not in use, there's very little problem with reuse. My only caveat there would be if it's been used to cook fish. Fish oil can leach into the shortening during cooking, both spoiling the shortening and adding a "fishy" taste to anything else cooked. While I do my frying in oil, rather than shortening, I obey that same rule. When a batch of oil has reached the end of its usefulness, I make a batch of my fried catfish and then dispose of the oil properly.You can make your oil or shortening last longer by filtering it through filter paper or cheesecloth between uses to get any particulate matter such as flour bits out of the mix.Got a question for Ask The Cook? Send it in and I'll get right to work!